As is the case with smart health equipment and
smart car emergency services, IoT devices can provide
a vast amount of data on IoT users’ location
and movements, health conditions, and purchasing
preferences–—all of which can spark significant privacy
concerns. Protecting privacy is often counterproductive
to service providers in this scenario, as
data generated by the IoT is key to improving
the quality of people’s lives and decreasing service
providers’ costs by streamlining operations. The IoTis
likely to improve the quality of people’s lives.
According to the 2014 TRUSTe Internet of Things
Privacy Index, only 22% of Internet users agreed that
the benefits ofsmart devices outweighed any privacy
concerns (TRUSTe, 2014). While the IoT continues
to gain momentum through smart home systems
and wearable devices, confidence in and acceptance
of the IoT will depend on the protection of users’
privacy