Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus remained below the European Union average in online data protection habits in 2025, according to a Eurostat report released on Wednesday. The report said 69.8% of internet users in Cyprus took steps to manage access to their personal data, compared with 76.9% across the EU.
EU trends in protective measures
Across the EU, 58.8% of internet users opted out of the use of personal information for advertising purposes, while 56.2% limited or denied access to their geographical location. Both practices increased compared with 2023, rising by 4.5 and 5.4 percentage points respectively.
Controls over social media and storage
Eurostat said tighter controls over social media profiles and shared online storage became more common, with 46% of EU internet users restricting access, up 5 percentage points from 2023.
Checking sites and reading privacy policies
More cautious behaviour was also reported in how users assessed websites before sharing personal data. About 39% checked that a website was secure, an increase of 4.2 percentage points, while 37.6% said they read privacy policy statements in advance, up 1.7 percentage points.
Highest and lowest rates across the EU
The highest levels of data protection awareness were recorded in Finland, where 92.6% of users took protective measures, followed by the Netherlands at 91.2% and Czechia at 90.3%. The lowest rates were observed in Romania at 56%, Slovenia at 57.4% and Bulgaria at 62%.
How often do you adjust your online privacy settings to manage access to your personal data?
