People will surrender their email addresses online, but not much more.
That's the conclusion of a study from AT&T Labs released Wednesday. The study said users are as willing to provide their email addresses to a Web site as they are to name their favorite snack or TV show. But a phone number or credit card number? Forget about it.
Researchers think the results indicate that a combination approach to online privacy may be best. Privacy policies, combined with so-called "seals of approval," can significantly raise people’s confidence, they concluded.
"For the majority of users, a variety of mechanisms may be needed," said Lorrie Faith Cranor, a security researcher at AT&T Labs. "It seems unlikely that a 'one-size-fits-all' approach to online privacy will succeed."
Most respondents said they would not feel comfortable providing phone, credit card, or social security numbers.
Users also don't like the idea of their personal data being transferred to a site on their behalf. When asked about possible browser features that would make it easier to provide personal information to a Web site, 86 percent reported no interest in automating the process.
Participants in the study said that the idea of Web sites sharing data was their biggest concern when submitting personal information.
The study, titled "Beyond Concern: Understanding Net Users’ Attitudes About Online Privacy," has been submitted to an upcoming Federal Trade Commission workshop on online consumer protection.
Privacy advocate Jason Catlett, president of Junkbusters, said the time for surveys has passed. "The administration has been using them as an excuse to delay Congress giving the American people the real legal privacy protections they want and deserve.
"How about looking at what's actually required to protect privacy, instead of figuring out the least necessary effort to get online consumers to shut up and shop?"
