( CNN ) -- What personal information does your mobile phone reveal about you ? Do you care ? Many Americans do , according to new research from the Pew Internet and American Life Project that sheds some light on mobile-privacy concerns . According to Pew 's report , 54 % of cell phone users in the U.S. have decided not to install an app once they discovered how much of their personal information it would access . ( The amount of sensitive info an app can access typically is indicated by the `` permissions '' the app requests , listed on its information page . ) Also , nearly one-third of mobile app users report uninstalling an app from their phone because they learned it was collecting personal information they did n't wish to share . People from the lowest-income households ( earning $ 30,000 or less per year ) and men across all demographics were most likely to report taking this step . But many mobile-privacy concerns stem not from the apps you download , but from what can happen with a device that can divulge so much sensitive information once it 's out of your hands -- especially when it 's in someone else 's hands . Most cell phone users are somewhat aware of mobile privacy and many take at least some basic measures to protect it . According to Pew : . • 41 % of cell phone owners back up at least the photos , contacts , and other files from their phone . • 32 % have cleared their phone 's Web browsing or search history . • 30 % of all cell phone owners ( and 60 % of smartphone owners ) say they back up the entire contents of their phone ( apps , data , files , etc . ) • 19 % ( especially younger phone owners ) have turned off their phone 's location-tracking feature due to concerns that companies or other people might access that information . Of course , regardless of whether you turn off location tracking on your phone , your wireless carrier knows ( and keeps a record of ) where your phone is at all times it 's connected to the cell network . Carriers can surrender this information to law enforcement , and it 's unclear what else they may be doing with this data . But typically , most people do n't think clearly or consistently about mobile privacy . That 's why , at the mobile technology workshops I often run , one of my favorite exercises is this : I simply tell participants to take out their cell phone , look at it , and consider how much important and sensitive information is on that device , how much they depend on it . Then I say : Hand over your cell phone to the person sitting next to you . I let them sit there a bit , watching them grow visibly anxious . About 30 seconds later I ask them them how they feel . `` Nervous '' is a common response . So are `` exposed , '' `` weird '' and `` scared . '' `` OK , hand back those phones , '' I say . `` Now you see -- these are n't just gadgets , they 're part of your life . They 're part of you . '' According to Pew , nearly a third of cell owners have lost their phones or had them stolen . Owners of smartphones and more basic phones are equally likely to say their phone has been lost or stolen , the survey says . When your phone is lost or stolen , it can help if you do n't totally lose access to everything you had on the device . About 60 % of smartphone owners told Pew that they back up the contents of their phone . Still , having a phone go missing does n't necessarily make cell phone users more cautious . Pew noted : `` Cell owners who have actually experienced a lost or stolen phone are no more likely than average to back up the contents of their phone . '' Routinely protecting your phone with a passcode or pattern is an easy way to prevent unauthorized access to your phone . Many mobile security services also offer location tracking for lost phones , and give you the option of remotely locking or wiping data from a lost or stolen phone . Cell phone snooping is also a concern . Pew reports that 12 % of all U.S. cell phone owners `` have had another person access the contents of their phone in a way that made them feel their privacy was invaded . '' Smartphone owners and younger owners ( age 18-24 ) of any kind of cell phone are twice as likely to have had this experience . Of people who told Pew that someone accessed the contents of their phone without their permission , nearly 60 % are `` much more likely than average to conduct regular backups , '' compared to just 39 % of those whose phones have not been snooped . At least , not as far as they know . Pew 's results came from a nationwide survey of 2,254 adults conducted in March and April . The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of Amy Gahran .
New data from Pew shed light on mobile - privacy concerns . 54 % of mobile users did n't install an app once they knew what personal info it would access . 50 % have turned off their phone 's GPS - tracking feature due to privacy concerns .