According to the Consumer Identity Trends report by US-listed identity management company Okta, one in five Indians still reuses the same password across all personal accounts.
The report also highlights that digital engagement is at an all-time high, with over 30% of the respondents logging into ten or more personal online accounts monthly.
Passwords hold sway but there is growing acceptance of modern authentication methods. About 55% of the Indian consumers surveyed use fingerprint recognition, and 35% use facial IDs for logins.
“The shift to biometrics, both in India and across the globe, is evolving with a level of confidence,” noted Ben Goodman, senior vice president & general manager, APAC and Japan, at Okta. “To get security right for identity, you have to have just enough friction to instill confidence, but not too much friction to dissuade someone from using a service.
Goodman also told ET that markets with strong device uniformity (like those with widespread Apple adoption) see high usage of Face ID. India’s diverse smartphone landscape, on the other hand, means “you probably don’t have unilateral adoption of that being the primary method compared to other markets”.
Over half the population (54%) find it convenient to use government IDs such as Aadhar for verification purposes, closely followed by SMS/voice calls at 44%.
Digital risks
The report states that almost 81% of respondents expressed concern about identity fraud, considerably more than the global average of 63%.
This is at odds with the fact that consumers show remarkable trust in companies to protect their personal data, with 67% expressing confidence, well above the 50% global average.
Goodman pointed out that this is because at the governmental and policy level, India has been much more assertive compared to other markets globally, in keeping Indian nationals’ data in India.
This extends to a 50% likelihood of sharing personal data online. Trust levels are significantly higher than global averages across key sectors: 79% trust banks, 73% trust tech companies, 70% trust government agencies, and 69% trust online retailers.
