More than two thirds of the people in Finland, Sweden and Norway are worried about how companies use the personal data they collect. This is one of the main findings in a new SynoInt survey commissioned by Tieto. Over 90 percent of the respondents say it is important to be informed about how companies use their personal data but only one third believe that the companies do this well enough.

In the survey, over 2000 people in Finland, Sweden and Norway were asked about their attitude towards sharing their personal data with companies. The results showed that people’s attitude towards data sharing was predominantly negative. When comparing the three countries, people in Finland were most worried about how companies use their personal data (76%), followed by 71% in Norway and 60% in Sweden.

Almost all respondents consider it important to be informed about how companies use their personal data but only one third believe that the companies do this well enough.

- The survey shows a very clear gap between consumers' view on the importance of being informed about how companies use their personal data, and how well companies are at sharing this information. Trust is a foundation in any relationship, and it is earned by being transparent and acting in a credible way, says Marie-Louise Forsberg, Head of Retail at Tieto Sweden.

Young people more critical - and more positive

The report shows that people across all ages think it is important that companies inform them about how they use personal data. However, younger people (18-35 years) have a more positive basic attitude towards sharing their personal data with companies than those who are 36 years or older. A clear majority of young people also believe that companies are good at informing them about the use of personal data, while many older people think that companies are bad at this.

- Younger people are in general more knowledgeable about online integrity and more critical about their information sources. They are also more technically savvy than the older population and know more about how to protect their personal information online. This means that they are less skeptical towards the use of their personal data, as long as companies do not misuse their information, says Marie-Louise Forsberg.

The trust differs between industries – platform companies score low

The report also shows that the importance of being informed differs depending on the industry. Respondents in the banking and healthcare sector considered it most important to know how personal data is used. These are also the two industries people in the Nordics consider to be best at informing about how they use the personal data they collect. So-called platform companies (e.g. Airbnb and Uber) were among the industries that received the lowest scores.

- To find banks and healthcare in the top is natural, given the sensitive information they handle. That is probably also why people feel they are well informed about the use of their data in those industries, as they are more interested and worried about how it. is used, says Marie-Louise Forsberg.