Canada: personal information use concerns 2020

A survey in December 2020 showed that 48 percent of online Canadians felt extremely concerned about personal information that was available about them online being used for identity theft. Only ten percent of respondents reported to feeling unconcerned about this.

Concern with online personal information usage according to internet users in Canada as of December 2020

Characteristic	Extremely concerned	Concerned	Somewhat concerned	Not concerned	Don't know
Social media platforms creating user profiles based on own posts	37%	20%	31%	10%	1%
Social media platforms creating user profiles based on posts by others	40%	17%	32%	11%	2%
Companies setting making decsions about jobs, insurance claims, or health coverage	29%	18%	41%	11%	1%
Identity theft	48%	16%	25%	10%	1%

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Release date

March 2021

More information

Region

Canada

Survey time period

November 21 to December 20, 2020

Number of respondents

1,466 respondents

Age group

16 years and older

Special properties

those with access to the internet/mobile device

Method of interview

Telephone interview

Supplementary notes

Level of concern was based on a 7 point scale:
Concerned (6-7)
Somewhat concerned (3-5)
Not concerned (1-2)

Values may not sum up to 100 percent due to rounding.

Original question: Thinking about the information available about you online, please tell me whether you’re concerned about each of the following. To do so, I’d like you to use a 7-point scale, where ‘1’ means you’re not at all concerned and ‘7’ means you’re extremely concerned. How about social media platforms gathering personal information [SPLIT SAMPLE: that you have / someone else has] posted online to create a detailed profile of your interests and personal traits for marketing purposes.

Thinking about the information available about you online, please tell me whether you’re concerned about companies or organizations using information available about you online to make decisions about you, such as for a job, an insurance claim or health coverage. To do so, I’d like you to use a 7-point scale, where ‘1’ means you’re not at all concerned and ‘7’ means you’re extremely concerned.

Thinking about the information available about you online, please tell me whether you’re concerned about people using information available about you online to attempt to steal your identity? To do so, I’d like you to use a 7-point scale, where ‘1’ means you’re not at all concerned and ‘7’ means you’re extremely concerned.

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