The latest survey released by China Internet Network Information Center shows that search engines impose potential dangers of disclosing users' private data.
A representative from CNNIC has told local media that during their survey, they found that more than 30% of users had used a search engine to search for their name and about 30% of them had also found their personal information during searches. The personal information that is disclosed usually includes a person's telephone number and address, as this information is often provided by the users on their alumni websites or blogs.
CNNIC's report shows that Baidu ranks as the top search option for Chinese users with 62.1% users choosing it and it is followed by Google (25.3%), Yahoo (4.8%), Sohu Sogou (3.2%) and iAsk (1.2%). Interestingly, the survey shows that Google takes a leading position among white-collar users and Google's Chinese name is not as well known among users as its English name.
The survey also gives a surprising conclusion that Sogou, which focuses on entertainment, has the oldest group of users while Baidu ranks as the youngest search engine–52.7% of its users are below 23 years old.
