Why is your data more expensive than your device

What is the monetary value of the device and its content?

Approximately 41% of the total value of the content on a phone is:

photos of family and friends are worth approximately $3,000
contact lists are valued at approximately $2,700 and
personal apps are $2,100

On average, respondents say their mobile device is worth $14,000.

The security of mobile devices?

59% of the people surveyed worry about their mobile device being hacked or infected by malware.
Over 66% worry more about losing their mobile device than their wallet.
19% have lost their mobile device.

Storing and accessing data on mobile devices

75% of users say they store personal data on their mobile devices.
68 % share passwords across personal and work accounts they access with their mobile device.

Do we take any steps to protect the data we value so highly?

51% do not take any steps to protect their mobile data
57% say security features are not important when purchasing a mobile device.

What to do about this?

Lock your mobile phone so that in case of loss or theft your data doesn’t get accessed. On top of that protect your mobile phone data with encryption.

Be aware what applications you install on your phone and what permissions you grant them.

Nowadays, we can’t imagine a world without our mobile devices and being online, but every one of us is responsible to take control for their own communications devices and choose carefully how to use them.

What we want is for people to be able to make better informed decisions and, more importantly, better equipped to take control of their privacy.