Pew Research Shows:
American attitudes and actions by the numbers.
- 93% of adults say that being in control of who can get information about them is important.
- 90% say that controlling what information is collected about them is important.
- Just 6% of adults say they are “very confident” that government agencies can keep their records private and secure.
- Only 6% of respondents say they are “very confident” that landline telephone companies will be able to protect their data.
- 76% of adults say they are “not too confident” or “not at all confident” that records of their activity maintained by the online advertisers who place ads on the websites they visit will remain private and secure.
- 69% of adults say they are not confident that records of their activity maintained by the social media sites they use will remain private and secure.
- 66% of adults say they are not confident that records of their activity maintained by search engine providers will remain private and secure.
Yet,
- 91% had not made any changes to their internet or cellphone use to avoid having their activities tracked or noticed.
- 10% of adults say they have encrypted their phone calls, text messages or email.
- 9% say they have used a service that allows them to browse the Web anonymously, such as a proxy server, Tor software, or a virtual personal network.
I guess the good news is that ad blocking usage is on the rise in part due to privacy concerns, DuckDuckGo search engine userbase is on the rise, and we are seeing an increase of apps that cater to privacy and security, such as messaging app Wickr (used by Australia’s Communications Minister, Malcolm Turnbull and many journalists).
Also, please see my recent blog on privacy tools I’ve used and can recommend.
My mantra is, support the products that respect privacy, security and good UX. Those that don’t can keep their heads burried in the sand as the world passes them by.
