Pew Survey Reveals Most Americans Taking Steps To Go Incognito Online

Better safe than sorry.

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Complex Original

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As the scope and volume of digital threats stack up, most Internet users have taken to looking over their proverbial shoulders online, according to a survey released by the Pew Internet Center this week.

Anonymity’s the name of the game, with 86 percent of Americans who use the web resorting to extra security measures to cover their tracks online. That means clearing browsing histories, disabling cookies, encrypting social media accounts, and using temporary names and email addresses, among other tactics aimed at keeping their personal information and online lives on the DL.

Meanwhile, 55 percent of Internet users report having attempted to go incognito to protect themselves from specific groups, including hackers and digital criminals, advertisers, people from their pasts, and employers. But even after Edward Snowden blew open the NSA’s crazy surveillance practices, just five percent of respondents say they are actively hiding from Uncle Sam. Not too surprisingly, two-thirds of users think existing laws do not go far enough to protect their privacy online.

Your move, Obama.

[via New York Times]

 

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