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.
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+ | ||
| Cleared cookies and browser in history | 74% | 76% | 73% | 74% | 75% | 73% | |
| Set your browser to disable or turned off cookies | 50% | 52% | 48% | 50% | 53% | 45% | |
| Stopped using a website you think might be using information about you | 51% | 53% | 50% | 56% | 51% | 46% | |
| Deleted something you posted in the past | 48% | 45% | 51% | 66% | 46% | 29% | |
| Decided not to use a website because they wanted your real name | 46% | 46% | 46% | 52% | 47% | 39% | |
| Used a false name or untraceable username | 36% | 37% | 35% | 51% | 33% | 23% | |
| Use a non-identifiable email address | 31% | 36% | 26% | 40% | 29% | 21% | |
| Used a Virtual Private Network or Tor | 16% | 21% | 11% | 22% | 17% | 5% |
Actions most likely to have been taken to protect privacy were clearing cookies and browser in history (74%), stopped using a website that might be using your information (51%) and setting browser to disable or turning off cookies (50%).