It might be tempting to get caught up in the romance of this special day for lovers, but beware of who you might be exposing yourself to.
Valentine’s Day is the day for lovers. It’s the time to express your feelings and show your love for your special someone. However, according to some reports, some are sharing a little too much.
The McAfee 2013 Love, Relationships and Technology survey revealed that 51 percent of Australians have shared personal or intimate data and messages via their smartphones in the past, while 49 percent of Australians have this information stored on their phone.
The online security company discovered that most people believed that this data would be safe in the hands of their partners or lovers, however many people don’t take into account what might happen if the romance ends.
“Sharing personal and intimate information may seem like harmless fun to many Australians but it’s important they realise that once a private message or photo is out of their hands, they can’t control where it goes or who sees it,” said Sean Duca, Enterprise Solutions Architect at McAfee Asia Pacific. “It’s clear that many people feel comfortable sharing private information and passwords with their partners, but they also need to consider the risks involved in doing so, and that if those relationships end, their information can end up in the wrong hands.”
10 percent of adults have had content leaked without their permission online, and the study also revealed that one in 20 people have been threatened with having intimate data exposed.
Other countries are more revealing than Australia, with 80 percent of French and Mexicans claiming to have intimate data on their phones, and while only half of Australians feel the need to share this data, Germany, the US and India are far more likely to share, at 60, 75 and 86 percent respectively.
So while it might feel like a good idea at the time to share some love with your special friend, it might be an idea to re-think it.
