Facebook the villain in TechRadar trust poll

Facebook - do we trust them? Hmmm
Facebook - do we trust them? Hmmm

A poll by TechRadar has shown that Facebook is far less trusted than the likes of Microsoft and Google – earning a massive 50 per cent of the vote.

More than a 1,000 readers responded on who they trusted least out of Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft – four companies that have found themselves under the spotlight for the way in which they handle our personal information.

Interestingly, Microsoft's recent efforts to maintain your privacy appears to have boosted the company in consumer's eyes – picking up 14 per cent of the vote to be the most trusted of the quartet.

Google and Apple level pegging

Google has had high profile failings with the likes of the Street View WiFi data collection and the Buzz launch, and yet it polled 17 per cent.

That was exactly the same total as Apple, whose iPhone and iPad have boosted the number of people who trust the US company to see their details.

Which left a whopping half of those who voted suggesting that it was Facebook that they trusted least with their personal data.

Facebook, of course, needs our data to exist, with the drip feed of friend information helping put it neck and neck with Google as one of the most popular sites on the internet.

But the litany of failures from Mark Zuckerberg's site has not convinced any of us that Facebook deserves to be the company with our personal info – although that doesn't appear to have stopped us handing it over en masse.

Question: Who do you trust least with your data? Votes cast: 1,187

1. Facebook 50%
2. Apple 17%
2. Google 17%
4. Microsoft 14%

Patrick Goss

Patrick Goss is the ex-Editor in Chief of TechRadar. Patrick was a passionate and experienced journalist, and he has been lucky enough to work on some of the finest online properties on the planet, building audiences everywhere and establishing himself at the forefront of digital content.  After a long stint as the boss at TechRadar, Patrick has now moved on to a role with Apple, where he is the Managing Editor for the App Store in the UK.