Everyone’s worried about online privacy, but few know how to guard it — survey

It’s 2025, and we’re living just as much online as we are offline. Screen time keeps creeping up, and now the average person spends a whopping 6 hours and 38 minutes a day online. That’s almost half our waking hours scrolling, streaming, swiping, and searching.

But as we dive deeper into this always-connected world, we’re facing a tough reality: all that instant access to info, entertainment, and endless content comes with a trade-off. That trade-off is our privacy. And while the fact that we’re paying for the convenience with our personal data might not have been common knowledge just a few years ago, it seems that blinders are finally off for many now.

According to a recent survey commissioned by US News, 74% — that’s nearly 3 out of 4 adults in the US — say they’re more worried about their online privacy now than they were five years ago. Of those, 41% said they’re much more concerned.

People ready to step up to protect their privacy

So, what is their biggest concern? According to the survey, an overwhelming majority — that is 91% of respondents — are worried about the digital footprint they leave as a result of their online activity. 33% of those said that they were “very concerned” about it.

A digital footprint, sometimes called a digital shadow, is defined as “one’s unique set of traceable digital activities, actions, contributions, and communications manifested on the Internet or digital devices” (Wikipedia). Or, simply put, it’s the trail of data you leave behind — both directly (like posting on social media) and indirectly — just by using the Internet.

The visible part of your digital footprint (the stuff you choose to share on social platforms or shopping sites) is easy to control by just not posting it. But the real concern lies in the clandestine part. The hidden side of your digital footprint is built from your browsing activity, silently harvested through tracking tools like cookies and web beacons.

That data is then combined with offline records by data brokers to build a highly detailed profile of you — which is used to target you with ultra-personalized ads.

But it’s not just the ads that are the issue. Once all that information is out there, it can be leaked, resold (to your insurance provider, your car dealer, your bank — pick your poison), and mishandled in countless ways. Your digital profile is basically your dossier — and it’s up for sale.

The US News, which commissioned the survey, notes that “the larger your digital footprint, the more entry points exist for a criminal to access your information and use it for malicious purposes.” The more information about you is out there, the more vulnerable you are to phishing attacks, which is the most common form of cyber crime by far. It’s estimated that more than 90% of successful cyber-attacks start with a phishing email. Phishing relies on tricking people into giving up sensitive info, and the more data scammers have on you, the more convincing their bait can be. For example, if a hacker knows your full name, email, employer, recent purchases, or even your interests, they can craft an email or message that looks eerily legit — maybe posing as your bank, a delivery service, or even a coworker.

Over two-thirds of the people surveyed (71%) said they’re planning to take bigger steps this year to better protect their privacy. And it’s a good sign. Because it’s one thing to feel worried — maybe even pissed off — and just sit with it. It’s another thing entirely to actually do something about it.

Areas for urgent improvement

Despite the growing awareness when it comes to online privacy and the growing desire to protect it, a considerable number of users are still not doing the bare minimum, the survey reveals.

Thus, 23% or more than one in five US adults connect to public Wi-Fi networks to transmit sensitive data required for online banking or shopping “at least weekly.” By doing so, they’re breaking one of the cardinal rules of cybersecurity: never use unknown networks to send sensitive information, no matter how tempting it may be.

Anyone who takes that risk — especially in places like airports, cafes, or malls — opens themselves up to so-called evil twin attacks. That’s when cybercriminals set up fake Wi-Fi access points with names that look nearly identical to the real ones, tricking people into connecting so they can steal data right off the network. If you do log in to a public Wi-Fi, make sure you use a VPN, which would encrypt your traffic, making the data you send through the network unintelligible.

Speaking of VPNs, more than one-quarter or 27% of survey takers admitted that they have never used some of the most basic digital security tools, such as a VPN, an ad blocker or a privacy-focused browser. Given that 91% are concerned about their footprint, this is an alarming number — it means that there is a clear gap between concern and actions. A sizable portion of the population wants to protect their privacy, but doesn’t have a solid grasp (or probably even not aware) of the tools that actually make that possible.
Unsurprisingly, respondents themselves admit they lack a solid understanding of how to protect their data. According to the survey, only slightly more than half of Americans (53%) feel they have sufficient knowledge about how to safeguard their personal data online — which means the remaining 47% are still, to some extent, in the dark.

With that in mind, it’s no surprise that around 38% of respondents say they feel they have little control over their personal data online.

Conclusion

It’s clear that awareness of privacy risks that come with living our lives online is growing. It’s also obvious that people want to take control of their personal data and are willing to take proactive steps to do it.

However, there’s still a lack of understanding about what tools they actually need to make that happen. Some of the most basic ones — like VPNs, ad blockers, and privacy-focused browsers — are still overlooked by a big chunk of users.

These tools aren’t rocket science, but they can go a long way. A VPN hides your IP address and encrypts your connection, an ad blocker stops not only ads but also trackers from following you around the web, and a privacy-focused browser limits data collection by default. Together, they make it a lot harder for companies (or hackers) to build a detailed profile of you.

The growing interest in online privacy is definitely encouraging — and now it’s on all of us to help raise awareness about the tools that are already out there and ready to help.