Whenever you think cybercrime has peaked, it peaks again.
As recent as one month ago, news broke of a 16 billion credential leak that had the world shaking. Will we see another bigger leak any time soon? At this rate, it’s likely.
And that, my friends, is the reason why the mobile ecosystem is undergoing a radical shift, sparked by the rapidly changing user expectations.
The latest MEF Trust Study has found that users are more active and more connected than ever before, but they’re also more skeptical, more privacy-conscious, and far less forgiving.
From spam and phishing to AI-powered identity theft, users have seen and read about, and many even felt first-hand, what can go wrong.
This has resulted in a new kind of mobile user behaviour, one defined by increased caution and awareness, the need for control, and the demand for transparency. So can they trust you?
They’re actively looking for signs that they can. And few moments matter more than that very first one: authentication.
The Login: Where Trust Begins
Trust begins with the login! In fact, you could even think of every login as a mini interview between your service and the user.
The user experience starts right there and the user is actively engaged in this process.
If it feels frictionless, seamless, secure, respectful of their privacy, you get bonus points and the user is sure to move forward. If it’s the opposite, your process clunky, non-intuitive, or outdated, they may bounce but they will definitely already have a notion of your brand image.
Few interactions are more powerful than the first impression!
71% of users now say they actively avoid sharing personal data online, while 52% say they only use services they trust.
And it doesn’t stop there: 38% of users reject apps and read privacy policies more carefully. They are watching and making decisions quickly based on what they’re seeing.
Why Traditional Authentication Isn’t Cutting It
If users see you’re using passwords and SMS OTPs, your brand reputation may already be suffering, especially in the age of passwordless solutions such as IPification or passkeys.
Extremely vulnerable to common fraud strategies like phishing, SIM swapping, etc, these methods are considered far from secure.
Since the introduction of ChatGPT, phishing has surged by an astonishing 4,151% while SIM swapping attacks have an 80% success rate.
How many passwords do you have to remember? My guess is many, across various accounts, and this is why users tend to take shortcuts.
The next thing you know, they’re not only making their passwords easy to remember but also reusing them across different accounts, making it easy for attackers to gain access to multiple accounts with just one compromised password.
80% of data breaches happen due to poor password management.
On the other hand, SMS OTPs have the inbuilt SS7 vulnerability, present since the inception of the technology. This SS7 protocol means that SMS messages (yes, including the ones carrying your one-time passwords) are susceptible to interception and rerouting.
Moreover, OTPs are highly vulnerable to phishing and SIM swapping attacks, which as we’ve already seen, are at an all-time high and only predicted to further increase.
To top it all off, the user experience of these traditional authentication methods isn’t stellar.
To illustrate, 76% of users say password management is stressful and 60% of users say they often feel slowed down or blocked from accessing online services. And when you know that 70% of users say they prefer an authentication method simply because it’s easier to use, you start to understand that this has a significant impact on your bottom line.
Authentication as a Trust Signal
Authentication shouldn’t be stressful for users, feel like a threat, or cause an eyeroll every time it happens. Instead, it should be the moment when users feel protected and cared for.
Security AND a seamless user experience. In 2025, users expect both and providing this will earn their trust, which is one of the highest currencies you could earn.
Businesses understand this. 93% of US business executives agree that building and maintaining trust improves the bottom line and 57% of companies now see cybersecurity as a way to foster trust with their customers.
Consumers understand this, too. 79% of consumers list protecting their data, and 73% of consumers list a consistent and reliable customer experience as very important in earning their trust.
Is your business on board the trust train? It should be.
We’ve built IPification to be bank-grade secure, seamless, and uphold maximum data privacy.
To verify and authenticate users, IPification generates a unique Mobile ID key made of the user’s SIM card, network, and device data. Users only need to input their phone number and tap once, after which they’re verified in milliseconds.
IPification is also capable of authenticating users in the background based on risk assessments, and it never actually transfers any of the sensitive user data over the network.
In a world where users are growing increasingly skeptical of enterprises, this kind of secure, frictionless and privacy-preserving authentication is reassuring. And that reassurance is what helps businesses build trust to ultimately improve their bottom line.
Far from simply a mobile security solution, authentication is a huge branding opportunity and a trust signal.
We’ve seen that mobile users are ready to trust. You just have to show them the right cues.
