Safeguarding your personal data in a digital age is a problem for everyone. A poll by Ipsos on behalf of Google found that 84% of Americans are at least somewhat concerned about the security of the personal information they fork over on the internet. Older Americans show more worry—88 percent of those 55 and up, compared to 79 percent of people 18–34.
Despite this, fewer actually check their online accounts’ security settings regularly. Sixty-five percent admit to using the same password for different accounts, about one in five use passwords that can be easily guessed (PASSWORD, anyone?), and 52 percent use personal information like family names or birthdays as part of their passwords. One in three Americans in the survey also say they’ve shared a password with someone else, or know the password to another person’s account.
About a third of Americans—37 percent—say that their online data has been compromised. Ninety-two percent responded by changing their password after the breach.