Study: Americans Are Concerned About Data Privacy, But Few Take Steps to Protect Themselves

In June 2013, NSA contractor Edward Snowden revealed the large amounts of data the American government is collecting from ordinary citizens, setting off a new age of what has been referred to as "data insecurity." Since then, Americans have become increasingly concerned by the amount of information being collected by companies and agencies who seek to gain from it. And with several high profile data breaches also in the news, Americans are taking a deeper look at how their data is being collected, how it's being used, and whether it's in truly safe hands.

A Pew Research study last month took a look at how Americans' attitudes regarding data and privacy have changed in a post-Snowden world. The findings show that "Americans feel privacy is important in their daily lives in a number of essential ways. Yet, they have a pervasive sense that they are under surveillance when in public and very few feel they have a great deal of control over the data that is collected about them and how it is used." Moreover, and perhaps ironically, many Americans rate privacy with regard to data collection as "very important," yet few have taken significant steps to protect themselves. This may be, perhaps, due to the fact that there aren't yet easy, accessible ways for Americans to protect themselves. The data collection conversation remains quite confusing and secretive.

Here are the key findings:

93% of adults say that being in control of who can get information about them is "important;" 74% feel this is "very important."

90% say controlling what information gets collected is important, while 65 percent say it's "very important."

88% say it is "important" that they not have someone watch or listen to them without their permission (67% feel this is "very important" and 20% say it is "somewhat important").

63% feel it is "important" to be able to "go around in public without always being identified." Only 34% believe being able to go unnoticed in public is "very important" and 29% say it is "somewhat important" to them.

6% of adults say they are "very confident" that government agencies can keep their records private and secure.

9% of adults are "very confident" that credit card companies will be able to protect our 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.

Clearing cookies or browser history (59% have done this).

Refusing to provide information about themselves that wasn't relevant to a transaction (57% have done this).

Using a temporary username or email address (25% have done this).

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.

Taken together, the statistics paint a portrait of a society very concerned with how its data is being used, but perhaps helpless (or clueless) in the face of it. The study highlights data retention limits as a possible salve. The shorter length of time that companies swear to keep data on hands, the more protected the citizens feel.

Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons, Pew Research

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Original source: Study: Americans Are Concerned About Data Privacy, But Few Take Steps to Protect Themselves.
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