Key findings

  • 61% of Americans say limiting access to their personal data is very important, but 33% admit to taking only moderate care in protecting it.
  • 56% are concerned that wearable devices could reveal personal lifestyle details to companies, making wearables a top data privacy concern.
  • Older adults (65+) are the most likely to prioritize data privacy (74%), while younger adults (18–29) are less concerned (47%) and more likely to believe privacy worries signal “something to hide” (27%).

Every January, Data Privacy Day puts a spotlight on concerns surrounding personal data. New YouGov Profiles data suggests Americans want control over their personal data, but they don’t always feel equally equipped (or equally motivated) to enforce it.

Attitudes toward data privacy

Six in ten Americans (61%) say limiting who has access to their data is very important to them. Only 3% say they don’t care who has access. A third (33%) say they take only moderate care in protecting their data.

By age:

  • 74% of those 65+ say limiting access is very important, compared with 61% overall.
  • Younger adults (18–29) are the least likely to say limiting access is very important (47%), but they’re the most likely to say they take moderate care in protecting their data (44%).

Concerns around technology and devices

When you move from general attitudes to specific tech anxieties, one theme stands out: Americans seem most uneasy when data gets personal and continuous. A majority (56%) worry that data from a wearable device will be used by companies to learn things about their lifestyle.

Concerns about 5G register, but they don’t dominate in the same way. Four in ten (40%) say they have concerns about 5G and their data privacy, and 38% worry about safety risks if 5G technology fails.

One in five (20%) agree that people only worry about personal data online if they have something to hide. That suggests privacy isn’t only a technical or political issue, it’s also a cultural one, where concern can be judged as suspicious rather than sensible.

By age, the wearable concern is remarkably steady (mid-50s across all age groups), the bigger age differences appear elsewhere:

  • Younger adults are most likely to endorse the “something to hide” idea (27% among 18–29), versus 13% among 65+, indicating more skepticism about privacy anxiety as a social stance.
  • Older Americans are more likely to worry about 5G, both on privacy (42% among 65+) and safety if it fails (42% among 65+), compared with lower levels among younger adults.

Together, the charts paint a Data Privacy Day portrait that feels very current: most want stricter control, many feel exposed by wearable data, and age shapes whether privacy feels like a right to defend or a risk to manage.

Methodology: YouGov Profiles is based on continuously collected data through rolling surveys, rather than a single limited questionnaire. Figures are drawn from responses collected between December 2024 and December 2025, using a 52-week dataset updated weekly. Data is nationally representative of adults (18+) in the US and weighted by age, gender, education, region, and race.

Image: Getty Images

Subscribe to your sector newsletter