When it comes to offering white-glove customer service and support, agents can leverage co-browsing to quickly get on the same page with customers and usher them through digital experiences (like making an online purchase). But some organizations use other tools like screen sharing or remote desktop instead. Which option is best for your agents and customers in terms of optimizing online experiences while also protecting data privacy?

First things first. What is co-browsing and what is the purpose of co-browsing? It’s a visual engagement tool for remote customer service and support that enables joint navigation capabilities between agent and user. Some co-browsing solutions offer enhanced security and privacy when assisting customers in data-sensitive support and sales transactions.

Do You See What I See?

Both screen sharing and remote desktop have major pitfalls when it comes to security – and thus customer experience (CX). In a remote desktop session, everything on a customer’s computer is accessible to the agent, including data in their files and folders. That “all-inclusive” access can make customers feel uncomfortable about their privacy – and can potentially create legal liability. 

With a screen sharing option, whatever is on the customer’s screen is in full view of the agent, including private customer information (like Social Security numbers and bank info). If those screen sharing security concerns weren’t enough, the screen share option provides no auditing features for admins. When you combine high risk of liability with the lack of an audit trail, you’re walking into a compliance minefield.

Making customers anxious about their data privacy is not nice. You want to stay off their “naughty list,” especially during the holidays, a time we know customers often seek support when purchasing. If they feel nervous about inputting their financial information (like credit card numbers) while agents can access and see that same info, you can lose customers fast.  

The Best Solution? Co-browsing, but with the Right Security Measures

Rescue Live Guide offers your agents all the benefits of seeing what your customer sees, without the headaches around customer data privacy and lack of an audit trail. Compared to remote desktop and screen sharing, you get a better and more secure CX because of joint navigation capabilities (you and the customer each have your own cursor to browse simultaneously), data obfuscation, and more. You can customize and adapt Rescue Live Guide for multiple tiers or layers of privacy, depending on use cases that may require more (or less) privacy.

This is ideal because if a stressed out customer, in the middle of an online holiday shopping spree, reaches out for help with product selection, website navigation, or making a purchase, the last thing you want them to wonder is, "is co-browsing safe and secure?" You can build trust and a sense of calm with that customer by ensuring that their sensitive financial data is inaccessible to your agents and everyone else. When that masking and data privacy protection doesn’t occur, as with screen sharing and remote desktop, you make an already anxious customer even more anxious, potentially turning a happy holiday buyer into a non-buying Scrooge. 

Customers can clearly see what agents can't.

Rescue Live Guide, Built for Protecting Data Privacy

Unlike screen sharing with online meeting tools like Zoom, Rescue Live Guide was purpose-built for remote support and with data privacy/security fully in mind. Here are some data privacy features that will keep your customer service agents on the customer’s “nice list” for the holidays and year-round:

1. Masking sensitive data.

   With Rescue Live Guide, no matter where your customers navigate on your website or any other site, all sensitive customer data can be masked from the agent’s view. Your agents will never see sensitive, personal data like login credentials, bank account information, or social security numbers – and your customers will know it. They can clearly see what areas are blocked from the agent's view. That builds trust and puts customers at ease, especially important during the busy, stressful holiday season.

2. Blocking buttons.

   Rescue Live Guide also allows you to block buttons so agents cannot take action on the customer’s behalf. Action items like “Buy Now” and “Submit” can be deemed “off limits” on every website – a win-win that protects your customers and also earns points with your compliance team.

3. Purging sensitive customer data.

   Behind the scenes, Live Guide connects to an isolated browser in the cloud, never to the end user’s device. Other than reporting data, recording (if enabled), and session information, customer data is purged at the end of each co-browsing session.

4. Best-in-class encryption/security.

   Like all LogMeIn solutions, Rescue Live Guide is built to be highly secure, featuring TLS 1.2 transport security with AES-256-bit encryption. That’s our baseline for all our technology.

Want to improve your customer experience and security with the most flexible and secure co-browsing solution available? See Live Guide in action by scheduling a personalized demo today.