Surprising digital privacy contradictions: 49% of users cover webcams, 40% rely on Incognito mode

The study ‘Excitement, Superstition and great Insecurity – How global Consumers engage with the Digital World’ discloses controversial views among users regarding the protection of their personal information. For instance, 49% of respondents consider covering the webcam of their digital devices maintains privacy. At the same time, 40% trust internet incognito modes to safeguard their online activities. These numbers reflect that it’s still can be a challenge to distinguish what is secure and private and what’s not.

Despite decades of using digital devices and acknowledging cybersecurity as a real and critical concern, distinguishing between what is secure and what is not can be still difficult.

Kaspersky’s latest survey ‘Excitement, Superstition and great Insecurity – How global Consumers engage with the Digital World’shows users can be contradictory in their digital habits and attitudes towards digital privacy. On the one hand, 49% believe that covering the webcam on their devices is an enough effective measure to protect their privacy.

On the other, almost half of the respondents (44%) play online mini-games and take tests for fun, sending their personal details to unreliable sources to access those games, and posting their results in social media, involving their friends in this careless data-sharing pyramid

Significantly half of all users are worried that voice assistants might be constantly listening and gathering personal information. In response, nearly a third of respondents (28%) resort to switching their devices to airplane mode during important private conversations.

At the same time, 40% of users mistakenly believe activating incognito mode makes them entirely invisible online. Additionally, a surprising 24% are willing to click on unfamiliar links in messengers, potentially compromising their security.

Kaspersky’s Web-Content Analyst, Anna Larkina, explains: “Our research underscores the significance of a well-informed approach to cybersecurity and digital privacy. To ensure safety and protection, it’s essential to maintain a critical mindset, relying solely on verified sources and facts. This entails disregarding unproven techniques and myths. Furthermore, implementing a comprehensive security solution that offers robust protection against a diverse range of threats and risks can prove invaluable.”

The full Kaspersky report ‘Excitement, Superstition and great Insecurity – How global Consumers engage with the Digital World’ is available via this link.

About the survey

In June 2024, Kaspersky commissioned Arlington Research to conduct an online survey of 10,000 respondents to explore the respondents’ attitude towards current digital superstitions, AI role in human’s life and topic of digital immortality. The sample included 1,000 respondents from each of the UK, Germany and France, and 500 in Spain, Italy, Portugal, Brazil, Mexico, Russia, Kazakhstan, India, China, Indonesia, Turkey, KSA, UAE, and South Africa.

About Kaspersky

Kaspersky is a global cybersecurity and digital privacy company founded in 1997. With over a billion devices protected to date from emerging cyberthreats and targeted attacks, Kaspersky’s deep threat intelligence and security expertise is constantly transforming into innovative solutions and services to protect businesses, critical infrastructure, governments and consumers around the globe. The company’s comprehensive security portfolio includes leading endpoint protection, specialized security products and services, as well as Cyber Immune solutions to fight sophisticated and evolving digital threats. We help over 220,000 corporate clients protect what matters most to them. Learn more at www.kaspersky.com.