Preserving Privacy is Paramount - The importance of privacy to the international student community

This generation of students are probably the most digitally connected group ever. They have grown up their entire lives with 24*7 online access and the number and variety of digital communication methods are growing rapidly. Many believe that students who have grown up using digital technologies have little concern for the privacy of their data. However, research proves otherwise.

Back in 2018 a Pew survey conducted found that 64% of Facebook users aged between 18-29 had changed their security settings on the app in the past 12 months due to privacy concerns, with 44% going as far as deleting the app from their phones altogether. These figures were higher than any other age group.

Gen Z also exhibit the lowest levels of trust of any cohort when it comes to companies protecting their data. Just 39% according to Fluent, 2021. On the other hand, in 2019 Educause found that 70% of students felt confident in their institutions ability to safeguard their personal data.

"I personally trust schools and universities more than these companies that are for-profit and I trust that they're going to use this information in a way that I feel more comfortable with"

Anonymous student interviewed for an article published in the Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology April 2020.

Is privacy up for sale? – What would you do for a discount?

It is a common misconception that students will divulge anything in order to get a discount. While this may have been true of students in the past, multiple research studies show that the attitudes of Gen Z are very different when it comes to privacy.

They see the rise in personalisation of marketing with companies using data collected from browsing histories and previous purchases being reused in ways they don’t approve of and are rightly wary of providing these companies with too much information.

So how can you provide these students with access to special offers and tailored services while ensuring that data is handled correctly and sensitively.

InAcademia – privacy-preserving verification

InAcademia provides a real-time, privacy-preserving verification mechanism for service providers to be able to accurately and cost-effectively ensure students are affiliated to a participating university without the need to share personally identifiable information.  InAcademia can instil trust in your student demographic by preserving their privacy and providing an identification solution backed by their own home institutions.

Throughout the process no personal information is shared, increasing trust and helping manage data security and privacy for students and companies.

To find out how InAcademia can support your business contact us.