Almost half of all Americans do not feel comfortable with what businesses do with their personal data. 41% distrust how all private information is handled and 48% think companies may be secretly tracking them online. In fact, consumers are more worried about being monitored by businesses than the government.

If you’re an online company, consumers are even less impressed. The vast majority think you’re not concerned enough about their privacy.

Consumers’ privacy worries have spiked in the wake of recent news reports alleging Google has secretly tracked Americans online and their new “personalized search” will highlight more personal information than people intended.

Women are more concerned than men about their data. Financial information, medical information, and passwords are top concerns. But, “over sharing” of location data is also a fear.

If consumers could have it their way, they would control the specific data they share, how it is used, and who sees it. They would also receive compensation (read: discounts) in return for sharing.

How do consumers respond when companies do not live up to their privacy expectations? 88% avoid doing business with that firm.

• Are we completely transparent about how we collect and use consumer data?
• Do we have enough safeguards in place to ensure data is not inadvertently used in other ways?