Half of users believe using the internet means giving up privacy

More than half of internet users in the US, UK and Germany believe it's impossible to keep their personal information private if they're to enjoy the Internet.

This is one of the findings of research by Open-Xchange, the German open source software company. The Consumer Openness Index surveyed 1,000 internet users in each of the three countries to gauge their opinions about online privacy.

Although they doubt their ability to remain private, 50 percent of respondents say that if they had a tool which could alert them when a website was sharing their personal data they would stop using the site immediately. Another 36 percent said they would revisit how or where their data is stored and make changes to it. Only 6 percent would simply continue using the website or service as normal.

The survey's respondents are also open to the idea of encryption for emails and online chats with 72 percent saying they could be convinced to use it. The top factors that would persuade users to adopt encryption are ease of use (54 percent saying they would use it if it involved just clicking a button). 47 percent would use it if it came standard with their applications, and 47 percent would use it if they had a better understanding of the technology.

"In today's age of famous whistle-blowers and nearly constant data leaks, most users know that their online privacy is severely compromised," says Rafael Laguna, CEO of Open-Xchange. "However, we are seeing an acceleration of individuals who are open to new technologies and are demanding help to monitor their privacy and online communications. In order for such encryption technologies to become mainstream, however, they must be easy to use and straight forward to understand -- as these are currently the largest obstacles to adoption".

The results also show differences in attitude between regions. Germans are warier about making financial transactions online, with nearly a quarter (23 percent) saying they make no financial transactions online at all, compared with 16 percent in the US and just 6 percent in the UK. Similarly, the recent controversies surrounding Facebook's privacy policies and terms and conditions have resonated more with German users, 23 percent of whom have deactivated their Facebook accounts, compared to 18 percent in the UK and 14 percent in the US.

Regardless of where they live all respondents are frustrated by complex terms and conditions. More than 72 percent say that T&Cs are too long and complicated to read before agreeing to them. However, 80 percent would read terms of service in full if they were shorter, 64 percent if they highlighted the main points and 49 percent if they used language that was easier to understand.

"There are no quick and easy solutions to today’s Internet quandaries, where giant Data States hold our information captive with undecipherable terms and conditions," Laguna concludes. "But by listening to users, and keeping a finger on the pulse of 'openness' that's out there currently, makes it ten times easier for those of us in the Internet industry to continue to drive the changes that matter now, and that repairs the trust-gap being more and more experienced across the Internet's broken state".

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