A third of adults do not know how to delete data from a device, and 23% of young people simply do not care, — survey

The latest survey from the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office has revealed a worrying trend — a significant number of adults don’t know how to delete personal data from an old device, while some of the younger generation simply don’t think such measures are important.

At least 71% of British adults consider deleting data from an old device important, but 29% simply don’t know how to do it. Meanwhile, one in five young people (21%) don’t think data deletion is necessary, and 23% say they “don’t care” what happens to the data.

14% of people aged 18-34 said they would not erase data from their devices — compared with 4% of people over 55. However, it’s encouraging that the vast majority of respondents (84%) stated they would definitely delete data before disposing of devices.

Also, at least 27% of adults said they plan to treat themselves to a new gadget this holiday season. Remember, another pre-holiday survey by CIRP (Consumer Intelligence Research Partners), a company specializing in marketing research, identified which devices people most often receive as gifts— including among Apple’s lineup.

Source: The Register