Money Research with Money Matchmaker®
Are Aussies willing to give away their personal data?
A Money.com.au Study October 2022
About the study
Money.com.au commissioned a survey of an independent panel of 1010 Australians to gauge sentiments over corporate organisations asking for their personal information. Respondents could choose, from a list of 14, whether they felt ‘concerned’, ‘neutral’ or ‘comfortable’ about giving certain personal details online. Money.com.au also asked respondents whether they read privacy terms and conditions before sharing their personal information online and if they falsify any of their details, such as date of birth, home address or gender.
The pool of survey respondents matches the age and geographical spread of the Australian population.
Questions
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How do Australians feel about providing private information to companies online?
Survey respondents were presented with a list of 14 personal details that large corporations may ask for when they sign up to a subscription, telco plan, financial product, eCommerce site, app service, utility plan or accommodation service, and asked to convey how concerned they are about disclosing such information: ‘concerned’, ‘neutral’ or ‘comfortable.’
Money.com.au found that:
- Just 40% of respondents were concerned about giving away certain personal information
- 90% were comfortable or neutral when it came to providing their gender online
- 82% were comfortable or neutral providing their relationship status
- 76% were comfortable or neutral sharing their date of birth
Other details respondents felt comfortable or neutral sharing included:
- the number of dependants they have (chosen by 83%)
- their home address (75%)
- income (64%)
- driver’s licence (56%)
Providing financial information
In contrast, respondents were the most concerned about providing financial information.
Respondents were concerned about sharing:
- bank transaction history (68%)
- bank account details (65%)
- tax file numbers (58%)
- payslips (47%)
- income (36%)
Respondents were also concerned about:
- sharing a photo of their face (58%)
- passport details (57%)
Identity theft is one of the common ways an individual's personal and financial information can be used by criminals. Checking your credit score and report regularly can be an effective way of watching out for signs of identity theft.
How do you feel about large corporations asking for the following information when you sign up with them?
Across the States and Territories
Respondents across most States indicated similar sentiments towards large corporations requesting personal data, however some States’ responses departed significantly from the consensus.
In particular, respondents from the ACT displayed greater caution towards sharing certain kinds of personal data than the rest.
- Half (50%) of ACT respondents said they felt concerned over providing their utility bill information,
Compared with:
- 36% of West Australians
- 33% of Queenslanders
- 30% of NSW respondents
Providing financial information across the States
Providing financial information was also a cause for concern across the States.
Respondents expressed concern over providing bank account details:
- 94% of ACT respondents
- 71% of Queenslanders
- 64% of Victorians
- 63% of NSW respondents
- 60% of West Australians
Respondents were also concerned over providing bank transaction history:
- 72% of Queenslanders
- 69% of Victorians
- 67% of South Australians and NSW respondents
A high proportion expressed concern over sharing tax file numbers:
- 61% of West Australians
- 60% of NSW respondents
- 59% of South Australians
- 57% of Queenslanders
Percentage of respondents who feel concerned about large corporations asking for the following information. By State.
| Response | NSW (%) | VIC (%) | QLD (%) | SA (%) | WA (%) | ACT (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Home address | 28 | 26 | 28 | 21 | 25 | 19 |
Passport | 58 | 54 | 51 | 51 | 66 | 63 |
Driver's licence | 46 | 41 | 43 | 43 | 41 | 38 |
Tax file number | 60 | 55 | 57 | 59 | 61 | 56 |
Gender | 11 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 |
Utility bill (electricity, phone, water bill) | 30 | 31 | 33 | 32 | 36 | 50 |
Payslips | 48 | 48 | 45 | 45 | 44 | 63 |
Date of birth | 30 | 23 | 21 | 19 | 19 | 13 |
Number of dependants | 21 | 18 | 12 | 22 | 12 | 19 |
Relationship status | 21 | 19 | 16 | 26 | 13 | 13 |
Income | 35 | 41 | 36 | 33 | 26 | 38 |
Bank account details | 63 | 64 | 71 | 59 | 69 | 94 |
Bank transaction history | 67 | 69 | 72 | 67 | 58 | 88 |
Photo of your face | 58 | 56 | 61 | 53 | 59 | 56 |
What are the age-based trends?
Money analysed responses across age groups and found a greater proportion of older respondents expressed concern about giving out personal details to large corporations online – particularly financial information.
Eight in 10 (80%) over-50s are concerned about giving away their bank transaction history. This is compared with:
- 64% of 31-50 year-olds
- 54% of under-30s.
Seven in 10 (76%) over-50s also expressed concern about giving away bank account details. Compared with:
- 63% of 31-50 year-olds
- 50% of under-30s
Sharing income information was also a cause for concern for more older respondents:
- 43% of over-50s
Compared with:
- 33% of 31-50 year-olds
- 27% of under-30s
Over-50s were also more likely to be concerned about sharing their passport details:
- 67% of over-50s respondents are concerned
Compared with:
- 56% of 31-50 year-olds
- 45% of under-30s
Sharing driver’s licence information is a concern for 51% of over-50s. Compared with:
- 45% of 31-50-year-olds
- 29% of under-30s
Percentage of respondents who feel concerned about large corporations asking for the following information. By age.
Do Australians provide fake information to protect their privacy online?
Money.com.au asked respondents if they always provide their real details to companies online. Respondents were presented with a list of 11 personal details and were asked if they have provided fake information for any of them online.
- More than a quarter (28%) of respondents have given false information for at least one personal detail
- Date of birth is the most common detail Australians fabricate (chosen by 15%)
- 13% admitted to giving a fake home address
- 12% have given a fake name
- 10% admit to fudging their income
- 9% have falsified their tax file number or driver’s licence number
Seven in 10 (72%) revealed they never provide fake details about themselves online.
When giving your data to companies online, do you always provide your real details? Or do you provide fake details for some questions? Tick the following data that you tend to offer fake details for:
How does this compare across the States?
Across the States, a similar proportion of respondents admitted to fabricating their personal information.
- A third (33%) of NSW respondents give at least one fake detail online
Compared with:
- 31% of Victorians
- 26% of South Australians
- 22% of Queenslanders
- 20% of West Australians
Similar percentages across the States have fabricated their home address
- 16% of NSW and South Australian respondents
- 13% of Victorians and 10% of Queenslanders
Respondents also admitted to falsifying their date of birth
- 18% of Victorians
- 17% of NSW respondents
- 14% of South Australians
- 10% of Queenslanders
What kind of fake information have you provided to a company online?
| Response | NSW (%) | VIC (%) | QLD (%) | SA (%) | WA (%) | ACT (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | 12 | 16 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 6 |
Home address | 16 | 13 | 10 | 16 | 9 | 13 |
Passport number | 9 | 7 | 4 | 10 | 8 | 6 |
Tax file number | 12 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 8 | 6 |
Driver's licence number | 11 | 7 | 6 | 12 | 9 | 6 |
Gender | 10 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 6 |
Date of birth | 17 | 18 | 10 | 14 | 8 | 19 |
Number of dependants | 7 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 0 |
Relationship status | 7 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
Income | 11 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
Bank account details | 9 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 7 | 6 |
I've never provided fake details about myself | 67 | 69 | 78 | 74 | 80 | 75 |
Across the age groups
Money.com.au found that younger respondents are more likely to provide fake details:
- 32% of under-30s have fabricated at least one personal detail online
Compared with:
- 29% of 31-50 year-olds
- 24% of over-50s
Under-30s are more likely to fabricate their name (16%), compared with:
- 12% of 31-50 year-olds
- 9% of over-50s
Younger respondents also tend to give a fake address:
- 16% of under-50s
Compared with:
- 10% of over-50s
Similar proportion across the age groups revealed they provide a fake date of birth online.
- 15% of over-50s
- 14% of under-50s
What kind of fake information have you provided to a company online?
| Response | 18-30 (%) | 31-50 (%) | 50+ (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
Name | 16 | 12 | 9 |
Home address | 16 | 15 | 10 |
Passport number | 7 | 9 | 7 |
Tax file number | 9 | 19 | 8 |
Driver's licence number | 9 | 9 | 8 |
Gender | 9 | 8 | 7 |
Date of birth | 14 | 15 | 15 |
Number of dependants | 6 | 5 | 5 |
Relationship status | 7 | 6 | 6 |
Income | 7 | 11 | 11 |
Bank account details | 5 | 9 | 8 |
I've never provided fake details about myself | 68 | 71 | 76 |
Do Australians think the proposed digital ID is safer than existing forms of ID?
In light of recent high-profile data breaches, the Federal Government has proposed the roll out of a digital ID. Respondents were asked if they feel such an ID would help prevent future hacks and breaches. Nearly eight in 10 (79%) respondents are concerned a digital ID can still be hacked.
Do you think a digital ID, as proposed by the Federal Government, would prevent hacks and data breaches like the recent Optus incident?
Across the States
Similar proportions of respondents across the States are concerned that a digital ID will be vulnerable to data breaches.
- Eight in 10 (81%) ACT respondents
- 80% of Victorians
- 79% of NSW and Queensland respondents
- 75% of South Australians
- 74% of West Australians
Do you think a digital ID will prevent hacks and data breaches?
What are the trends across age groups?
Similar proportions of respondents across the age groups are concerned about the security of a digital ID:
- 81% of over-50s
- 79% of 31-50 year-olds
- 75% of under-30s
Do you think a digital ID will prevent hacks and data breaches?
What proportion of Aussies read a website’s privacy terms and conditions?
Money.com.au found that more than half (52%) of respondents do not read the privacy terms and conditions before sharing their personal information when signing up to a subscription, telco plan, financial product (e.g. credit cards), eCommerce site, app service, utility plan or accommodation service.
Do you read the privacy terms and conditions before you give your personal details online?
Across the States
Across the States, similar proportions of respondents admitted they don’t read a website’s privacy terms and conditions before providing personal information:
- 61% of WA respondents
- 57% of South Australians
- 53% of Queenslanders
- 51% of Victorians
Do you read the privacy terms and conditions before you give your personal details?
| Response | NSW (%) | VIC (%) | QLD (%) | SA (%) | WA (%) | ACT (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Yes | 51 | 49 | 47 | 43 | 39 | 48 |
No | 49 | 51 | 53 | 57 | 61 | 52 |
What are the age-based trends?
A similar proportion of respondents across age groups are not prudent about reading terms and conditions before sharing their personal information online
- 54% of over-30s
- 47% of under-30s
Do you read the privacy terms and conditions before you give your personal details?
