Who’s Watching You Shop ? Why 71% of Europeans Worry About Their Data and Online Ads
Who’s Watching You Shop? Why 71% of Europeans Worry About Their Data and Online Ads
E-commerce & Digital Fairness · Based on the data from the Consumer Conditions Scoreboard 2025
Every time you shop or browse online, you may be watched, tracked and targeted with adverts. Most Europeans are uneasy about this. This InfoCons Consumer Protection guide explains the main worries consumers have about online advertising and the use of their personal data.
InfoCons Consumer Protection Explains: What the Figures Show
Consumers who had bought online in the last 12 months were asked which aspects of online advertising worried them personally. The results show that concern is very widespread – only a small minority have no worries at all.
Source: Consumer Conditions Survey. Based on the data from the Consumer Conditions Scoreboard 2025.
InfoCons Consumer Protection – The Full List: What Worries Consumers
Here are the main concerns about online advertising, from the most to the least common:
- Collection of personal data without consent – 71%
- Excessive amount of advertising – 67%
- Unavoidable personalisation of advertising – 63%
- Difficulty managing or refusing cookies – 58%
- Personalisation limiting access to special offers – 50%
- No concerns at all – 6%
InfoCons Consumer Protection – Consumer concerns about online advertising. Based on the data from the Consumer Conditions Scoreboard 2025.
InfoCons Consumer Protection – The Top Worry: Data Collected Without Consent (71%)
The single biggest concern, shared by 71% of online shoppers, is that their personal data is collected without their consent or awareness. People increasingly sense that they are being tracked, but feel they have little say over it.
InfoCons Consumer Protection – Too Many Ads and No Way to Escape (67% and 63%)
Two in three consumers (67%) are bothered by the sheer amount of online advertising, while 63% feel that personalised advertising is simply unavoidable. Together these point to a feeling of being overwhelmed and unable to opt out.
InfoCons Consumer Protection – Cookies and Hidden Costs (58% and 50%)
More than half of consumers (58%) find it hard to manage or refuse cookies, and half (50%) worry that personalisation actually limits their access to special offers – meaning some shoppers may quietly be shown worse deals than others.
InfoCons Consumer Protection – Only 6% Have No Concerns
Strikingly, just 6% of consumers said they had no concerns about online advertising at all. In other words, worry about data and advertising is now almost universal among online shoppers.
InfoCons Consumer Protection – What This Means for You as a Consumer
You have more control than you may think. InfoCons Consumer Protection encourages consumers to reject non-essential cookies where possible, review the privacy and ad settings on their accounts and devices, be careful about what personal information they share, and use their rights under EU data-protection rules to ask what data is held and request its deletion. Small privacy choices add up to real protection.
Signature: InfoCons Consumer Protection Department
