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2026 annual survey on privacy

Two small children lie down on a couch on their stomachs watching a laptop. Both children have dark curly hair. Read the 2026 survey, 'Research on Privacy Concerns and use of personal information' (opens to PDF, 2.4MB).

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.

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%)
  • 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.

Concerns about privacy in New Zealand are also deepening and diversifying. Not only are more people now 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.

The research shows 82% of New Zealanders want more say in how their information is collected and used.

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”, 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.

About the survey

  • Results in this report are based upon questions asked in the nationally representative AK Research online omnibus survey of adults in New Zealand.
  • The total sample size was 1245, which is made up of 1000 respondents (as part of the regularly omnibus survey) and an additional booster sample of 245 Māori respondents to achieve a Māori total.
  • The fieldwork was done from 12 March to 1 April 2026.

Read the 2026 survey, 'Research on Privacy Concerns and use of personal information' (opens to PDF, 2.4MB).

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