According to Business Insider Intelligence’s annual “US Digital Trust Survey,” LinkedIn is the most trusted social platform overall. Digital trust is defined as the confidence users have in a social media platform to protect their information and provide a safe environment for them to create and engage with content.
The survey evaluated consumer perceptions of the major social networks within five categories of trust:
- Security,
- Legitimacy,
- Community,
- Ad experience, and
- Ad relevance.
Business Insider ranked nine platforms
according to how respondents perceived them along the five pillars of digital trust. They fielded the online survey of 1,865 US respondents ages 18 to 74 between May 28, 2020 and June 3, 2020, using a sample provided by a third party.
Unsprisingly, Facebook was the least trusted social media platform regarding data privacy. Nearly one-third (32%) of US Facebook users at least somewhat disagreed that they had confidence in the platform to protect their data and privacy.
Just 10% of LinkedIn’s users said the same of the professional network.
A majority (53%) of US Facebook users at least somewhat agreed that the platform protects their data and privacy, but this was the lowest share of respondents among all platforms measured.
TikTok and Twitter were the next-to-worst performers when it came to confidence in their user data and privacy handling. About one in five US TikTok and Twitter users (22% and 21%, respectively) at least somewhat lacked confidence in the platforms to protect their data and privacy.
While majority shares of the two platforms’ respective users felt confident that their data and privacy was being protected, they were still less confident compared with users of other platforms.
Intensifying scrutiny of TikTok from the US government has likely had a negative impact on some users’ confidence in the app. Many US legislators were voicing their concerns about TikTok’s connections to the Chinese government when the survey was conducted. Read the rest at eMarketer.
Social Media Trust Factors
Concern over data security is the most important factor consumers consider when placing their trust in a social media channel, cited by 88% of those surveyed.
Seventy-four percent cite a safe environment in which to participate in the channel as important.
Sixty-eight percent are concerned about the integrity of the content contained in a social media platform.
And while predictably, 41% don’t want to be shown annoying ads, 29% want a social media channel to display relevant advertising.
How Users Shape The Popularity Of Social Channels
eMarketer vice president of content studio at Insider Intelligence Paul Verna speaks with Business Insider Intelligence senior research analyst Audrey Schomer and research associate at Insider Intelligence Daniel Carnahan about how users are helping to shape the popularity of the platforms examined in the US Digital Trust Survey.
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