27% of Brazilians send nudes without thinking about privacy risks, study finds

A new study from Kaspersky reveals that more than a fifth of Brazilians (22%) have explicit images of themselves stored on their mobile devices, and almost the same percentage (27%) have shared these intimate photos with people they date or chat with online. Kaspersky reflects on the risks of this type of situation and offers tips to prevent intimate images from being disclosed without consent.

“Revenge porn”

The company’s “Naked Truth” report addresses the extent of explicit images that are captured and stored on devices and later shared online. The findings also relate to intimate image abuse, also known as “revenge porn”: more than half (53%) of Brazilians said they know someone who has experienced this form of online abuse or have been victims of it themselves (5%).

The popularity of online dating has accelerated the exchange of intimate messages, a form of communication known as “sexting”, which represented a radical shift in social and romantic interactions. As evidence of this, the practice of saving “nudes” on devices has become more common among younger people: almost 52% of people between 16 and 34 years old have already received intimate photos from partners or people they are in a relationship with, a high number compared to the 20% of users over 55 years old.

Adults over 35 are most affected

The large number of intimate images that are captured, stored and shared online also correlates with the volume of people who have experienced the practice of “revenge porn”, and in this case, adults over 35 years old were the most affected: 15% of them have been victims of abuse of their intimate images, including being threatened with it; in comparison, 11% of people between 16 and 34 years old say they have experienced this.

“Our research highlights the normalization of a critical social problem; users, especially younger ones, are sharing intimate images in increasing numbers without regard for the rich and the potential long-term consequences,” Explain Fabiano Tricarico, General Manager of Consumer Products for the Americas at Kaspersky. “Over the past 25 years, technology has made it easier to capture and share these types of images. In addition, there have been significant changes in online dating behavior and attitudes, which has accelerated the trend toward exchanging intimate messages. Educating and raising awareness about the risks of the digital world can help them make more responsible digital decisions.”

Sophie Mortimer, SWGfL Revenge Porn Helpline Manageradds: “We can see every day that the abuse of intimate images is an ongoing problem, but this study shows us where we need to take action: to build a national and international conversation about the meaning and importance of consent, to improve online safety knowledge for adults and young people, and to make it clear that when abuse or misuse of an intimate image occurs, the blame lies entirely with the perpetrators.

To prevent your intimate images from being disclosed without your consent, Kaspersky recommends:

• Think before you post or share any content online. Be mindful of who and when you are sending intimate information. Also, always consider how others might interpret and use the images you send from your device.
• Always review the permission settings in the apps you use to search to minimize the likelihood of third parties sharing or storing your data without your knowledge and consent.
• Use a reliable security solution, such as Kaspersky Password Manager, which allows you to generate unique passwords for each of your accounts and protect them; resist the temptation to reuse the same password for all your profiles.
• Visit and use StopNCII.org, a global online tool that helps victims of the dissemination of intimate images without their consent and protects them from being shared online.
• If you suspect that you are a victim of revenge, keep the evidence and report it to the appropriate authorities, as well as to the platforms where you think your data is available.