New Delhi, Aug 23 : In the wake of increasing hacking and privacy breaches more than one third of people (33 percent) would remove their personal profiles off the Internet should they be able to be able to, according to a study released on Tuesday.According to estimates, 63 percent of the population of the world is online today.
According to a survey conducted by the virtual private network (VPN) service provider NordVPN 45 percent of respondents said there isn’t any reason to have their name online, while 42 percent said that they feel manipulated by companies who collect their information and make use of it for their own benefit.
While 34 percent of those surveyed stated that they believe that someone will at some point hack their devices however, 31 per cent do not believe in the Internet.
Based on the responses to the poll of 10,800 people half (50 percent) said they would like their personal financial data to be removed off the web.
Other information that people would like removed from the internet include sexy images/videos, embarrassing moments and profiles from old social media or dating sites and even previous employment histories.
“While you are able to remove yourself from the internet may seem like an ideal solution for those who are concerned with the possibility of having their personal information disclosed to the wrong parties It is important to consider whether getting your slate clean is even feasible in our world of digital savvy,” said Daniel Markuson who is a specialist in digital privacy at NordVPN.
“Our survey also revealed that some people would prefer to in favor of an approach that is more practical since 38 percent would be in favor of paying for the privilege of using the internet completely anonymously,” he added.
For those who wish to remain completely anonymous on the internet and would like to pay, 27 percent of people would be willing to pay up to $100, 7 percent would pay between $101 and $500, and 3 percent would fork between $501 and $1,000 to remain anonymous.
Two percent of respondents stated that they would pay more, as the report noted.
As much as 71% of people are scared of having their financial information obtained by hackers (or malicious third-party) 43 per cent of respondents said they would be worried about texts and emails 35 per cent mentioned “medical details,” 33 per cent said “social media accounts” and 24 per cent mentioned “sex life”.
na/svn/
