A study of 1,987 UK adults by Mediasyndicator and YouGov has found that Brits generally like personalised advertising driven by search tendencies, despite Microsoft's concerns over privacy infringements.

According to the data, 87% of UK consumers find online tracking services useful and that one in three users would stop using internet browsers like IE10 that automatically turn off third-party commerce trackers. Only 13% said they prefer their data to remain entirely private.



Spyro Korsanos, CEO of researcher Mediasyndicator said: “With high-profile incidents of data mismanagement reaching the headlines daily, legitimate concerns exist around how consumers’ personal information is used and stored, and by whom. While Microsoft’s introduction of Do Not Track is being implemented as a step to allay these fears, it is evident that this initiative risks doing more to hinder consumers’ online experiences, than help them.

“Despite almost half of UK consumers opting out of cookies, our results show that these are actions borne more out of lack of knowledge and confusion about the purpose of tracking technology – which has actually been designed to improve and personalise the services offered to them on the web. Consumer data must be administered with care and their privacy respected, but eliminating tracking tools altogether will do little to improve the experience brands can offer consumers which is best achieved through the use of personalised advertising messaging.”