Just 4% of internet users report bad experiences because of embarrassing or inaccurate information online.

High levels of confidence among internet users may, in part, be connected to personal experience. As was the case in 2006, the 2009 survey found that just 4% of adult internet users have had bad experiences because embarrassing or inaccurate information was posted about them online. 

Young adult internet users (18-29) are more likely than online adults ages 50 and older to report bad experiences of this kind; 7% of young adults say they have had negative experiences because of embarrassing or inaccurate information being posted about them, compared with just 2% of adults ages 50 and older.

Those who worry about the amount of information available about them online are also somewhat more likely to report bad experiences (7% vs. 3% of those who do not worry). However, more than any other group, the 8% of internet users who have used online dating websites are the most likely to say they have had bad experiences. Fully 14% of online daters say they have had negative experiences because of embarrassing or inaccurate information posted online, compared with just 4% of those who do not use online dating sites.

Those who worry about or limit their personal information online are more likely than those who do not to have had a bad experience online due to someone posting their personal information, although not by an overwhelming margin. Some 7% of internet users who worry about their personal information online have had a bad experience, vs. 3% of those who do not worry about their personal info. Similarly, 8% of those who take steps to limit their personal information have had a bad experience, compared with 3% of those who do not take steps to limit their online footprint.

Close to one in ten internet users (8%) have asked someone to remove information about them that was posted online.

Internet users are twice as likely to say they have asked someone to remove information about them as they are to say they have had a bad experience due to embarrassing or inaccurate information being shared. Among all adult internet users, 8% say they have asked someone to remove information about them that was posted on the internet, including things like photos or videos. By comparison, about the same number (6%) reported this in 2006.

However, young adults are the only age group that has become significantly more likely since 2006 to say they have requested an information takedown. Close to one in five (18%) young adult internet users ages 18-29 say they have asked someone to remove information about them that was posted online, up from 9% in 2006. That compares to just 6% of users ages 30-49, 5% of those ages 50-64 and just 1% of those ages 65 and older who said they had requested an information takedown in the current survey (see chart below for comparisons to 2006).

These age-related variations hold true among the social networking population as well. As we noted in our Social Media and Young Adults report, 46% of adult internet users say they have created a profile online that others can see on a social networking site like MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Overall, 13% of SNS users have requested an information takedown, but 20% of SNS users ages 18-29 have made such a request. By comparison, 8% of SNS users ages 30-49 have asked someone to remove information about them and 9% of SNS users ages 50 and older have done this.

Those who worry about their personal information or take steps to limit the content that is available about them online are more likely to say that they have asked others to take down information about them. Among those who worry about the amount of personal information available about them online, 13% have asked someone to take down something they posted (vs. 6% of those who do not worry); similarly, 16% of those who take steps to limit their personal information have asked others to take down information about them (compared with 4% of non-limiters who have done this).

The vast majority of internet users who have requested a takedown were trying to get a photo or video removed. And most who sought removal of material were successful.

When asked what kind of material they were trying to get removed from the internet, 76% of those who have requested such a takedown said that item was a photo or video. More than one in three (37%) said they had requested that some kind of written material, such as a comment or blog posting, be removed, and 14% said they had asked for some other kind of content to be taken down.¹⁸

The vast majority of those who have requested that some kind of information about them be taken offline say that their efforts are usually effective. Fully 82% report this, compared with 17% who say they are not usually successful at getting information about them removed.

The number of people who have requested an information takedown is too small to make any meaningful comparisons of success rates across age groups or socioeconomic status.