Tuesday, February 12, 2013

McAfee, Indians spy on partners, stalk ex s online


Indians are more likely to check their partner's email accounts, stalk their ex-partners on Facebook and Twitter and even post pictures of private moments online, compared to their global counterparts, says a survey by security software maker McAfee.


The survey titled 'Love, Relationships, and Technology: When Private Data Gets Stuck in the Middle of a Breakup' found 52 per cent of Indian respondents saying they checked their partner's email and social media accounts occasionally, highest among global counterparts.
"India had the most number of respondents, who regularly track their partner's activities on Facebook (49 per cent). They even go to the extent of tracking their partner's ex on Facebook (30 per cent) and Twitter (4 per cent), highest among all the countries," it added.

The Indian respondents also stalk their own ex-partners on Facebook (47 per cent) and Twitter (6 per cent), which is also the highest among all countries, the survey showed.

While Indians also seem trusting of their partners in sharing personal data (66 per cent), nearly half of them regret doing so post break-up due to fear of misuse of photos and messages, the survey said.

"More than 70 per cent of the polled Indians said they shared their mobile content, email account details (75 per cent) and bank account details (63 per cent). Only 4 per cent said they believe in not sharing any personal details with their partner, one of the lowest figures compared to other countries," it said.

However, after breaking up, almost half of the Indian respondents accepted to being regretful to have sent intimate photos or messages to their ex-partner and 49 per cent asked their ex-partners to delete such pictures.

"It is a scary situation when ex-partners threaten to carry one's risque pictures online. Indian respondents ranked the highest on this parameter at 31 per cent. Of this, 77 per cent ex-partners have even gone to the extent of posting these pictures online. Both statistics are highest amongst all countries," the survey said.

Indian respondents also scored the highest at 15 per cent for hacking into someone's device and exposing content or impersonating the person, especially post breaking up (41 per cent) or calling off the wedding (23 per cent).

Despite the risks, 53 per cent of the Indian respondents said they still planned to send sexy or romantic photos to their partners via email, text and social media on Valentine's Day.

About 86 per cent Indians said they have personal/ intimate information on their smartphones, second only to Mexicans (88 per cent).

The survey examines sharing personal data in relationships and breakups leading to privacy leaks online. The survey was conducted in 10 countries, including the US, the UK and France covering about 1,000 respondents in each country.

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