Reuters/Ipsos poll: Three quarters of Facebook users as active or more since privacy scandal

Anca Alexe 10/05/2018 | 07:59

Despite the Cambridge Analytica data privacy scandal Facebook has faced over the past months, a Reuters/Ipsos poll shows that most Facebook users have remained loyal to the social network.

The poll indicates that Facebook has not suffered any losses from the scandal, except some PR difficulties. However, the company is facing pressure from regulators, privacy advocates and shareholders to improve its users’ privacy.

It was found that about half of Facebook users in the US said they had not recently changed the amount that they used the site, and a quarter said they were using it even more. The remaining quarter said that they were using it less recently, had stopped using it or deleted their account.

Among all adults, 64 percent said they use Facebook at least once a day, down slightly from 68 percent found in a similar poll in March.

According to the poll, more Facebook users said they knew how to guard their personal information on the site than users of other social media platforms such as Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest and Tumblr. It found that 74 percent of Facebook users said they were aware of their current privacy settings, and 78 percent said they knew how to change them.

Despite their understanding of Facebook’s privacy settings, only 23 percent of its users said they have “total control” over the information they store on the platform. Another 49 percent said they have “some control,” and 20 percent said they had “no control.” The remaining 9 percent said they do not know how much control they have.