Privacy and Data Management on Mobile Devices

More than half of mobile application users have uninstalled or avoided certain apps due to concerns about the way personal information is shared or collected by the app, according to a nationally representative telephone survey conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. In all, 88% of U.S. adults now own cell phones, and 43% say they download cell phone applications or “apps” to their phones.

Among app users, the survey found:

  • 54% of app users have decided to not install a cell phone app when they discovered how much personal information they would need to share in order to use it
  • 30% of app users have uninstalled an app that was already on their cell phone because they learned it was collecting personal information that they didn’t wish to share

Pew also asked about three general activities related to personal data management on cell phones. Among all those who own a cell phone of any kind, we found that:

  • 41% of cell owners back up the photos, contacts and other files on their phone so that they have a copy in case their phone is ever broken or lost
  • 32% of cell owners have cleared the browsing history or search history on their phone
  • 19% of cell owners have turned off the location tracking feature on their cell phone because they were concerned that other individuals or companies could access that information

Privacy and Data Management on Mobile Devices