A selection of privacy-related statistics from around the world, arranged in reverse chronological order. Updated as regularly as possible. As with elsewhere on the site, if there are some statistics you think should be here, get in touch on Twitter (@PrivacyKit) or drop an email to hello[at]myprivacykit.com.
Information Commissioner’s Office – Trust And Confidence In Data
Feldwork for this survey was carried out in July 2017 and it was published in November 2017. The ICO’s press release with highlights is available here, and the full study is available on the Comres website.
Only a fifth of the UK public report (20%) having trust and confidence in companies and organisation storing their personal information.
One in ten UK adults (12%) say they have trust and confidence in social messaging platforms storing and using their personal information.
Less than one in ten (8%) of UK adults say they have a good understanding of how their personal data is made available to third parties and the public by companies and organisations in the UK.
Overall, the UK public are more likely to trust public bodies than private companies or organisations regarding holding or sharing their personal information, but younger UK adults report broadly being more positive towards both of these than older generations.
Australian Community Attitudes To Privacy Survey 2017
Fieldwork for this survey was carried out in March and April 2017 and it was published in July 2017. The whole survey is available here. A short video summary is available here.
A new question this year revealed that more than eight in ten (83%) believe the privacy risks are greater when dealing with an organisation online compared with other means.
In 2017, one in six (16%) would avoid dealing with a government agency because of privacy concerns, while six in ten (58%) would avoid dealing with a private company, a 42 point gap.
Further, one-third (34%) of the community is comfortable with the government sharing their personal information with other government agencies. However, only one in ten (10%) is comfortable with businesses sharing their information with other organisations.
Comfort with online tracking and online data storage remains low, with only one in five (21%) feeling comfortable with targeted advertising based on their online activities, and one in six (17%) feeling comfortable with social networking companies keeping databases of information on their online actions.
‘Data Age 2025: The Evolution of Data to Life-Critical’
IDC white paper, sponsored by Seagate. Published April 2017. The paper is available here (PDF).
IDC forecasts that by 2025 the global datasphere will grow to 163 zettabytes (that is a trillion gigabytes). That’s ten times the 16.1ZB of data generated in 2016.
By 2025, embedded data will constitute nearly 20% of all data created — three quarters the size of productivity data and closing fast. Productivity data comes from a set of traditional computing platforms such as PCs, servers, phones, and tablets.
Embedded data, on the other hand, comes from a broad variety of device types,including:
• Security cameras
• Smart meters
• Chip cards
• RFID readers
• Fueling stations
• Building automation
• Smart infrastructure
• Machine tools
• Automobiles, boats, planes, busses, and trains
• Vending machines
• Digital signage
• Casinos
• Wearables
• Medical implants
• Toys
Digital Health Consumer Adoption: 2016, Rock Health
A summary of the findings of this survey is available here.
Health history data sharing: Percent willing to share by stakeholder.
Physical activity data sharing: Percent willing to share by stakeholder.
Eurobarometer 2015 Data Protection Survey
Fieldwork for this study was carried out in March 2015 and it was published in July 2015. The whole survey is available here. A summary of the survey is available here (PDF, 31 pages)
Europe-wide responses
More than eight out of ten respondents feel that they do not have complete control over their personal data.
Respondents were asked if their explicit approval should be required before any kind of personal information is collected and processed, with multiple answers permitted. Nearly seven out of ten people (69%) say that their explicit approval should be required in all cases.
Two thirds of respondents are concerned about not having complete control over the information they provide online
Irish responses
Select questions from Irish fieldwork. The full factsheet for Ireland is here (PDF, 2 pages).
Authorities and private companies holding information about you may sometimes use it for a different purpose than the one it was collected for, without informing you (e.g. for direct marketing, targeted online advertising, profiling). How concerned are you about this use of your information?
Providing personal information is not a big issue for you.
Different authorities (government departments, local authorities, agencies) and private companies collect and store personal information about you. To what extent do you trust the following authorities and private companies to protect your information?
Health and medical institutions
National public authorities
Banks and financial institutions
European institutions
Shops and stores
Landline or mobile phone companies and ISPs
Online businesses (search engines, social networks, email providers)
‘Public attitudes to the use and sharing of their data’
Research for the Royal Statistical Society (UK) by Ipsos MORI, July 2014. The full study is available here (PDF, 46 pages).
nearly all institutions suffer a ‘trust in data deficit’, whereby trust in them to use data appropriately is lower than trust in that institution generally.
‘In particular, there may be big benefits to be had from data sharing within government, but to get a public mandate policymakers must be clear about the benefits and show how they will safeguard individual privacy.’
Thinking about a company you are a customer of (for example your bank or main supermarket), what actions by them, if any, do you think would make you most likely to stop using them?
(Top 3 prompted responses)
Providing a poor service
72%
Failing to keep safe or losing your personal data
72%
Selling anonymous data about their customers to other companies
63%
