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

Nearly Two Thirds of People in the US Are Not Aware of Virtual Reality

A recent study from Parks Associates found that 63% of people in the US are not familiar with and know very little or nothing about virtual reality. With such low levels of awareness amongst people in...

Hulu Is Slowing, Hits 12 Million Subscribers Versus Netflix’s 81 Million

But growing membership is harder to keep up at the same clip for all streaming services, as more and more companies launch their own online platforms. As consumers shift more of their entertainment di...

Top 10 Streaming Services Ranked

Sling TV is on its way up and Sony PS Vue is still outside of the top 10 OTT services. Parks Associates released its 2016 top 10 service providers list showing a stable top 5 with indications that all...

Hulu Is Slowing, Hits 12 Million Subscribers Versus Netflix’s 81 Million

But growing membership is harder to keep up at the same clip for all streaming services, as more and more companies launch their own online platforms. As consumers shift more of their entertainment di...