DSIT report evaluates browser-based cookie setting options

The Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT) has published a detailed report presenting the findings of a study examining the impact of website cookie settings on user privacy decisions and behaviour. 

The study, which involved 5,019 UK adults and was designed by the Behavioural Insights Team, investigated various design features and default settings for cookie management. The report offers insights into user behaviour and provides recommendations for enhancing cookie settings to better align with users' privacy preferences.

Key findings from the report include:

• 53% of participants who opted to accept cookies were "somewhat or very comfortable" with data sharing.
• 39% of participants chose to decline cookies (when the default setting was to decline).
• 42% of participants expressed an interest in customising their cookie settings because they want to trade off data sharing and privacy.
• 47% of respondents are either "not very or not at all" comfortable with sharing their personal data with websites and organisations. 
• 58% of respondents who decline cookies actively don't want to share their data, 45% don't want to be tracked, and 39% said they don't want to see personalised adverts or content.
• The design layout of cookie settings significantly influenced users' decisions.

Some of the study's most interesting statistics, however, are not contained in the official report but are tucked away in the Attitudes and Awareness Survey raw data (credit Connor Jones).

In response to questions about what actions people have taken to increase control of personal data in the last 12 months (Table 10):

• 32% of respondents will read the terms and conditions of a product or service relating to personal data 
• 19.8% said that they have stopped using a product or service 
• 10.8% said that they switched to an alternative product or service that provides greater control of personal data.

Meanwhile, the percentage of UK adults who had not taken action to increase control of personal data in 2024 (Table 11):

• 32.1% were not sure how to take action.
• 14.6% didn't believe that it would make any difference.
• 23.3% said it had not occurred to them.

Overall, the report noted that while many users express a desire to protect their data, they often either ignore cookie banners or accept them for convenience, a phenomenon referred to as the 'privacy paradox.'

In terms of recommendations, the report suggested that interactive and detailed browser-based cookie settings could help align user choices more closely with their privacy preferences. In addition, well-designed cookie settings could reduce the tendency for users to automatically accept cookies and instead promote more thoughtful decision-making. The report proposed that future cookie setting designs should provide clear information about the types of data collected and the implications of accepting or rejecting certain cookies to help users better understand the real-world consequences of their choices.