Online privacy: Over 3 in 10 people wish to delete their internet footprint

In today's world of digitisation, privacy, online theft and hacking are major concerns. A new report has revealed that more than a third of people (33 per cent) would delete their profiles from the Internet if they could.

A report published on Tuesday by virtual private network (VPN) service provider -- NordVPN -- said 45 per cent of respondents said there is no reason for their name to be on the internet, while 42 per cent said they feel used because companies collect their data and use it to their advantage.

What did the report reveal?

While 34 per cent of the people surveyed said they feel that someone will eventually hack their devices, 31 per cent do not trust the Internet.

According to respondents from the survey of 10,800 people, half (50 per cent) said that they would most like their personal financial information to be deleted from the internet.

Other information people want to be deleted:

Unflattering photos and videos, embarrassing moments, old dating/social media profiles and previous employment history. It is estimated that 63 per cent of the global population is currently online.

"While removing yourself from the internet sounds like a good idea for those concerned with having their personal information exposed to the wrong entities, you have to ask yourself if wiping the slate totally clean is even possible in our digital-dominant world," said Daniel Markuson, a digital privacy expert at NordVPN.

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"Our survey also found that some would be in favor of a more practical approach because 38 per cent would be in favour of paying to use the internet anonymously at all times," he added.

For those who want to be anonymous online and are willing to pay for it, 27 per cent of people would pay up to $100, 7 per cent would pay between $101-$500 and 3 per cent would fork out between $501-$1,000 to be anonymous.

The report mentioned that two per cent of respondents said they would pay even more.

As many as 71 per cent of people would be afraid of having their financial data accessed by a hacker (or malicious third party), while 43 per cent said texts and emails, 35 per cent said "medical information," 33 per cent said "social media accounts", and 24 per cent said "sex life".

(With inputs from IANS)