---
title: "Most Americans think the government could be monitoring their phone calls and emails"
description: "Seven-in-ten U.S. adults say it is it likely that their own phone calls and emails are being monitored by the government."
date: "2017-09-27"
authors:
  - name: "Kenneth Olmstead"
    job_title: "Former "
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/kenneth-olmstead/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2017/09/27/most-americans-think-the-government-could-be-monitoring-their-phone-calls-and-emails/"
categories:
  - "Email"
  - "Emerging Technology"
  - "Federal Government"
  - "Online Privacy & Security"
  - "Political Issues"
  - "Privacy Rights"
  - "Technology Policy Issues"
---

# Most Americans think the government could be monitoring their phone calls and emails

[![](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2017/09/FT_17.09.27_Surveillance_YoungerAmericans.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2017/09/27/most-americans-think-the-government-could-be-monitoring-their-phone-calls-and-emails/ft_17-09-27_surveillance_youngeramericans-png/)

Seven-in-ten U.S. adults say it is at least somewhat likely that their own phone calls and emails are being monitored by the government, including 37% who believe that this type of surveillance is “very likely,” according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in February.

Just 13% of the public say it is “not at all likely” that the government is monitoring their communications.

These views are prevalent across a number of different demographic groups, but there are some differences based on age, gender and education.

Most notably, nearly eight-in-ten U.S. adults under the age of 50 think it is likely that the government is tracking their communications, compared with around six-in-ten of those 50 and older.

Additionally, men are more likely than women to suspect government monitoring, as are those with a high school degree or less compared with people who have a college degree or higher.

Americans across the political spectrum are equally likely to think the government is monitoring their phone calls or emails. Seven-in-ten Republicans (including independents who lean toward the Republican Party) say this, the same share as among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents.

But while many Americans assume that the government is monitoring their personal communications, they have expressed discomfort with this activity in the past.

[![](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2017/09/FT_17.09.27_Surveillance_MostAmericans.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2017/09/27/most-americans-think-the-government-could-be-monitoring-their-phone-calls-and-emails/ft_17-09-27_surveillance_mostamericans-png/)

A [2015 Pew Research Center survey](https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2015/03/16/americans-views-on-government-surveillance-programs/) found that nearly six-in-ten Americans (57%) believe it is unacceptable for the government to monitor the communications of American citizens. But the survey found that around half of Americans say it *is* acceptable for the U.S. government to monitor the communications of citizens of other countries.

Similarly, in a [survey conducted in 2014](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2014/06/26/section-6-foreign-affairs-terrorism-and-privacy/#views-of-privacy-nsa-surveillance), a slight majority of Americans (54%) said they disapproved of the government’s collection of telephone and internet data as a part of anti-terrorism efforts.