Pew Survey Reveals Privacy Paranoia Among Mobile App Users
In this day and age of constant connectivity, privacy sometimes takes backseat. That doesn't mean mobile users are necessarily willing to share personal information willy-nilly. On the contrary, a new survey reveals that privacy is still a popular theme, and it's the reason a good number of apps never get installed in the first place.
Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project pinged 2,254 adult (age 18 and older) mobile phone users and asked them about their app habits. What they found was that 88 percent of adults now own cell phones, and of those, 43 percent actively download apps. Here's where things get interesting.
Among those who download apps, over half -- 54 percent -- have opted not to install a piece of mobile software after discovering how much personal information it wants to gather. If you're a heavy app downloader, you know that some apps are particularly curious, often times about topics that seemingly have nothing to do with the app itself.
Almost a third, or 30 percent, of app users said they've uninstalled an application after learning that it was collecting personal information that they didn't want to share.
"Take together, 57 percent of all app users have either uninstalled an app over concerns about having to share their personal information, or declined to install an app in the first place for similar reasons," Pew says.
Smartphone affiliation doesn't seem to play a role, either. According to Pew, both Android and iPhone device owners are equally likely to snuff out or avoid entirely overly curious cell phone apps.
Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project pinged 2,254 adult (age 18 and older) mobile phone users and asked them about their app habits. What they found was that 88 percent of adults now own cell phones, and of those, 43 percent actively download apps. Here's where things get interesting.
Among those who download apps, over half -- 54 percent -- have opted not to install a piece of mobile software after discovering how much personal information it wants to gather. If you're a heavy app downloader, you know that some apps are particularly curious, often times about topics that seemingly have nothing to do with the app itself.
Almost a third, or 30 percent, of app users said they've uninstalled an application after learning that it was collecting personal information that they didn't want to share.
"Take together, 57 percent of all app users have either uninstalled an app over concerns about having to share their personal information, or declined to install an app in the first place for similar reasons," Pew says.
Smartphone affiliation doesn't seem to play a role, either. According to Pew, both Android and iPhone device owners are equally likely to snuff out or avoid entirely overly curious cell phone apps.
