UK Consumer Expectations of Mobile App Security, a two-year survey from Appdome which posed questions to just over 26,000 global consumers, has uncovered that over a quarter (26%) of British consumers believe mobile app security is more important than new features in Android and iOS apps, while more than half (59%) of British respondents ranked mobile app security equal to new features.

When it comes to the question of what protections British consumers expect to be built into a brand’s mobile app or apps, 42.8% of respondents said they expected the “best protections,” meaning that their data is fully protected, and that they’ll also be protected from viruses and fraud while using the app.

Interestingly, 47.3% of global respondents said they too expect the most robust protections possible, with the statistical difference potentially reflecting that the British public has less faith in mobile app developers to implement the appropriate security protections demanded.

The deep dive also highlighted the major mobile app security concerns that British consumers have, providing interesting data on how these worries have evolved in the last 12 months.

In particular, malware has become an increasingly growing threat in the minds of British respondents, with 29.3% saying so, while the figure was just 15.5% in the previous year. Similarly, British consumers are wary of mobile developers who don’t care about user security, with 26.4% identifying this threat as a concern, compared to only 9.3% in 2021. Meanwhile, 17.2% of British respondents said downloading a fake trojan app was worrying, with just 6.1% saying the same in 2021.

Further, the research highlighted that British consumers will actively champion and advocate for brands who take the data and security of its users seriously, with around 93% saying they’d reward and promote such brands/apps.

However, 71% of Android and 66% of iOS users stated they would abandon the brand/app — and tell others to follow suit — if a mobile app they use was breached or hacked.

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“There are thousands of apps competing for British consumers’ attention and brands need to work much harder to gain the top spot as Britain’s most used and trusted apps,” said Tom Tovar, CEO and co-creator of Appdome.

“Mobile app security is a key part of the mobile user experience and this survey arms mobile brands with the information needed to choose the right protections for mobile apps and users.”

Chris Roeckl, Chief Product Officer at Appdome, also commented on the report’s findings, saying: “Protecting mobile apps has gone far beyond a compliance objective.

“British consumers have a high degree of cyber, fraud and malware sophistication and bring with them high expectations to their mobile app experience that mobile brands must meet to be successful.”