Almost half of Americans want to remove personal data from the web
With cybersecurity and online privacy threats on the rise, people are becoming increasingly aware of data collection. Researchers from Incogni and NordVPN analyzed the responses of 1,000 US-based survey participants to determine whether Americans want to remove their information from the internet and what data they consider to be the most sensitive.
Key insights
- Almost half of Americans (44%) would like to delete their information from the internet, with Millennials being the most concerned about their privacy.
- Most of the respondents (64%) would like to have financial information deleted the most.
- Americans are most afraid that hackers might access their financial information (76%), texts and emails (45%), medical information (44%), and social media accounts (36%).
- The greatest proportion of Americans (37%) would like to see other people’s criminal records if this information were available online.
- More than 1 in 3 Americans (37%) believe their data has been leaked at some point.
- Women appear to be more concerned about data privacy, with more female than male respondents expressing a desire to remove their information from the internet (47% vs 42%) and concern over most data points.
- Younger generations appear more interested in finding information about others, with Gen Z and Millennials leading in all data categories.
How many Americans want to delete their information from the internet
Just over 44% of surveyed Americans expressed that they would like to delete their information from the internet. According to their responses, the younger generations appear to be the most concerned about their data privacy, with 56% of Millennials and 53% of Gen Z expressing a desire to remove their data from the internet.
The older generations appear less concerned by comparison. Only 30% of Baby Boomers want to remove their data, followed by 41% of Gen X, and 44% of the Silent Generation.
Among the younger generations (Millennials, Gen Z), more than half of the respondents want to remove their data. Among the older generations (Gen X, Baby Boomers, Silent Generation), less than half want to remove their data.
There was also a slight variation based on gender. 42% of men said they want to delete their personal information from the internet compared to 47% of women, indicating that women may be more concerned about their privacy.
Why Americans want to remove their information from the internet
Of the respondents who want their data removed from the internet, 48% indicated that they feel used by companies and third parties that leverage their data.
Interestingly, this was the most common reason cited by both men and women, although the percentages vary significantly at 44% vs 51%, respectively. We found the same to be generally true when breaking down the responses by generation. A feeling of being used was cited most often by Millennials (42%), Gen X (49%), Baby Boomers (60%), and the Silent Generation (73%).
Only Gen Z respondents cited another reason more often, with 45% saying they simply don’t trust the internet compared to the 44% who indicated that they feel used. Gen X also cited the possibility of being hacked more than any other age group, with 49% of Gen X respondents citing this concern.
Overall, the possibility of being hacked was given as a reason by 45% of respondents. Other common reasons included a general lack of trust in the internet (41%) and having no reason to keep their name available online (40%).
Most of the respondents (64%) said they would like to remove financial information. Baby Boomers appear the most concerned about this information, with 75% expressing a desire to have their financial data removed. On the other hand, Gen Z appears to be the least concerned about the availability of this data point, with only 45% of them declaring they would like their financial information deleted.
In fact, Gen Z expressed equal concern about embarrassing moments, with 45% saying they would remove this kind of information. On the opposite end of the spectrum, only 12% of the Silent Generation showed interest in removing embarrassing moments, making it the most polarizing data point by generation.
Both men and women mentioned they would want to remove their financial information most often. There was a slight difference with 63% of men vs 65% of women expressing concern about their financial data. This wasn’t the only significant difference between male and female respondents. Unflattering photos and videos appeared to be of concern to 40% of women, compared to only 26% of men.
When it comes to the possibility of hackers gaining access to their information, most Americans (76%) appear to be afraid of their financial information falling into the wrong hands.
The second-most frequently mentioned data point Americans are afraid of being hacked is texts and emails (45%). This is followed closely by medical information (44%) and social media accounts (36%).
Women and younger generations appear to be more concerned about their texts and emails being hacked compared to men and older generations, with this data point being the second-most mentioned and at higher percentages by these demographics.
Nearly half (46%) of women mentioned texts and emails, compared to 43% of men. Similarly, 53% of Gen Z and 49% of Millennials mentioned this data point, compared to only 41% of Gen X and 40% of Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation.
Instead, men and the older generations appeared to be more concerned about hackers gaining access to medical information than their texts or emails. Medical information was the second-most mentioned data point by these demographics and was cited by 43% of men, 46% of Gen X, 51% of Baby Boomers, and 44% of the Silent Generation.
Interestingly, women demonstrated more concern about their medical information being hacked than men, with 46% mentioning this data point, despite it being the third-most commonly mentioned among female respondents.
What information Americans want to learn about others
The survey also aimed to uncover what information Americans are interested in learning about others. Criminal records was the most popular answer, with 37% of respondents admitting they would want to learn this information about someone they know.
By breaking the answers down by gender, our researchers also uncovered that women were considerably more interested in learning about criminal records, with 42% of them giving this answer compared to only 32% of men. However, they showed little interest in other information, with the second-most common answer among female respondents being social media accounts at only 18%. Men also showed some interest in learning about others’ social media accounts (22%) and dating and sex-life details (22%).
Analyzing the responses by age group also yielded some interesting insights. Although all age groups were most interested in learning about others’ criminal records, it was still not mentioned as often by Baby Boomers (30%) and the Silent Generation (32%) as Gen Z (39%), Millennials (41%), and Gen X (41%).
Overall, the older generations appeared to show little to no interest in any other data points. The biggest gaps in interest between different generations were regarding financial information, with 25% of Millennials wanting to know this data point compared to 0% of the Silent Generation.
What information Americans don’t want others to find out
Unsurprisingly, 59% of Americans said they didn’t want others to find their financial information. This was followed by medical information (38%) and texts and emails (37%).
Financial information was the most commonly mentioned data point across all age groups and genders. However, younger generations appear less concerned, with only 46% of Gen Z saying they don’t want others to find out their financial information compared to 64% of the Silent Generation.
Again, female respondents expressed more concern for their privacy overall, with 61% saying they don’t want others to learn their financial information compared to 57% of men. Women were also more concerned about their medical records, with 41% preferring to keep this information private compared to 35% of men. However, significantly more male respondents (21%) expressed concern over others finding their career records than women (13%).
How many Americans had data leaked or stolen
Finally, our researchers looked at whether or not the survey respondents have ever had their personal information leaked or stolen. Slightly fewer, 37%, of Americans said they have experienced a data leak or data theft, compared to 40% who haven’t. 23% simply didn’t know. Among those who have, Millennials and Gen X have been the most affected, at 39%, each group having suffered a leak or theft.
The most notable insight, while not surprising, was that the older generations were less aware of whether or not their data had ever been breached, with 52% of the Silent Generation giving this answer compared to only 16% of Gen Z.
It’s also interesting that more men said they haven’t had data leaked or stolen (39%) than those that said they did (38%). The reverse is true of the female respondents, with fewer women saying they have had their data leaked or stolen (36%) than women who say they haven’t (41%).
Conclusions
These survey results reveal nuanced and sometimes contradictory attitudes toward online privacy among Americans. While the main motivation for removing personal data is feeling exploited by companies, this sense of objection decreases with each subsequent generation. Gen Z, for example, is notably less troubled by feeling “used” than older groups—a trend that may signal either a growing acceptance of the internet’s commercial nature or a shift toward routine data sharing in digital life. However, this doesn’t necessarily equate to trust, given that over one-third of Gen Z respondents report a general distrust of the internet.
Our findings also reveal a paradox: younger generations show a strong interest in others’ personal information yet appear less concerned about their own privacy, suggesting a cultural shift toward transparency. Additionally, gender differences emerged, with women generally more concerned about online privacy than men.
Finally, a key insight is that Americans’ fear of hacking outweighs their concerns about privacy in terms of exposure, indicating that they may view security—protection from malicious actors—as a greater priority than personal privacy. Together, these results underscore a generational and gender divide, reflecting a shift from privacy-centered anxieties to broader security concerns.
How Americans can protect their online privacy
Removing personal data from data brokers
Opting out of data brokers—companies that gather and sell personal information—is an essential measure in protecting one’s privacy. These brokers often hold sensitive details, including addresses and phone numbers, which they sell to third parties. Services such as Incogni can streamline the opt-out process across multiple data brokers.
Using strong, unique passwords
Creating unique, strong passwords for each account helps prevent unauthorized access. A password manager can assist in generating and securely storing these passwords. Enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds another layer of security.
Oversharing on social media can inadvertently expose personal details to misuse. Adjusting privacy settings on each platform allows users to control who views their posts and personal information.
Updating software regularly
Keeping operating systems, applications, and antivirus software up-to-date is crucial, as updates often contain patches that protect against security vulnerabilities.
Using privacy-focused browsers and tools
Using privacy-oriented browsers and search engines, such as Firefox and DuckDuckGo, alongside browser extensions that block trackers, such as uBlock Origin and Privacy Badger, helps reduce data exposure and maintain greater online privacy.
Methodology
This research was commissioned by NordVPN and carried out by Cint between June 28 and July 10, 2024. A total of 6,800 adult respondents (18 years and older) from the US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy were surveyed. Researchers placed quotas on respondents’ gender, age, and place of residence to achieve a nationally representative sample among internet users. This article includes results only from US respondents.
