Different Attitudes, Different T&C*
What makes diverse consumers understand & interpret digital privacy differently?
(This article is an extension of a webinar hosted by our team by putting together insights around impact of Indian culture and societal structure on people’s behaviours in the digital world. Watch here!)
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In less than a year since the launch of ChatGPT, it has 100 million weekly users, and over 2 million developers are currently building on the company’s API, including 92% of the Fortune 500 companies — Sam Altman announced in the OpenAI’s first developer conference. ChatGPT has now become the fastest growing consumer internet app of all time only in a year of its launch. As AI finds its way into people’s everyday lives now through its widespread adoption in assignments to mundane tasks at work, the pace at which technology is evolving is making it necessary to pause and reflect on what technology can do versus what it should do!
In response to that, companies, consumers and the government are all trying to find answers to tough ethical questions around the use of tech to safeguard the consumers’ privacy, safety and wellbeing. Governments are drafting and implementing regulations around its use to safeguard the end-consumers. Examples of this are the world’s first ever AI Act passed by the European Union and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (2023) that establishes a framework for the processing of personal data in India. However, we see a non standardised approach to regulations globally.
Companies are also changing the way they have been designing products & services with an increased focus on designing for privacy. In 2021, Apple introduced its new privacy feature, App Tracking Transparency on iPhones to address growing concerns about how user data could be leveraged to track and target users. This gave the consumers a bit more control over their digital data and activities. Google has also begun testing for its new feature to disable third party cookies on Google Chrome.
However, there is a gap between what companies and governments think they are doing to safeguard consumers’ privacy and how the consumers perceive it. What companies and regulators miss to understand is the diversity of the consumers, their understanding of the digital world, digital behaviours & attitudes. Even within India, the understanding and comprehension of digital privacy and concerns around it varies drastically with the socio-cultural diversity of the consumers. Why digital privacy is important today, how to safeguard oneself, what could be possible impact on one’s life if your data has been tracked by a tech company or government for that matter is interpreted differently by different people. For example, it is important to reflect on whether digital privacy is understood differently by a 35 year old autorickshaw driver and a business consultant of the same age and then, how are solutions like privacy terms & conditions document catering to these differences?
Drivers for Privacy Attitudes
The diversity of the consumer attitudes exists because of the following drivers and their consumer behaviour along this spectrum-
- Awareness — Awareness and exposure that one has to the tech world defines how different elements of the digital ecosystem are interpreted. The definition of what a safe digital space is different for different consumers along this spectrum.
- Agency — The ability and access of tools to make decisions around their digital usage defines how dependent or independent the consumer is as a digital citizen.
- Social influence — In this tightly knit world, social validation and dependency play an important role in building behaviour. This might be true more so for Indian consumers who are socially dependent to seek information and validation from others.
Defining Consumer Attitudes
These intrinsic drivers impact consumers differently and in turn reflect in how they use, perceive and interpret digital spaces. These nuances of diversity are key to designing for privacy and one solution does not fit all in this context. Tech solutions are not as black and white as we feel it is.
Based on our experience over the years of working with global tech companies and designing tech solutions for underserved communities in rural India as well as the population in urban India, we have built an understanding of the digital diversity of the consumers especially with respect to digital privacy. Here are 4 distinct Consumer Attitudes that we have come across -
1. Active | Awareness: High, Agency: High, Social influence: Low
Consumers with this attitude are the typical tech savvy early adopters who make sure to keep themselves updated with the latest information about the tech world. This intently gained knowledge helps them in being completely independent in taking decisions around their digital activity. They may also have very strong opinions about what is right and wrong in the digital world which also helps them in making informed decisions. Since these consumers operate based on the information they gain and their own knowledge, they never blindly trust a company but would assess and evaluate everything that the company is promising or offering with a healthy sense of skepticism. This oftentimes may even lead to actions like boycotting products if they realise the companies are irresponsible or unethical.
“It is high time that the companies start giving us a choice to decide for ourselves without taking us for granted and using our data like they own it. I don’t mind migrating to a new platform if that is going to give me an option to decide terms for myself.”
Consumers with Active attitude need multiple trusted sources of information to form their opinion about the situation. They also want to learn about different perspectives of any privacy related issues to form their own. They are never comfortable with blindly agreeing to all the terms that have been enforced by the company but prefer to have the liberty to choose options that they feel comfortable with to build a personalised experience. For example-if a platform is giving an option to accept all the cookies or not use the platform at all, these consumers will rather choose to exit the platform but appreciate a platform that is giving them an option to reject or accept cookies based on their preferences and needs.
2. Complacent | Awareness: High, Agency: Medium, Social influence: Medium
This may be reflected in tech savvy consumers who choose convenience and ease of use over anything else. Even after having the ability to gain information and knowledge, such consumers most often create their opinions about what does digital privacy mean and what should be done to protect themselves based on convenience. If prioritising their personal information & data would mean not using a certain platform then they would rather use the platform for the convenience of it than keep their personal data private. These consumers also experience the FoMo of not using the platform or being a part of any pop culture trend which also pushes them to not take any proactive efforts to prioritise their privacy over the use of a platform. We would observe these consumers not going out of their comfort zone to stick to what they believe is the ‘right’ thing to do to protect themselves online.
“I know the tech companies are tracking my activities and collecting my data to push advertisements but I cannot not use a social media app or do online shopping. The only other option is to not use it and live a disconnected analogous life, and I don’t want that.”
They typically need support and encouragement to make informed decisions with minimum efforts and without letting go of their convenience of using a platform. As they typically look for the most popular social opinion about what is considered to be the ‘safer’ option to use a platform, they need social validation for taking a strong stand for something they truly believe in.
3. Follower | Awareness: Medium, Agency: Low, Social influence: High
A typical tech laggard from an urban city with the basic exposure to the changing and evolving world around them may generally develop this attitude. These consumers may be well equipped to make informed and educated decisions in other life situations, however, they struggle a bit with the digital space because they are new to it. Hence these consumers are partially independent in using a digital platform and may require basic support from their social circle. These consumers will most often trust socially validated information and opinion.
“Why would a successful multinational company cheat us? They are successful for a reason so I am sure whatever they are doing is for our benefit. The apps and features they provide is a blessing. They make our lives easier and convenient.”
Due to low digital confidence they may not know how to protect themselves in the digital world. They are typically educated consumers who need support in imagining the possible implications of their digital choices on their personal safety and security. They need their options and choices to be shared with them, transparently and explicitly to help them make informed decisions to avoid being dependent on someone else to explain it to them.
4. Vulnerable | Awareness: Low, Agency: Low, Social influence: High
Consumers that are dependent with lack of global or even local exposure, typically moderately educated feel Vulnerable in the digital space. We have also observed women from rural India reflecting this attitude. Their lack of freedom of speech and agency seeps into their digital behaviours as well. These consumers are highly dependent on someone who is educated and is a bit tech savvy, typically their kids or a local influencer to learn how to use digital platforms and validate their digital actions. Their low digital confidence makes them afraid to click on something that they are not supposed to, in the fear of it leading to bigger problems like losing money.
“I know only how to use WhatsApp and YouTube which my son has taught me how to use. I don’t try to use anything else and make any mistakes since I share the phone with my son. So I let him do everything else for me on the phone.”
The biggest limitation these consumers face is the understanding of digital privacy and what it means for them and the implications of their decisions and actions. Consumers with this Vulnerable attitude need heavy hand holding to explain their choices and implications for them to understand and decide what they should be doing. They also need education to learn about the best practices around digital safety, their rights & responsibilities to be able to make informed decisions and hold authorities accountable when needed without blindly relying on the companies to always do ‘right’ by them and not harm them. The onboarding, educational experience and the UX for these consumers need to be explicitly simplified for them to understand and interact with digital services easily and in an informed way for example — without giving long privacy terms to read or avoiding a multi-step process to change privacy settings etc.
Attitudes define Actions!
These diverse attitudes show that not everyone has similar digital behaviours, understanding of platforms and the interpretation of what digital privacy & safety mean for them. So one solution and one product strategy does not work in this context. There needs to be an alignment between the company’s intentional actions towards consumer privacy and existing consumer attitudes. The companies and governments need to know who you are designing for, what are their attitudes and capabilities of taking control of their digital privacy & safety. The tools, communication and laws need to be designed and communicated in a way that keeps the consumers’ safety & wellbeing at the centre.
