WASHINGTON – (August 22, 2013) – As teens gain access to mobile devices, they have embraced app downloading. But many teen apps users have taken steps to uninstall or avoid apps over concern about their privacy. Location information is considered especially sensitive to teen girls, as a majority of them have disabled location tracking features on cell phones and in apps because they are worried about others’ access to that information.

Here are some of the key findings in a new survey of U.S. teens ages 12-17:

• 58% of all teens have downloaded apps to their cell phone or tablet computer.
• 51% of teen apps users have avoided certain apps due to privacy concerns.
• 26% of teen apps users have uninstalled an app because they learned it was collecting personal information that they didn’t wish to share.
• 46% of teen apps users have turned off location tracking features on their cell phone or in an app because they were worried about the privacy of their information.

Access the full report here.

About the Survey

These findings are based on a nationally representative phone survey of 802 parents and their 802 teens ages 12-17. It was conducted between July 26 and September 30, 2012. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish and on landline and cell phones. The margin of error for the full sample is ± 4.5 percentage points. In collaboration with the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard, this report also includes insights and quotes gathered through a series of in-person focus group interviews about privacy and digital media, with a focus on social networking sites (in particular Facebook), conducted by the Berkman Klein Center’s Youth and Media Project between February and April 2013. The team conducted 24 focus group interviews with a total of 156 participants across the greater Boston area, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara (California), and Greensboro (North Carolina).

About the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project

The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project is one of seven projects that make up the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan, nonprofit “fact tank” that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world. The Project produces reports exploring the impact of the Internet on families, communities, work and home, daily life, education, health care, and civic and political life. The Project aims to be an authoritative source on the evolution of the Internet through surveys that examine how Americans use the Internet and how their activities affect their lives.

Media contacts

Mary Madden: mmadden@pewinternet.org and 202-419-4515
Amanda Lenhart: alenhart@pewinternet.org and 202-419-4514