REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Millions of internet savvy consumers have a guilty secret – with nearly one-third (32%) admitting that in the past month they’ve searched online for things they’d rather no-one else knew about.
The “secret search” list, revealed today by HideMyAss!, includes looking up former partners, mentions of ourselves – known as egosurfing – and self-help videos for embarrassingly ‘simple’ tasks such as boiling an egg and changing a light bulb.
While adult content unsurprisingly features quite high on the list, the Top 10 U.S. Internet Searches We’d Rather Keep Quiet also includes some less obvious results:
| 1. | Looking up a medical condition (18%) | ||||
| 2. | Adult content (14%) | ||||
| 3. | New clothes (10%) | ||||
| 4. | Simple instructions, such as “how to boil an egg” (9%) | ||||
| 5. | Holiday destinations (8%) | ||||
| 6. | New houses (8%) | ||||
| 7. | A former partner (8%) | ||||
| 8. | New cars (7%) | ||||
| 9. | Expensive items such as jewelry and electronics (7%) | ||||
| 10. | Political issues (7%) |
The new HideMyAss! U.S. research also reveals:
- 20% say that they only ever use Wi-Fi at home and never in public to ensure their online activity can’t be monitored
- 16-19 year olds are the most likely to keep their online activities private
- Half of those who admitted to searching online for a former partner said they would feel embarrassed if friends or family found out
- Nearly one-third (32%) said they would feel embarrassed if friends or family knew they had searched for themselves online
Commenting on the findings, Brad Poole, consumer privacy advocate at HideMyAss! said:
“Everybody has something to hide, whether it’s a dissenting political view, a health issue or a something else. This is normal. What’s important to understand is that everybody has the right to keep these thoughts private, even as our lives shift online. You decide when you want to share you, and when you do not.
Unfortunately, widespread monitoring of what we do online today is chipping away at our ability to control this. So, even though there are things that we want to keep to ourselves, when we’re online these secrets are often recorded without our knowledge or consent. You might receive an embarrassing targeted ad on your social media profile or in your chosen browser as a result of a previous search, or former online dating matches might appear as ‘suggested friends’.
Everything we do online is logged unless we take back control. People need to abolish the perspective that nobody is watching them and that their online activity is not important and take the steps that will mean secrets remain secret.”
HideMyAss! has put together a simple privacy checklist for those who want to defend their online privacy and fight back against unfair stereotyping. Download it in the full copy of the HMA! Privacy Stigma report.
Notes to Editors:
*The survey, carried out by Censuswide on behalf of HideMyAss! in 2018, surveyed 8,102 respondents in the UK, US, France and Germany. The data above is specific to U.S. findings.
About HideMyAss!
HideMyAss! (HMA!) helps millions of people all over the world to safely and securely enjoy the internet, preserving our fundamental right to choose how and when we share personal information. HideMyAss! has more than 890 servers in over 280 locations in over 190 countries and is a global company based in London with offices in the UK and Serbia.
HideMyAss! is a champion of net neutrality and a committed anti-censorship campaigner. It believes strongly that everyone should be entitled to freedom of association and open access to online information.
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