Gamers Feel Unsafe About Their Personal Data; Lack Confidence in Developers' Security Measures

Some 86 percent of gamers expressed concern over personal data on the Internet, but data security was one of the lowest priorities when purchasing games for nearly half of all respondents, according to a survey by PlayFab.

Nearly 60 percent cited cost and game play experience as the first or second most important factors when selecting a game, and nearly half ranked security as one of the least important factors, study shows.

The findings revealed that 83 percent of respondents believe game developers should be responsible for securing players’ personal data, but fewer than 40 percent said they feel confident in current safeguards.

Most respondents indicated they take some effort to secure personal data, with 46 percent saying they provide the bare minimum of personal data required and 20 percent indicating they will sometimes give false information when buying games.

When asked about the security of their game accounts and experiences, more than 80 percent ranked either personally identifiable or finance-related information as the most important data to protect, while nearly 40 percent rated system speed and performance as the least important, and in-game data and achievements were rated least important by more than 20 percent, authors of the study found.

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Most respondents had minimal experience with compromised data – only 30 percent were aware of data breaches that had affected the gaming industry, and 85 percent had not experienced a game-related security breach. Some 71 percent indicated they had never stopped playing a game due to security vulnerability concerns, further highlighting a lack of alertness to potential risks.

Most participants either view desktop/laptop as safer than other platforms, or believe all platforms to be roughly equal in terms of security, which shows a disconnect from the reality of the landscape.

The survey included 500 participants who play video games more than four hours per week.