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Consumers not only worry about privacy – they act

News. The messaging app Telegram has hit the 100 million monthly active users. Its unique selling point is the robust encryption that doesn’t even allow the company to know what is being said through its app.privacy

Telegram has a decentralized structure where none of its team members stays in one place for too long. It’s registered in multiple countries so it’s not bogged down by one particular jurisdiction if things come to a head.

According to the Pew Research Center  86 percent of internet users it surveyed took steps to protect their identity and their data online. 55 percent tried to conceal their activity from specific persons, organizations, or the government.

Research conducted by digital market research firm Global Web Index found that VPN usage (you encrypt your traffic and can hide/change your IP address) has been rising, with one in four internet users connecting to the internet through one.

The prevalence of ad blocking in recent years has been widely documented. A big part of its popularity is owed to users being fed up with increasingly intrusive online ads. However, this has taken a back seat to privacy concerns. According to research done by “ad-blocker blocker” company Pagefair and Adobe, ad blocker usage rose 48 percent in the US and 35 percent in Europe year-on-year in 2015. 50 percent of ad blocker users surveyed said their reason was concern over misuse of their personal data for advertising purposes.

The demand for better online privacy has yet to be fully quenched. The Trends 16 report by Global Web Index shows that in 2015, 28 percent of internet users have used ad blocking software, but up to 66 percent showed concern for their personal data online.

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