Tips 2 min. read

What Do College Students Think About Online Privacy & Security?

What Do College Students Think About Online Privacy & Security?

There is a widespread belief that young people care little about online privacy and security. If Millennials truly cared about their privacy, they wouldn’t share so much personal information freely over the internet, the argument goes.

To find out the truth, we polled 1200+ students at 523 colleges and universities in the US and UK* to learn their feelings about privacy and security. See below for complete survey results. We have illustrated the findings in our infographic, What Do College Students Think About Online Privacy & Security. Our research revealed some surprising answers. For example, 82% of college students are concerned about keeping their data private and roughly the same number are concerned about their school  tracking their online behavior.

However, despite admitting to frequent use of unsecured WiFi, only 35% of college students use security software on their mobile devices and 25% regularly use VPNs to protect themselves.

Although there is evidence that more and more young people are becoming aware of the need to protect their online privacy and security, few understand the steps they can take. So help spread the word! Share our infographic below with any students you know and encourage use of Hotspot Shield VPN to take control of your online privacy and security!

*Students with valid .edu email addresses were surveyed in May and June 2013 when they visited our college.hotspotshield.com microsite.

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