Men face significantly more pressure and threats to share their locations and online account access compared to women, while women are much less likely to be aware of how their locations could be exposed across shared digital accounts, a new report revealed on Tuesday.
According to cybersecurity company Malwarebytes, men are nearly two times more likely than women to regret sharing digital access, apps, and locations.
“Too many people – not just women – are led to trust popular apps that can reveal their locations in ways they don’t know. And too many people – not just men – are pressured to share their passwords, locations, and devices in ways that make them uncomfortable. Every healthy relationship is built on consent. It’s far past time to tell users what is happening to their data, and what they can do to keep themselves safe,” said David Ruiz, Senior Privacy Advocate, Malwarebytes.
The report based on a survey of 500 adults in committed relationships across the US found that of those who shared their location, 36 per cent of men reported feeling pressured to do so, compared to 20 per cent of women.
About 9 per cent of men stated that their partner had threatened them over sharing account access, more than double the rate for women (4 per cent).
Threats include the risk of breakups, physical or emotional harm, and being shut out or ignored.
Moreover, the report revealed that 23 per cent of men wished their partners did not have access to their digital accounts and devices, versus 12 per cent of women.
Nearly 14 per cent of men agreed with the statement, “If I could do it all over again, I wouldn’t share as much personal account information with my partner,” compared to 8 per cent of women.