1 in 4 Deeply Concerned About Online Privacy

This week Chart of the Day will focus on the topic of user privacy online, beginning today by looking at how internet users feel about sharing their personal data with companies.  

Recent news about data privacy on Facebook and elsewhere on the internet have become a hot topic for internet users and companies alike. GlobalWebIndex data shows that consumers are more concerned about their digital footprint than they have been previously. 25% strongly agree that they are worried about the internet eroding their personal privacy, and this figure has been slowly increasing from 18% back in 2013.

This issue is also evident when we ask about the corporate use of data. Globally, just over 1 in 4 internet users strongly agree with the statement “I worry about how my personal data is being used by companies”. These privacy conscious consumers exist in all the world regions, reaching a significant high of over 1 in 2 in Latin America.

When we take a generational approach, there is a telling trend to note. For companies who rely on and benefit from access to previously withheld data it’s certainly encouraging that the youngest internet users, who represent the online consumers of the future, are less likely to express these privacy concerns than the older counterparts.

While consumers across the generations may differ in attitude, these perceptions only have a true impact when consumers choose to take proactive measures to protect their privacy online, measures that we will explore later this week.