PROVIDENCE – A survey by digital privacy platform Cloaked reveals that Rhode Island residents rank fifth in the nation regarding concerns about their digital identity, making 11,893 searches per 100,000 residents related to privacy concerns and personal data removal over the past two years.
According to the survey, Americans made more than 33 million searches related to digital identity in the past two years, with a 165% increase in searches specifically tied to artificial intelligence-related privacy concerns.
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The survey included responses from 1,057 Americans and highlights the growing anxiety surrounding online privacy in an era where personal information is easily accessible, according to the study authors.
While half of Americans believe their personal information is too publicly available, only 23% feel they have control over what appears about them online.
The Northeast dominates the list, with eight of the top 10 states in the survey located in the region. The report identified New Hampshire as the top state concerned about digital identity, followed by Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maine.
Conversely, Hawaii, Alaska, Mississippi, New Mexico and Arkansas showed significantly lower levels of concern.
The survey of 1,057 U.S. adults measured the gap between how people perceive and manage their digital identity and what the internet actually reflects back. Respondents were asked about their awareness of their online presence, their confidence in what others can find about them, their experiences with people-search sites and AI tools, among other questions.
Cloaked also analyzed Google search volume trends from January 2024 to February 2026 across 125 digital identity and online privacy terms.
Christopher Allen is a PBN staff writer. You may contact him at Allen@PBN.com.
