Consumers living in smart homes are willing to sell personal data

A majority of respondents worldwide might be willing to share their personal data collected from their smart home with companies in exchange for money, and 70 percent agree companies should give coupons and discounts to customers in return for data about device usage, according to Intel Security.

The survey also found that 77 percent of respondents believe smart homes will be as common in 2025 as smartphones are today, but 66 percent are also very concerned about smart home data being hacked by cybercriminals.

“Smart homes and their associated data have the potential to improve consumers’ everyday lives,” said Steve Grobman, CTO for Intel Security. “The survey shows that many individuals would be comfortable sharing that data for a price, but they are still understandably concerned about cyberthreats. Security has to be foundational to the Internet of Things and when done right, it can be an enabler of IoT.”

Survey respondents were universally worried about potential security threats from smart homes, with 92 percent expressing concern that their personal data could be hacked by cybercriminals. Yet in a testament to innovative security, almost as many respondents (89 percent) said that if they lived in a smart-home, they would likely prefer to secure all their smart devices through a single integrated security package.

Consumers were less enthusiastic about existing security methods such as passwords, with 4 in 10 foreseeing passwords as a frustration with smart homes, and three-quarters (75 percent) indicating they are at least somewhat anxious about the number of passwords likely to be required to manage smart homes. However, biometrics scored well as an alternative for accessing smart homes. When asked to select several preferred forms of biometric security, 54 percent opted for fingerprints, 46 percent for voice recognition and 42 percent for eye scans.

Key findings

• Compared to other generations sampled, more Millennials indicated they might be comfortable taking money, discounts and coupons in exchange for sharing their behavioral data from their smart home devices (63 percent for money, 44 percent for discounts and 29 percent for coupons).
• Three-quarters (75 percent) of consumers expect to see personal benefits from living in a smart home.
• The most commonly considered smart devices are smart lighting (73 percent), smart kitchen appliances (62 percent) and smart thermometers or boiler systems (60 percent).
• Over half of respondents expect gas and electric (57 percent) bills and heating and cooling (55 percent) bills to be reduced in a smart home.

The “Internet of Things and the Smart Home” survey polled 9,000 individuals from nine countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States.