Snapchat was reported as the most trusted social media platform in terms of safeguarding privacy of their users and their personal data.
The details of the survey
These are reports after a survey carried out by BI Intelligence’s 2017 Digital Trust. Users indicate that they have more faith in Snapchat protecting their data compared to Facebook. One out of five people using Snapchat selected the app as most trusted social platform in protecting privacy and user data.
The ratio of users who ranked Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) as the most trustworthy with users information was approximately one in six.
The survey results work for Snapchat as privacy issues even though they are simply perception issues can greatly affect a company.
Privacy concerns by users
Users may shy away from using the app and limit their activities on the platform if they perceive that their data will be mishandled. This puts the social site at the risk of losing ad income. Enhancing the privacy of users is very vital for any social media platform to be able to sustain growth, retention as well as engagement.
When users have the sense of privacy protection they tend to interact more authentically on the site. When users are at ease and are confident that their privacy is not at risk, they are likely to share, send or post genuine contents.
Snapchat provides an environment that encourages users to express themselves freely. This is contrary to Facebook’s environment where users have the perception that they need to be careful and exercise caution when posting on the platform.
Snapchat also has less of the annoying ads on their platform whereas Facebook has several ads perceived as irksome.
When users feel that their privacy and information is well safeguarded, brands have the opportunity of connecting with people on a more authentic and deeper level on the platform. The user base in Snapchat is heavily skewed towards the younger generation. This provides an opportunity to have edgier ads targeted to a more candid audience.
The stock of Snapchat closed at $22.01 after a rise $0.43 or 1.99% on Thursday while Facebook closed at $147.70 after a rise $1.14 or 0.78%.
