App users believe that the applications environment is...

App users believe that the applications environment is safer than browser-based Internet access, and pay little if any attention to requests for permission to, for example, use location data when downloading and using apps, a study for the U.K. Office of Communications found. The Kantar Media report done for Ofcom (http://xrl.us/bqozts) examined users’ attitudes and behaviors, the stated and observed impact of apps on their lives, and any concerns raised. It focused on people using smartphones, tablets, MP3 players and smart TVs, covering the Android, Apple iOS, Windows and BlackBerry smart device operating systems. The study found that users believe that official app stores monitor and vet the apps they make available, revealing an “almost universal trust” that well-known brands provide a safe, secure user experience. Apps were also deemed safer than browsers because they're more limited and contained, the report said. There was widespread lack of personal negative experience or awareness of significant problems with apps, it said. These perceptions led many app users to ignore permission requests from providers, it said. Very few participants raised spontaneous concerns about apps, but when prompted, parents said in-app purchasing and advertising were the biggest issue. Influenced, however, by the common perceptions about the apps environment, more parents were likely to allow children to use apps than to access browser content, it said. Parents universally agreed that parental control features were appealing, especially being able to restrict and limit the content of apps and narrow full access to app marketplaces, it said. The research was carried out via discussion groups, in-home family interviews and interviews with paired teenage friends.