Although a majority of people worldwide are increasingly concerned about online privacy, few choose to take added precautions to safeguard their data, according to a new poll.
The poll was conducted by Canada’s Centre for International Governance Innovation, and surveyed internet users in 24 countries.
A majority of 64 percent said that they were more concerned about their privacy than they were a year ago, and the same percent said they were concerned about government censoring the internet.
62 percent were concerned about government agencies from other countries monitoring their activities, while 61 percent worried about their own government and police agencies watching them.
An even greater percent, 78, worried that their personal banking information could be stolen online.
Only 36 percent would characterize information online as “very secure.”
But all these concerns haven’t translated into much action. Of those who had heard of Edward Snowden, just 39 percent took steps to secure their data.
And compared to a year ago, 43 percent avoid certain websites for security reasons, while 39 percent change their passwords regularly.
Snowden has particularly advised avoiding Dropbox, Google, and Facebook, calling them dangerous services that are all too willing to work with the government.
A Pew poll earlier this month found that 80 percent of Americans think they should be concerned about the government monitoring their communications, and six in ten said they would like to do more to ensure their online privacy.
But many of the services privacy advocates like Snowden recommend over common messaging services are too obscure for most users to bother with.
For those who do want to look into added privacy measures, the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s (EFF) score card has a ranking of how secure various messaging services are, from common services like WhatsApp and Google Hangouts to more niche services like RedPhone—a Snowden favorite.
(h/t The Hill)
