85% of Android users are concerned about privacy

22 August 2022

85% of users said that learning how to configure privacy settings for services specifically on Android is what they are most interested in learning, according to Kaspersky anonymised data that users of Privacy Checker willingly submitted. The majority of this year's requests for apps (22% of all requests) were in relation to Google security policies.

The Calyx Institute's "Digital Privacy and Security Survey" from 2021 found that 59% of respondents felt more aware of how their data is handled than they did a year earlier, and 80% of respondents were concerned about the topic of digital privacy. Users can use tools like Kaspersky Privacy Checker to restrict the amount of personal information that is publicly accessible online, which can help allay these worries. Based on anonymous information collected from users who visited the Kaspersky Privacy Checker website between January 2022 and July 2022, Kaspersky came to its conclusions. This involved researching the platforms and services for which users frequently asked for security configuration instructions.

According to this information, there were much more inquiries for privacy policies for services on the Android platform than for other OSs. The same amount of requests (6%) were received on Windows and iOS, whereas only 3% of requests were made on Mac.

The top five most visited pages on the Privacy Checker website are all connected to instructions for the Android operating system, indicating the greatest popularity for Android requests. The majority of users (17%) were most interested in Google's medium privacy settings. The next three slots all had the same percentage (9%), and these were Google's tightest privacy restrictions, as well as medium privacy requirements for Chrome and WhatsApp. Facebook medium level security instructions came in sixth (7%).

Users were most frequently interested in Google policies (22%), WhatsApp policies (14%), operating system privacy policies, and Chrome policies (12% each) when it came to service settings. With an average of 10% more requests than Facebook this year, Instagram (11%) finished in the top five.

Additionally, users can select from three distinct security settings on the Privacy Checker platform, including tight, medium, and relaxed. The majority of requests for all services this year were in relation to medium level instructions. The Safari browser stood out as an outlier, with users showing a greater interest in the toughest privacy regulations (54% vs. 45% for medium).

Detailed information on account privacy settings is available on the Kaspersky Privacy Checker website. In addition, Kaspersky has also prepared a short checklist to help users protect their personal information across all platforms:

• Security solutions often have a private browsing feature, which can help to avoid internet tracking.
• Review permissions for mobile apps and browser extensions. It’s better to stay clear of installing browser extensions unless you really need them. Carefully check the permissions you give.
• Public storage is not the best place to store private information, such as passport scans or a list of passwords. A better option would be to keep them in an encrypted archive.
• It is good practice to update operating systems and important apps as and when updates become available. Many safety issues can be solved by installing updated versions of software.
• Try to avoid posting information that may give away too much, such as your address, personal phone number, e-mail address, and other private data. Before sharing anything, consider if there may be any unintended consequences, and do not share anything that might compromise your or someone else’s privacy.