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Data stored on a phone more precious than the phone itself
The continual evolution of mobile phones, their features and their functionality has led to evolving user habits, resulting in a massive increase in the amount and diversity of data types stored on a device. As part of our focus into the Mobile Life, Lifestyle Services Group investigate the changing consumer value perceptions between device and content.
Less than a decade ago our lives were so less digital. We had to put appointments in a diary, took photos with APS cameras and bought music on CDs from high street shops. Nokia dominated the world with its second generation (2G) mobile phones, which came with a small grey and black screen and the massively popular pre-loaded Snake game. One-third of mobile phone owners kept their phone purely for emergencies and biotechnologists were busy working on the possibility of keeping your SIM card safe, by inserting it into your forearm.[1]
Fast forward a few years and third generation (3G) mobile phones offering high-speed data networks and mobile broadband are taking the world by storm. By 2011, Smartphone devices that come with all the capabilities that you’d expect from a phone but also offer advanced connectivity and computing ability, account for 68 per cent of all phones sold in the UK.[2]
With the iPhone being one of the main drivers behind the rapid growth in Smartphone popularity, Lifestyle Services Group conducted a Mobile Life survey amongst iPhone users to understand their behaviours and attitudes towards their handset. One of the key findings that stood out was how respondents placed more value on content held on the device than they did on the device itself.
Excluding the value of apps and music (on the basis that this would be recoverable anyway) respondents stated that on average they valued other content on their handset (such as contacts, photos and videos) at an average of £760, nearly twice as much as they valued their handset, which was an average of £400.
The research also highlighted that while the content stored on a Smartphone was considered to have no value to anyone else other than the owner themselves, their valuation was based on three main considerations:
- An emotional value, stemming from content such as pictures, videos, text messages and files stored on the phone that would never be recoverable
- An inconvenience value, relating to the effort and time it would take to replace data such as contacts and calendar entries
- A privacy value, stemming from the risk of someone stealing your personal data and using it for identity theft purposes
Surprisingly though, even with Smartphone users placing this much value on their personal content, few people actually back-up their data on a regular basis.
Content Back-up specialist at Lifestyle Services Group, David Jones explains “There are many options that Smartphone users can choose from to back up their data, but they range in quality, compatibility, types of content that can be backed up and in a number of cases are restricted to which mobile network you use. We estimate that less than 10% of Smartphone users actually back up all their content on a regular basis – therefore risk losing those emotionally valued photos and videos, and subjecting themselves to the laborious task of replacing long lists of contacts.”
It is clear that for most, Smartphones are an essential high dependency multi-functional device. Losing your Smartphone can mean not just losing a device, which has a cost to replace, but can also mean the loss of emotionally charged content, and loss of time spent attempting to recover it. With the average Smartphone owner storing more than 2.2GB of data on their Smartphone, the need to back up data is becoming more and more relevant.
Approx 3 million Smartphones are lost, stolen or damaged every year, resulting in the owner losing their personal content. Across the UK there is over 6 million gigabytes of personal content lost every year as a result of Smartphone users not having it backed up.
With so much value attributed to personal data, and a 1 in 6 chance of losing it, it is surprising that more users are not backing up their data. David Jones adds: “Having reviewed many of the solutions available it is clear that many do not offer a simple set-up process, and the non-tech savvy can easily see this as a barrier. Simplicity is important, and the easier the set up process the better. Thought should also be given to the flexibility of the solution as there is no point using a manufacturer specific solution if the data can only be transferred to other handsets offered by that manufacturer.”
As part of Lifestyle Services Group’s approach to supporting the Mobile Life, we have produced a Content Back-up solution that is compatible across all Smartphones and other portable devices such as tablets and laptops. The solution also includes other security features such as Lock, Wipe, and Locate.
Click here to read more about the solutions offered for Data-Back-up or Lock Wipe and Locate, alternatively contact us for more details.