Consumers Distrust AOL: Gartner Survey

AOL Time Warner is the least trusted company on the Internet, according to a consumer survey by Gartner, Inc.

Of the online consumers surveyed, 37% had a high level of distrust for AOL, compared with 29% for Microsoft, Gartner reported.

Meanwhile, only 15% reported a high level of trust in AOL, and 17% in Microsoft.

Microsoft also topped AOL on consumer satisfaction for its ISP and e-mail services.

“The added trust that consumers have in Microsoft gives the company an important leg up in its battle with AOL for online services,” said Avivah Litan, vice president and research director for Gartner, in a statement. “AOL has always viewed itself as the “consumer’s advocate’ but this survey clearly dispels that myth.'”

The survey also showed that Microsoft may be able to make at least some inroads on AOL’s instant messaging customer base. Nearly one-third of all non-Microsoft instant message users said they were not sure if they would switch to it when the services started popping up on their screen.

Four percent said they would switch to the Microsoft service, and less than two-thirds said they would stick to their current service. In a separate survey, Gartner found that consumers are largely disinterested in Microsoft Passport. The service allows users to sign on across Web sides with only one ID and password.

More than 70% of non-users said they are highly unlikely to sign up for Passport within six months.

“The sobering reality is that the overwhelming majority of consumers are not interested in Passport,” said Litan. “Consumers are primarily concerned with their privacy and security, and they are not willing to sacrifice privacy in exchange for advanced Web interaction services, such as those offered by Passport.”