When it comes to feeling in control of the personal information that they share online, more than half of global consumers, or 52%, now only use apps and services that they trust, according to MEF’s 11th Annual Consumer Survey.

Further, 42% of consumers share as little information as they possibly can, 38% pay close attention to privacy policies, terms and conditions, 33% delete accounts they no longer use, and 29% use tools that protect or mask their data (for example, digital wallets).

These findings signal that consumers are becoming much more discerning about what personal information they share, and who they share it with – and with good reason, given that there is seemingly a new data breach reported somewhere in the world every other day.

Consumers in India, Brazil and South Africa are the most protective of their personal information, with a whopping 68% of consumers in India only using apps and services that they trust, 50% of South Africans deleting accounts they no longer use, and 54% of Brazilians sharing as little information as possible. These countries are among those that are attractive targets for bad actors, with globally or regionally significant populations, rapid growth in enterprise adoption of emerging technology, and high mobile Internet penetration and use among consumers.

The full report, and all survey data from over 11,000 respondents across 17 countries, is now available to download from MEF Data