Majority of Americans shun services that have privacy concerns

More than half of American citizens say they would not to use a product or a service that might disclose their personal information.

In fact, most Americans now believe that their personal information is not secure online. While most U.S. citizens are aware that the Government and private companies may have access to more information than they would like, they’re also now more concerned than ever before about how this data is being used.

The Pew Research survey revealed that anyone who had recently experienced a privacy related incident, like an email or a social media account takeover attempt, unauthorized line of credit or a loan applied in their name or fraudulent charges being billed on their debit or credit cards, were also now more decisive against choosing a product with privacy issues.

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Almost 55 percent of respondents with a college or graduate education said they would be more likely to reject such products or services. However only 48 percent of people with an annual income of less than $30,000 were concerned about their private data.

The products that the respondents decided not to use include:

• Website: 21 percent
• Electronics: 11 percent
• Social media: 10 percent
• DNA, financial and healthcare services: 10 percent
• Contests such as sweepstakes, quizzes and surveys: 3 percent
• Games: 1 percent
• Free trials, downloads, samples: 1 percent

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Via: Pewresearch