Trust remains the largest single obstacle to growth in the mobile content and commerce industry, according to the 2015 MEF Global Consumer Trust Report. The third annual study, supported by AVG Technologies N.V. analyzes data from 15,000 mobile media users in 15 countries across five continents. The Global Consumer Trust Report explores trust, privacy, transparency and security to identify their impact on mobile consumers in areas from purchasing a new device to downloading apps or paying for goods and services.

Some key takeaways include:

• 49% of all consumers surveyed say a lack of trust limits the amount of apps they download, compared to 37% last year.
• 40% of respondents indicated that a lack of trust is the number one factor that prevents them from downloading items more often.
• 72% of mobile consumers are not happy sharing personal data such as location or contact details when using an app.
• 34% say trust prevents them from buying more goods and services using their mobile device.

Alongside this growing mistrust, the study also revealed an increase in resistance to sharing personal information such as location, address book details or health records, with apps.

According to the findings:

• 72% of mobile users said that they are not happy sharing such information and 39% say that they never to do so.
• 30% of respondents said that improving the way apps communicate about the data they collect would foster greater trust in the mobile platforms.
• 63% said that they considered transparency important or extremely important (compared to 49% last year).

Andrew Bud, MEF Global Chair, said that “Trust is the most important asset of any business, and consumer confidence must underpin the mobile ecosystem. The sustainability of the mobile industry depends on it. As mobile devices and services evolve, consumers will hold business ever more accountable … Consumer trust must be earned by consistently applying high levels of transparency, security and privacy to every mobile interaction.”

The full MEF Global Consumer Trust 2015 Report is available only to members only. Non-members can download a copy of the Executive Summary.