Providing Market Intelligence for 40 Years

In The News

Survey: Consumers Prefer Keeping Wearable Device Data from Insurers

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.

Previously In The News

Tubi TV’s Thomas Ahn-Hicks On AVOD, The Competition, And The Future Of OTT

Tubi TV is having a pretty good 2017 so far: the latest Parks Associates study proclaimed the ad-supported service to be one of the fastest-growing apps in its space. So morale was high when I spoke t...

TTA’s Week: Digital Health Funding, Execs’ Wish List, ActivePreventive Responds…And Theranos

We compare two major analyses of 2016 digital health funding, note a tender opportunity and an award in UK, and two more chapters of the Theranos Story. The ActiveProtective CEO responds to Reader and...

Autonomous Cars Could Bring $20 Billion to Hollywood

The consumer demand for mobile streaming isn’t lacking either. Among U.S. households, more than half want their next car to offer Wi-Fi, according to Jennifer Kent, connected car analyst for Parks Ass...

Here's Why Facebook Might Need To Work Faster To Stop The Flow Of Fake News

As Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg publishes his manifesto outlining the company's ongoing commitment to filter out false news and hoaxes without undermining free speech, the findings from a new study by...