Cloaked, the consumer-first privacy and security company, launches the Cloaked Research Hub. This ongoing initiative will produce original, nationally representative research on how American consumers think about, experience, and respond to personal privacy and data safety issues. Insights are available at www.cloaked.com/research-hub.
NEW YORK, July 8, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Cloaked, the consumer-first privacy and security company, today announced the launch of the Cloaked Research Hub. This ongoing initiative will produce original, nationally representative research on how American consumers think about, experience, and respond to personal privacy and data safety issues.
“The Cloaked Research Hub is a fact-based insights resource for individuals, companies, media, and policymakers to continue to better understand American views on data privacy across a wide range of topics and demographics,” said Arjun Bhatnagar, Co-founder and CEO at Cloaked.
The Cloaked Research Hub launches with five published surveys, revealing growing concern about data privacy risks and distrust of new technologies like AI, which are influencing consumer behavior. Each survey includes 1,000 US respondents and addresses a relevant topic, such as artificial intelligence and data sharing, the cost of financial fraud, the impact of digital search exposure, and the impact of spam on consumer trust.
“Understanding consumer sentiment and how it influences action is a pivotal component to solving the data privacy crisis we face today,” said Arjun Bhatnagar, Co-founder and CEO at Cloaked. “The Cloaked Research Hub is a fact-based insights resource for individuals, companies, media, and policymakers to continue to better understand American views on data privacy across a wide range of topics and demographics.”
Americans Know Privacy-Risk Exists and Seek Answers.
Over the last two years, 33 million searches related to digital privacy, online privacy, and personal data removal have been made. Of these, “remove my information from the internet free” grew by 133%, while “how to delete information from the internet” grew 34%.
Nearly all digital identity searches (96%) focused on awareness, monitoring, or protection. Only 3% focused on reactive deletion, removal, or damage control. However, within this context, searches tied to doxxing prevention grew 37% year over year.
Digital footprint survey results revealed that 77% of Americans feel they do not have control over what appears about them online.
Spam and AI Add to Growing Consumer Distrust.
New technologies like artificial intelligence are accelerating feelings of distrust and a lack of control among Americans, as they increase the volume of spam and the sophistication of scams.
According to Cloaked’s “The Trust Costs of Spam Calls and Texts” survey, spam is playing a significant role in changing how Americans communicate. The survey reveals that the average American loses 27 hours a year to spam calls. Because of such high spam rates, 42% of individuals state that it has significantly influenced or completely changed their communication preferences toward non-call methods, and 43% of respondents have blocked all unknown callers by default.
Cloaked’s “How Americans Feel about Sharing Their Data with AI” survey shows that 75% of individuals feel monitored by the technologies they use, and 82% of respondents say they do not trust AI to keep their data safe.
Feelings about AI are also influencing consumer decision-making and brand loyalty. More than 2 in 5 Americans said learning that a company uses AI to make decisions about them regarding credit, hiring, or insurance without their consent would cause them to leave a platform.
The Cloaked Research Hub is meant to provide an ongoing pulse on American sentiment and action tied to timely privacy topics. New surveys will be unveiled monthly, addressing different forces shaping digital identity, data protection, and consumer privacy today.
For more information about Cloaked and the Cloaked Research Hub, visit www.cloaked.com/research-hub.
About Cloaked
Founded by brothers Arjun and Abhijay Bhatnagar, Cloaked is a consumer-first privacy and security company dedicated to helping individuals take control of their personal data. Trusted by more than 450,000 users, Cloaked gives individuals control over when, where, and with whom they share personal data across its web platform, browser extension, and mobile app while actively removing what’s already exposed in the public domain. Cloaked Enterprise extends this same foundational approach with enterprise-grade tooling, delivering comprehensive employee protection through a distributed, cloud-based managed service that reduces corporate risk and exposure.
To date, the company has raised more than $400 million in funding from investors, including General Catalyst, Liberty City Ventures, Human Capital, Lux Capital, Marquee Ventures, Fifth Growth Fund, Next Play Ventures, Index Ventures, Mantis VC, Khosla Ventures, Thiel Capital, ENEA Capital, the NFLPA, LG Technology Ventures, Assurant Ventures, and DuckDuckGo. Cloaked is based in New York City. To learn more, visit cloaked.com.
Media Contact
Kendra Peavy, Cloaked, 1 929.525.6249, kendra@cloaked.id, cloaked.com
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SOURCE Cloaked
