Survey Shows 81% of Indian Users Are Concerned About Using Some Apps Due to Data-Sharing Concerns

The 9th of February is celebrated as Safer Internet Day worldwide. To mark the occasion, well-known online marketplace, OLX Group has published a report titled ‘OLX 2021 Safer Internet Day Study’ which is the third edition of the company’s annual report on internet awareness and privacy.

The report was culminated using a survey of 6,000 users with 73 per cent of them being millennials between the ages of 18 - 37 whereas 23 per cent were non-millennials that were aged above 37. Further, 53 per cent of the survey respondents hailed from metro cities such as Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata) while the remaining 47 per cent were from non-metro cities across the country. 

“Our study shows a remarkable shift in online behaviour among Indian internet users which has resulted from an increased sensitization, and this has prompted the adoption of basic tools to address concerns around privacy and safety,” said Lavanya Chandan, Director, OLX India.

Here’s what the survey says:

It shows that internet usage across homes during the pandemic shot up by 50 per cent while also bringing awareness about cybercrimes and frauds to 61 per cent of the surveyed households.

Given the increased attention on privacy and data shared with third-party apps, around 81 per cent of Indian users stopped using or at least considered not using apps that have questionable privacy or data-sharing policies.

Read - Top 10 Tips To Improve Your Internet Privacy

As for misinformation, 45 per cent of the respondents said that they verify news or other information shared online, which shows that more people are learning about the evils of misinformation. However, this also goes to show that a vast majority of the people are still falling prey to false information online. 

58 per cent of the respondents said that all members of their family use the internet frequently while 15 per cent of them said that the primary users of the internet in their homes were the elderly. 

Internet was most commonly used during the COVID-19 pandemic for a combination of working from home, social media browsing, and online shopping as per 64 per cent of the survey participants.

Around 79 per cent of the users are now said to be more comfortable using the internet as compared to the pre-lockdown period. 

Though cyber frauds have also seen a surge, 82 per cent of internet users said that they were aware of the rising cases of such crimes which have seen a sharp increase during the pandemic. Users have also incorporated safeguards and precautions to steer clear from online frauds.

Here are some other highlights from the survey: 

• 57% of the respondents said that they no longer open messages or emails that look suspicious, including any other communication that may contain misleading links. 
• Around 27% of the users said they use encryption services like VPN (virtual private network) apps to protect their online identities
• While around 52% of the respondents publicly shared their phone numbers and/or addresses online in 2020, around 54% of the citizens surveyed in the first months of 2021 said that they are vigilant against sharing personal information on the internet. 
• Roughly 22% of users in 2020 admitted to sharing bank passwords, UPI pin, debit/credit card details with others online. However, around 57% of users surveyed in 2021 said that they have taken measures to secure their financial information. 
• 60% of the respondents mentioned that internet companies have equipped them with the right cyber safety tools while also generating awareness and education to steer clear from cyber frauds during the lockdown. 

Also read - Maharashtra Under-Performed The Most In Restricting Covid-19 Spread: Economic Survey 2021