InfoCons Consumer Protection Informs You on Data Protection Day : How 76.9% of EU Internet Users Took Action to Protect Their Data in 2025

InfoCons Consumer Protection Informs You on Data Protection Day : How 76.9% of EU Internet Users Took Action to Protect Their Data in 2025

In 2025, data protection practices became increasingly common among internet users across the European Union. A total of 76.9% of EU internet users reported taking at least one measure to control access to their personal data online, marking a 3.7 percentage point increase compared with 73.2% in 2023. This upward trend highlights a growing awareness of digital privacy and personal data security among European consumers.

The most widely adopted protection measure was refusing the use of personal data for advertising purposes. 58.8% of internet users chose to limit or completely block their data from being used for targeted advertising, a rise of 4.5 percentage points over the past two years. Closely following this, 56.2% of users restricted access to their geographical location, an increase of 5.4 percentage points since 2023, showing heightened concern over tracking and location-based services.

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Restrictions related to social media and online storage also gained popularity. In 2025, 46.0% of internet users limited access to their social media profiles or shared cloud storage, representing a 5.0 percentage point increase compared with 2023. These figures suggest that users are becoming more cautious about the visibility of their personal content and the long-term storage of private information online.

More traditional security-related actions were also reported. 39.0% of people checked whether a website was secure before providing personal data, an increase of 4.2 percentage points compared to two years earlier. In addition, 37.6% of internet users stated that they read privacy policy statements before sharing personal information, although this measure showed a more modest growth of 1.7 percentage points since 2023.

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Significant differences between EU Member States remain evident. The highest proportions of internet users taking action to protect their data were recorded in Finland (92.6%), the Netherlands (91.2%) and Czechia (90.3%), where more than nine out of ten users adopted at least one protective measure. In contrast, the lowest shares were observed in Romania (56.0%), Slovenia (57.4%) and Bulgaria (62.0%), indicating persistent disparities in digital awareness and data protection practices across the EU.

Overall, the 2025 data confirms a steady increase in online privacy management, while also underlining the need for continued consumer information and education, particularly in countries where engagement with data protection tools remains below the EU average.