According to research firm Parks Associates, the majority of those surveyed indicated that they are not willing to share data collected from wearable devices, even if it meant receiving a discount on their health insurance premiums. In spite of this reluctance, these same consumers were willing to share data for the purpose of troubleshooting the devices themselves.
The results of the survey varied significantly by device. Forty-two percent of digital pedometer owners were willing to share data in order to receive a health insurance discount; for smartwatch owners the total was 35 percent; and for sleep-quality monitor owners it was 26 percent. Nevertheless, a solid majority of device owners was not willing to share data.
Consumers are justified in their concerns about health data privacy. The Los Angeles Times told in July of a security breach in October 2014 where hackers compromised UCLA Health Systems’ computer network, putting 4.5 million patients’ sensitive data at risk. What was troubling about the incident was that it took nearly seven months from the time suspicious activity was discovered in October, to May 5, which is when investigators determined the system was hacked. Additionally troubling was that the data was not even encrypted.
From the article "Survey: Consumers Prefer Keeping Wearable Device Data from Insurers" by Christopher Mohr.
Nest’s doorbell, called Nest Hello, marks its first entry into the $334 million video doorbell market, according to 2017 data from research firm Parks Associates. Last month, Amazon announced it had p...
Smart home technologies are beginning to enjoy their day in the sun, with adoption levels rising across the board. One recent research report from Parks Associates claims that 17% of US broadband hous...
Driving this oncoming consolidation are two factors: managing the decline of the traditional pay TV business, while also investing in direct-to-consumer streaming offerings. “They are all trying to fi...
According to a May report from the consultancy Parks Associates, 27 percent of U.S. homes with a broadband internet connection owned at least one smart speaker, yet about 45 percent of their owners “s...
