Privacy seen as deterrent with cloud

Over 2,000 people were involved in the survey, released yesterday in the World Internet Project report from AUT. Photo / Thinkstock

One-third of internet users in survey access latest method of sharing and storing files

Just over a third of New Zealand internet users taking part in a new survey said they access cloud computing services.

The main reason why people weren't using cloud services to store or share files online was they didn't know how to do so, while 18 per cent of those surveyed didn't know what the cloud was or whether they were a user.

Around 14 per cent of the non-cloud users in the survey said they did so because of privacy concerns.

Other objectors to the cloud cited security reasons while 8 per cent said cost was a reason they didn't use the services.

The survey results were released yesterday in the World Internet Project report from AUT University. Over 2,000 people were involved in the survey.

Over 90 per cent in the study used the internet, 3 per cent did at some point in their lives but do not now and 5 per cent never have. About 73 per cent of New Zealanders in the survey thought the internet was important to their everyday life and four out of five users spent an hour or more online at home every day.

Over 90 per cent of internet users said they looked for information about products online, while 85 per cent compared prices.

Almost 60 per cent of internet users said they had used internet-based central or local government services and half had gone online to pay taxes, fines or licence fees in the past year.

The World Internet Project's surveys included people recontacted from previous surveys, a simple random sample of adults and targeted random samples of Maori, Pasifika and Asian populations.