The data privacy heatmap

Are European internet users in control of their data?

Europeans are united in thinking that data privacy is important, with respondents from Hungary giving it the most importance and Denmark the least. Yet just over half (52.3%) of all respondents feel in control of how many organisations have access to their personal data.

Roll over our interactive map to get a comprehensive view of consumer internet habits and the awareness of data sharing and privacy, from Kaspersky research with 8,000 people across nine European countries.

1. The importance of data privacy

How important is data privacy to internet users in Europe?

Czech Republic Hungary Italy Portugal Spain France Denmark Germany United
Kingdom

95% Say data privacy is important

52% Feel in control of how many organisations have access to their personal data

8 in 10 Are concerned their personal data will fall into the wrong hands

Czech Republic

8.6 = data privacy is less important

Just 43% of those in the Czech Republic feel in control of their personal data, one of the lowest in Europe. As a result it is also the least trusting of their Government with personal data at 31%.

The least trusting of Amazon at 22%, compared to Italy’s 72%
60% likely to ‘accept all cookies’ when browsing a website in a hurry
56% say ‘I am not worried about the privacy of my personal data’

are willing to have their online behaviour monitored for general convenience – highest of all countries

Hungary

9.5 = Data privacy is the most important

Hungary places the highest importance on data privacy at 98%, but it also has strong feelings of not being in control of personal data (61%) – the second highest in Europe.

47% are concerned that data will be stolen and used maliciously
Just 38% trust their Government with personal data, Denmark is 67%
Far more trust Google (50%) and Amazon (40%) with data

would share some personal data with websites in return for free digital services

Italy

9.1 = data privacy is very important

Italy places high importance on data privacy at 97%, and it also has the highest levels of feeling in control of personal data (63%).

Italians are most trusting of Amazon (72%) and Google (62%)
53% trust the Italian Government with personal data
54% don’t mind if browsing behavior is tracked online as “they don’t have anything to hide” – the highest of all countries.

say “I am not worried about the privacy of my personal data” – in Portugal it’s 13%

Portugal

9.2 = data privacy is very important

96.8% believe data privacy is important – the highest in Europe. Yet, it is one of the countries least in control of their data – just 46% feel in control, above only France (35%), and Czech Republic (43%).

73% are concerned organisations know too much about them
Portugal is the least trusting of Facebook at 21%
Just 13% aren’t worried about the privacy of personal data – Italy is 76%

are concerned their personal data will fall into the wrong hands. That’s compared to 77% in Germany and Denmark.

Spain

9.0 = Data privacy is important

Just over half (55%) feel in control of their personal data, yet 88% would be willing to supply personal data for dree digital services

81% are concerned that their data will be stolen and used maliciously
Amazon is the most trusted organisation with data privacy (59%)
59% accept all cookies and 31% use the same password on lots of sites.

are concerned that their personal data will fall into the wrong hands

France

8.6 = data privacy is less important

France is the country that feels least in control of their data privacy, leading to the lowest levels of trust in any organisations with personal data.

35% feel in control of how many organizations have access to personal data – Hungary is 61%
Just 36% trust their government to look after their data safely – the lowest of all countries
85% are concerned that their personal data will fall into the wrong hands

are willing to let companies monitor online behaviour in exchange for personalised ads – the lowest in Europe

Denmark

8.5 = data privacy is the least important

Denmark ranks the importance of data privacy the lowest of all the countries, perhaps because it is also the least concerned that data will wind up in the wrong hands (77%).

Danes most trust their Government with personal data (67%)
50% are concerned organisations know too much about them
Danes are least willing to have online behaviour monitored in exchange for discounted products or free gifts

Danes are the most likely to use the same password across lots of sites – the highest in Europe.

Germany

8.5 = data privacy is less important

Germany is the least concerned about their data falling into the wrong hands, joint with Denmark at 77% and this is in line with the nation having one of the lowest levels when it comes to data importance.

Germans were least willing for companies to monitor online behaviour in exchange for free gifts – joint lowest with Denmark (31%)
38% didn’t mind having their browsing behaviour tracked online as they don’t have anything to hide
50% – the lowest in Europe – said they usually ‘accept all cookies’ if the result is I can view all the content on the website

were willing to share personal data in return for free digital services - lowest in Europe

United Kingdom

8.7 = data privacy is important

Despite 94% believing data privacy is important, many in the UK don’t feel they have much control over it — just 56% feel in control of how many organisations have access to their personal data.

52% trust the Government with their personal data
One of the least willing for companies to monitor online behaviour in exchange for free digital services (35%)
30% use the same password across lots of different websites or apps

Accept all cookies on a website if they are in a hurry - the highest in Europe.

2. Data privacy and the COVID-19 pandemic

Would you share your healthcare or location data for post-COVID 19 freedoms?

Czech Republic Hungary Italy Portugal Spain France Denmark Germany United
Kingdom

7 in 10 are prepared to provide personal healthcare and movement data for more freedoms post-COVID

45% Would provide healthcare and movement data to help their country overcome COVID-19

6 in 10 Wouldn’t be happy if their employer placed activity monitoring software on their work computers for ongoing remote working

Czech Republic

Foreign travel ranks as a much higher incentive (34%) to share personal data than domestic activities like going to a restaurant or bar (22%).

Almost one in five would share their healthcare data to go to a live event
50% said no to their employer putting performance monitoring software on their computers for remote working

are prepared to share personal information to help their country overcome COVID

Hungary

Hungarians are willing to give away their personal healthcare information to go to shopping centres (28%), the highest percentage in Europe, in stark contrast to the lowest in Portugal (8%).

43% are willing to share this information to help their country overcome COVID 19
One-in-four are willing to give up access to private data to go on foreign holidays

would accept remote monitoring software at home to keep their job and not annoy their employer – second only to Spain (43%)

Italy

Italians rank the second highest in Europe for willingness to share personal healthcare information to help their country overcome COVID (54%), second only to Portugal (58%).

Almost one in four would share personal data to return to a large event
50% would not be happy if their employer put performance monitoring software on their computers

Would share their personal healthcare data for foreign travel – the highest in Europe.

Portugal

The Portuguese are the most willing to share personal healthcare information to overcome COVID-19 (58%), dwarfing France’s 32%. Conversely, they are also the least willing to share personal data simply to go back to big events, shopping or travel.

One in ten would provide personal healthcare data to return to restaurants
Only 9% would share their data to go to a shopping centre – Hungary is 28%
39% believe their employer has installed performance monitoring software on their computer for remote working

Would be willing to give up personal healthcare data to go to a large event

Spain

Almost half (48%) are prepared to share their personal healthcare data to help their country overcome COVID-19 but just 14% are willing to share it for other activities, such as going to a restaurant or bar.

Only 13% are willing to part with personal health data to return to shopping centres
43% would be unhappy with remote performance monitoring software while working from home, but would accept it to keep their job

Would share personal healthcare data to go on a foreign holiday.

France

Just 32% are willing to share personal healthcare data to help their country overcome COVID-19 – the lowest in Europe, in contrast to Portugal (58%) and Italy (54%).

20% are willing to share such data to go to a large event
28% would provide this data to go on a foreign holiday

Said that they're confident their employer hasn’t installed performance monitoring software on their computers – the highest in Europe.

Denmark

Only 26% of Danes are willing to share personal healthcare or location information to go on a foreign holiday, one of the lowest percentages in Europe and far behind Italy’s 36%.

48% are prepared to share this data to help their country overcome the COVID pandemic
Only one in four would share personal information to return to a restaurant or bar
25% would give up their data so they could go to a large event

Would be unhappy if their employer placed performance monitoring software on their computers – the most uncomfortable in Europe.

Germany

Germans (27%) are second only to the British (28%) in their willingness to give access to their personal healthcare data to return to a restaurant or bar post-COVID.

40% would give up their personal healthcare information to help their country overcome the pandemic
23% would share this information to go to a shopping centre or large event

Would accept employers installing performance monitoring software on their computers to keep their job – the lowest in Europe.

United Kingdom

The UK is the most willing to give access to personal healthcare or location data to return to a restaurant or bar (28%) - Portugal is just 10%.

31% would be happy to provide this data to go on foreign holidays
45% are prepared to provide data to help helping the UK overcome COVID-19
46% didn’t think that their employer had installed performance monitoring software on their computer/laptop

Would be willing to share their personal healthcare data to go to large events – the highest percentage in Europe.