- A large majority of people (87 percent) say it’s important they have a clear understanding of a company’s privacy policy before they sign up for its service online.
- Intensity of this belief matters a fair amount, with 65 percent of seniors but just 41 percent of young adults 18-24 saying it’s “very important.
- Still, a significant share admit to checking the “I accept” or “I agree” box on a company’s terms of service without reading it. Nearly a quarter (24 percent) say they do this “every time” and a plurality (32 percent) do this “most of the time.”
- Just 13 percent of people say they “never” check the box without reading the policy.
- Even those who say it’s important to understand a company’s privacy policy before signing up for a service say they check the box without reading the terms “every time” or “most of the time” (53 percent), though they are less likely to say so than those who say it’s not important (83 percent).
Question text:
How often do you read a company's entire privacy policy/terms of service when signing up for an online service, platform, app, or device?
Every time
Most of the time
Sometimes
Never
How often would you say you check the "I accept" or "I agree" box on a company's privacy policy/terms of service?
Every time
Most of the time
Sometimes
Never
*consumers
