Zogby Poll: Americans Prefer Ad-Supported Mobile Apps, Want Familiar Transparency & Control Over Data in the Mobile Environment

Survey of 1,015 Americans reveals that users want mobile choice tools that provide the same protections available on desktop & laptop computers

NEW YORK and WASHINGTON, DC - October 22, 2014 - Americans prefer free, ad-supported mobile apps to those that cost money, and value mobile ads that are relevant to their interests, according to a new survey conducted by Zogby Analytics. Respondents also said they wanted tools – similar to those available on desktop and laptop computers – that let them control how and whether data is collected and used in mobile environments.

Nearly 60 percent of respondents said they would feel more favorably toward companies and brands that provided ubiquitous, real-time choice regarding their advertising practices using a transparency icon, a feature that is a hallmark of the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) program.

Commissioned by the DAA, the Zogby Analytics poll of 1,015 adults revealed a sophisticated understanding of mobile functionality and content, as well as a desire for tools, similar to those DAA provides in the desktop environment, that offer transparency and choice regarding the collection and use of data in this emerging medium. The poll comes shortly before the public launch of AppChoices, DAA’s new app that will give companies a standardized way of providing consumers enhanced transparency and control over cross-app data. 

“Americans want transparency and choice that is available to them whenever and however they use the Internet, including the mobile environment. DAA provides a platform for companies to provide these privacy features in an enforceable manner which builds trust in this emerging ecosystem,” DAA Executive Director Lou Mastria said. “Sixty-six percent of Americans said that mobile transparency and choice tools should let them pick and choose which companies bring them relevant offers, a functionality that DAA has proven track record of providing on the Web, and looks forward to bringing to the mobile space.”

Later this year, DAA will launch AppChoices, a downloadable tool that allows users to manage their relevant advertising preferences in mobile apps. The tool is built on the same robust principles that support DAA’s groundbreaking Web-based program, and provides functionality similar to that of the DAA Icon experience which is served globally at a rate of a trillion times per month.

Other findings:

  •  71 percent of respondents agreed that tools that provide them transparency and choice regarding relevant ads and data collection should be available wherever and however they access the Internet.

  • 66 percent said that transparency and choice tools should let them pick and choose which companies bring them relevant offers.

  • More than 66 percent of respondents said they wanted access to similar protections and controls for advertising-related data collection (such as opt-out choices) on their smartphones or tablets that are available currently on desktop and laptop computers.

  • Of respondents who downloaded apps, 58 percent preferred free, ad-supported apps to those that required some form of payment (either at download or in-app).

  • Only 8 percent of users said they would download all of their free apps again if they were required to pay for them.  46 percent said they wouldn’t download any of their free apps again if they were forced to pay.

  • By a margin of nearly five-to-one, Americans who expressed an opinion preferred seeing mobile ads that were relevant to their specific interests.

  • More than 65 percent said they would be more comfortable receiving relevant mobile ads if the companies providing them followed some or all of the privacy principles established by the DAA.

Full findings are available here:  https://www.digitaladvertisingalliance.org/sites/aboutads/files/files/DAA_images/ZogbyPollResults_MobileOct14-DAA.pdf

Selected excerpt here: https://www.digitaladvertisingalliance.org/sites/aboutads/files/DAA_files/ZogbyDAAOct14PollResults.jpg

About The DAA Self-Regulatory Program for Online Behavioral Advertising: The DAA Self-Regulatory Program (youradchoices.com) for Online Behavioral Advertising was launched in 2010 by the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) (digitaladvertisingalliance.org), a consortium of the nation's largest media and marketing associations including the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s), the Association of National Advertisers (ANA), the American Advertising Federation (AAF), the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI), with the advice of the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB). These associations and their thousands of members are committed to developing effective self-regulatory solutions to consumer choice for online data.

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Source:  Zogby Interactive Survey of 1,015 US Adults – 10/03/14 – 10/05/14 Margin of Error ±3.1 Percentage Points.

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