Two-thirds of Britons feel it is their responsibility to keep their data safe, according to a survey from the mobile security vendor Lookout.
This was compared to a fifth who felt the company which data was being shared with was most responsible, a tenth who placed responsibility on the phone network, and a mere 4% who believed the government should take care of it.
Thomas Labarthe, MD of Lookout EMEA, said: "With data privacy issues continuing to dominate the headlines in 2015, it’s clear that UK consumers are taking a stand and putting the privacy of their mobile data in their own hands.
"While this is a very positive development, at the same time UK consumers are still showing some concerning knowledge gaps about privacy issues, as well as continuing to partake in some risky behaviours."
Lookout found that different news stories had different impacts in terms of how Britons felt about privacy, with high profile company breaches against the likes of Target, eBay and JP Morgan causing concern for 35%, even more than the leaks from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.
For young people the celebrity photo leaks of last summer also proved to be more important than the leaks of Snowden, with 93% being aware of the former and only 77% being aware of the latter
Two-thirds of Britons also declared that they were not willing to share more data with their mobile apps for a cheaper or more tailored service – a claim that is difficult to believe given the popularity of free apps, many of which do collect user data.
"As an industry we most focus on being absolutely transparent with consumers around privacy, and ensure they fully understand the access they are giving away via their mobile phones," Labarthe said.
