According to a recent survey, Canadians are heavy users of social networks and other communications technologies, but many are not taking basic steps to protect their personal information. A telephone survey of 2,000 randomly selected adults, commissioned by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC), found that three-quarters (74%) of respondents own at least one mobile communications device, such as a cell phone, smart phone or tablet. However, only 4 in 10 use password locks for the devices, or adjust their settings to limit the sharing of personal information that may be stored on the devices.
The Canadians and Privacy Survey 2011 found that one-third of Canadians use public Wi-Fi sites, such as those located at coffee shops and airports, where online communication may not always be protected by encryption. Of those, fully 85% admitted to some concern about possible risks to the security of their personal information.
The poll, conducted by Harris/Decima, also found that just over half (51%) of respondents use social networking sites, such as Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn. Fortunately, 4 in 5 said they take advantage of privacy settings that allow them to control access to their online content. Even so, 45% of all respondents who use social networking sites acknowledged that they are concerned about the associated risks to their privacy.
