11 May 2026, 09:00

Issues like AI decision-making, facial recognition, and children's digital lives are now firmly mainstream concerns, rather than niche ones, according to the latest privacy survey. 

“The increasing use of technology is leading more New Zealanders to ask questions about the amount of personal information being collected about them, what it’s being used for, and how it’s being kept safe from misuse”, Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster says.

This year’s top three concerns are children's privacy including social media use (71% concerned, up 4%); government agencies and businesses using AI to make decisions about people using personal data (67% concerned, up 5%); and the management of personal information by social media companies (65% concerned, up 2%). 

“These issues remain unchanged from 2025, which shows that privacy issues linked to these topics are becoming entrenched in people’s minds as something to worry about”, said Mr Webster.

A majority (52%) say they have become more concerned about privacy in recent years, and 82% of New Zealanders want more say in how their information is collected and used.

“Concerns about privacy in New Zealand are deepening and diversifying. Not only are more people concerned about their individual privacy than before, but a greater number are also saying that in the last few years they’ve become more concerned about privacy issues”.

“Recent events, such as large privacy breaches in the health sector, look to have dented people’s confidence, with 56% having concerns about the security of health information. That was up 10%, the most significant annual increase for any privacy issue we asked about." 

“So perhaps it is also not surprising that only 18% are ‘extremely’ confident or ‘very’ confident that New Zealand law adequately protects personal information, while one in three have little or no confidence at all”, the Commissioner says. 

Māori record higher concern and greater sensitivity across almost every measure and show significantly lower trust in government agencies (21% Māori vs 31% all) and were more likely to be concerned about the use of FRT in retail stores, and in law enforcement.

The annual privacy survey also showed that: 

• 66% would consider changing service providers over poor privacy and security practices.
• Nearly two thirds (64%) of New Zealanders want to know more about what businesses and government agencies can do with their personal information.
• Trust in organisations to handle personal information varies, but all reveal significant room for improvement – government agencies are highest at 31% rating their trust as very high or high, New Zealand-based businesses at 27%, but only 11% for overseas-based businesses.

The 2026 privacy survey was released today to mark the start of Privacy Week 2026 which includes a series of webinars on a wide range of privacy topics.