Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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2. How Americans protect their online data
About half of Americans say they know what to do if they are the victim of an online hack, but 43% aren’t as confident
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- 2. How Americans protect their online data
- Younger adults are more likely to agree to online privacy policies without ever reading them
- Americans largely see privacy policies as ineffective for communicating how companies use people’s data
- Roughly two-thirds of U.S. adults say privacy policies are just something they have to get past to use a product; this varies by education
- Majorities have turned off cookies, but some digital habits vary by age
- Roughly 4 in 10 smartphone users say they set their phone and apps to automatically update
- 16% of smartphone owners don’t use a security feature to unlock their device; older adults especially likely not to
- Americans are nearly split on what they prioritize in a password: A secure one, or a memorable one
- About 7 in 10 Americans feel overwhelmed by the number of passwords they have to keep track of
- A majority of Americans 65 and older frequently write their passwords down
- Growing shares of Americans use a password manager
- Black adults are more likely than other racial and ethnic groups to say they have dealt with an online hack in the last 12 months
- About half of Americans say they know what to do if they are the victim of an online hack, but 43% aren’t as confident