Essential Report

Privacy on the internet

Aug 25, 2015

Q. Have you ever taken any of the following actions to protect your privacy on the internet?

	Total	Men	Women	Aged 18-34	Aged 35-54	Aged 55+	April 2015
Cleared cookies and browser in history	77%	80%	75%	77%	80%	74%	74%
Stopped using a website you think might be using information about you	54%	54%	54%	50%	58%	52%	51%
Set your browser to disable or turned off cookies	51%	53%	49%	50%	57%	45%	50%
Deleted something you posted in the past	48%	42%	53%	57%	50%	33%	48%
Decided not to use a website because they wanted your real name	43%	45%	41%	45%	46%	37%	46%
Used a false name or untraceable username	33%	33%	33%	40%	38%	18%	36%
Use a non-identifiable email address	27%	26%	28%	32%	31%	15%	31%
Used a Virtual Private Network or Tor	16%	22%	10%	21%	19%	5%	16%

Actions most likely to have been taken to protect privacy were clearing cookies and browser in history (77%), stopped using a website that might be using your information (54%) and setting browser to disable or turning off cookies (51%).

There has been little change since this question was last asked in April.

The main demographic differences were that women (53%) and those aged 18-34 (57%) were more likely to have deleted something they posted in the past. Men (22%) were more likely to have used a Virtual Private Network or Tor.

Privacy on the internet

COVID-19 RESEARCH

Essential Report

In this week's report:

Sign up for updates

Essential Tags

Recent Comments