Cloaked, the consumer-first privacy and security company, today announced the launch of the Cloaked Research Hub. This ongoing initiative will produce original, nationally representative research on how American consumers think about, experience, and respond to personal privacy and data safety issues.
The Cloaked Research Hub launches with four published surveys, revealing growing concern about data privacy risks and distrust of new technologies like AI, which are influencing consumer behavior. Each survey includes 1,000 US respondents and addresses a relevant topic, such as artificial intelligence and data sharing, the cost of financial fraud, the impact of digital search exposure, and the impact of spam on consumer trust.
“Understanding consumer sentiment and how it influences action is a pivotal component to solving the data privacy crisis we face today,” said Arjun Bhatnagar, Co-founder and CEO at Cloaked. “The Cloaked Research Hub is a fact-based insights resource for individuals, companies, media, and policymakers to continue to better understand American views on data privacy across a wide range of topics and demographics.”
Americans Know Privacy-Risk Exists and Seek Answers
Over the last two years, 33 million searches related to digital privacy, online privacy, and personal data removal have been made. Of these, “remove my information from the internet free” grew by 133%, while “how to delete information from the internet” grew 34%.
Nearly all digital identity searches (96%) focused on awareness, monitoring, or protection. Only 3% focused on reactive deletion, removal, or damage control. However, within this context, searches tied to doxxing prevention grew 37% year over year.
Digital footprint survey results revealed that 77% of Americans feel they do not have control over what appears about them online.
Spam and AI Add to Growing Consumer Distrust
New technologies like artificial intelligence are accelerating feelings of distrust and a lack of control among Americans, as they increase the volume of spam and the sophistication of scams.
According to Cloaked’s “The Trust Costs of Spam Calls and Texts” survey, spam is playing a significant role in changing how Americans communicate. The survey reveals that the average American loses 27 hours a year to spam calls. Because of such high spam rates, 42% of individuals state that it has significantly influenced or completely changed their communication preferences toward non-call methods, and 43% of respondents have blocked all unknown callers by default.
Cloaked’s “How Americans Feel about Sharing Their Data with AI” survey shows that 75% of individuals feel monitored by the technologies they use, and 82% of respondents say they do not trust AI to keep their data safe.
Feelings about AI are also influencing consumer decision-making and brand loyalty. More than 2 in 5 Americans said learning that a company uses AI to make decisions about them regarding credit, hiring, or insurance without their consent would cause them to leave a platform.
The Cloaked Research Hub is meant to provide an ongoing pulse on American sentiment and action tied to timely privacy topics. New surveys will be unveiled monthly, addressing different forces shaping digital identity, data protection, and consumer privacy today.