Australian Community Attitudes to Privacy Survey 2023 infographic

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‘Privacy attitudes and experiences in Australia’ infographic with some of the key findings of the Australian Community Attitudes to Privacy Survey 2023.

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner surveyed 1,916 Australian adults. This is what we found.

Australians care about the protection of their personal information.

90% have a clear understanding of why they should protect their personal information.
62% see the protection of their own personal information as a major concern in their life.
79% of parents say the protection of their child’s personal information is a major concern.
82% care enough about protecting their personal information to do something about it.

So much so that it’s a big factor in purchasing decisions.

After quality and price, data privacy is the third most important factor when choosing a product or service.
91% of parents say the privacy of their child’s personal information is of high importance when deciding to provide their child with access to digital devices and services.

But Australians don’t feel in control of their privacy and don’t know what to do about it.

32% feel in control of their data privacy.
50% feel if they want to use a service, they have no choice but to accept what the service does with their data.
57% care about their data privacy, but don’t know what to do about it.
50% of Australian parents feel in control of their child’s privacy.
60% of parents feel they often have no choice but to sign their child up to use a particular service.
56% of parents say it’s unclear how they can protect their child’s information while using a service.

Most have had a negative privacy experience in the past.

47% were told by an organisation that their personal information was involved in a data breach in the previous year.
76% said they experienced harm because of a data breach.
52% saw an increase in scams and spam.
29% had to replace key identity documents (such as a driver’s licence or passport).

Australians have experienced other problems other than data breaches too, for example…

There are certain practices Australians are not comfortable with.

91% are concerned about organisations sending their customers’ information from Australia to overseas.
87% believe the sale of personal information or trading in personal information is unfair and unreasonable.
61% are uncomfortable with businesses using artificial intelligence to make decisions about them that use their personal information.
89% feel online tracking, profiling and targeted advertising to children is unfair and unreasonable.
79% of parents are uncomfortable with businesses tracking a child’s location without permission.

Australians want more to be done to protect privacy.

84% want more control and choice over the collection and use of their personal information.
92% would like businesses to do more to protect their personal information.
89% would like government agencies to do more to protect their personal information.
93% of parents say organisations should consider the best interests of children when handling their personal information.