44% of UK adults believe their personal data has been mishandled by companies

The latest research from the DPO Centre, the UK’s market leading provider of data protection resources, reveals that over two fifths (44%) of UK adults have concerns about their personal dataInformation which relates to an identified or identifiable natural person.... being mishandled by companies.

These results show that companies need to be doing much more to reassure customers that their data is safe and being stored and processed correctly.

Rob Masson, CEO, The DPO Centre said “Our research reveals that businesses need to show customers that they are collecting their information in a secure and transparent way. Two years ago the GDPR was introduced to help provide consumers with more control over how their data is used.  This has however made it more complicated for organisations to comply, which has been further exacerbated by the pandemic and the rush to the virtual world.”

Concerns with track and trace

Furthermore, the DPO Centre research reveals that over half (54%) UK adults believe that companies collecting personal data for the purpose of track and trace are using it for other purposes as well.

Amongst those who think companies are using their personal data for reasons other than to support contact tracing schemes, 40%  believe companies are probably using it for other reasons and 14% say companies are definitely doing so.

Rob Masson, CEO, The DPO Centre continued “Whenever an organisation collects customer details for track and trace, they need to have secure and transparent data handling processes in place.”

Data SubjectAn individual who can be identified or is identifiable from data.... Access Requests (DSARs)

The DPO Centre research shows that one in ten (11%) UK adults have considered submitting a Data Subject Access RequestA verbal or written request made by a data subject to: access their data (in a portable format if requested), be informed about how it is used, to have their data modified if it is incorrect, or to have it deleted.... (DSAR) after feeling that a company had mishandled their personal data. Those aged between 18 years old and 34 years old are most likely to have considered submitting a DSAR (20%) compared to those aged 35-54 (14%) and 55+ (4).

Rob Masson, CEO, The DPO Centre continued “Companies should expect DSAR requests to increase over the coming years as one of the fallouts from the pandemic. However, they are a costly and lengthy processA series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end.... that companies can easily avoid if they put the right procedures in place. An easily accessible privacy policy that explains clearly how customers’ personal data is used can often help to allay concerns that could otherwise lead to a DSAR.”