{"id":94215,"date":"2014-11-12T09:58:56","date_gmt":"2014-11-12T14:58:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2014\/11\/12\/americans-perceptions-of-privacy-are-varied\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T04:17:24","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T09:17:24","slug":"americans-perceptions-of-privacy-are-varied","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/internet\/2014\/11\/12\/americans-perceptions-of-privacy-are-varied\/","title":{"rendered":"Americans\u2019 Perceptions of Privacy are Varied"},"content":{"rendered":"

The term \u201cprivacy\u201d evokes a constellation of concepts in the minds of the American public<\/h4>\n\n

To better understand how the public thinks about privacy, a representative sample of 607 adults were asked an open-ended question in an online survey: \u201cWhen you hear the word \u201cprivacy,\u201d what comes to mind for you?\u201d[6. numoffset=”7″ A full discussion of the sample is available at the end of this report.]\u00a0The responses that followed were striking in their variance, ranging from one-word entries to lengthier descriptions that touched on multiple concepts.<\/p>\n\n

\"Privacy<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

Once the responses were coded, a set of key words and themes emerged as the most frequently referenced and top-of-mind for the general public. Each of the top ten themes was referenced in at least 5% of the total responses. However, a full 22% of the responses referenced some other theme that was mentioned only a handful of times or was entirely unique.<\/p>\n\n

\"\u201cPrivacy\u201d<\/a><\/figure>\n\n

A large segment of the responses associated privacy with concepts of security, safety and protection<\/em><\/h4>\n\n

For many Americans, privacy is closely associated with references to security.[7. This association is often communicated in various privacy\u00a0policies<\/a>\u00a0directed at consumers with regard to data security. However, it is also worth noting here that a different concept of security may be evoked by the language of the Fourth Amendment, which emphasizes the \u201cright of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.\u201d Specific references to the Fourth Amendment were coded separately, but some references to being \u201csecure\u201d could be overlapping in some cases.] Even as \u201cprivacy\u201d and \u201csecurity\u201d signal distinct sectors of technological development and legal protections, these concepts are often blurred and overlapping for the general public. Among all of the themes referenced in the open-ended responses to the online survey, security, safety and protection was the most frequently-referenced category; 14% of the responses used these phrases in some form. Respondents associated privacy with the \u201csecurity of personal information\u201d or as something that \u201cmust be protected.\u201d And among the most common one-word responses were simply the words \u201csecure\u201d and \u201csecurity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

In online focus groups, smaller groups of respondents from the survey were asked specifically about the way they think about privacy versus security online. In many cases, respondents viewed the terms as interchangeable:<\/p>\n\n

Q: Is there any difference in the way you think about privacy and security online?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\u201cI think it’s pretty much the same.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

\u201cI see them as the same.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n\n

\u201cNot to me, that is pretty much the same thing.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

[in]<\/p>\n\n\n

However, some participants viewed the concepts as more distinct, with security signaling issues around personal safety, financial matters and protection from external threats online:<\/p>\n\n

[are]<\/p>\n\n\n

\u201cIn my mind, privacy deals more on the side of personal issues while security deals with financial issues.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

\u201cSecurity to me means a firewall, a secure sight and a good filter on your computer. Privacy is more like photos, and personal info.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n

Privacy also signals a range of things that are considered to be personal<\/em><\/h4>\n\n

As with the focus group discussions, a slightly smaller portion of the survey responses (12%) used some variation of the word, \u201cpersonal.\u201d While online survey respondents most often used the term in the context of \u201cpersonal information,\u201d they also described privacy as personal in many other combinations, such as: \u201cmy personal business,\u201d \u201cpersonal life,\u201d personal space,\u201d \u201cpersonal stuff\u201d \u201cmy personal solitude,\u201d and a \u201cpersonal right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Many respondents associated privacy with the ability to keep some things secret or hidden<\/em><\/h4>\n\n

About one in ten (11%) responses included the word \u201csecret\u201d or some variation of things that are hidden. Respondents described privacy as: \u201ckeeping secret,\u201d \u201csecret, private, for your eyes only type of thing,\u201d or as things that are \u201cprotected, secret, concealed.\u201d Other responses suggested privacy as connected to having a \u201cHidden agenda\u201d or things that are \u201csecret, undercover.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

Other common themes that emerged from the open-ended responses were clustered around privacy as:<\/p>\n\n