Do the French really care about their online privacy?

On paper, yes: 75% of internet users say they are concerned about advertising tracking (INSEE, 2023) and the CNIL received 20,150 complaints in 2025, almost double the 2018 figure. But only a third adjust their browser settings: the gap between saying and doing remains the real statistic.

Information verified on July 11, 2026

Data freely quotable with attribution (link to this page).

Three French internet users out of four say they are concerned about the tracking of their online activities. At the same time, nearly all of them go through Google every month. I’ve gathered the public figures that document this gap: surveys, CNIL complaints, cookies, ad blockers. Each with its date, each with its source.

What the French say

Let’s start with words. In 2023, 75% of internet users aged 15 or over said they were concerned about their online activities being recorded for targeted advertising purposes (INSEE, ICT household survey). The worry rises with age: 82% among those aged 60 to 74, versus 67% before 30. Nothing new there, by the way: as early as February 2018, even before the GDPR, 78% of French people said they cared about how their data was collected and used (IFOP).

CREDOC’s Baromètre du numérique measures something else: 14% of French people mention a fear about the protection of their personal data, five points more than in 2020 (2025 data). Depending on how the question is asked, the concern thus swings from massive to minority. That’s already a lesson: privacy worries people when you name it, but it doesn’t come to mind on its own.

Knowledge of the rules doesn’t keep up either. In March 2019, one year after the GDPR, only 44% of French people had heard of it. Last rank in the European Union, far from Sweden’s 90% (Eurobarometer). Nobody has published a more recent national measurement.

The available clues, laid on the table

ClueFigureSource and date
Internet users concerned about their online activities being recorded75%INSEE, ICT household survey, 2023
French people mentioning a fear for their personal data14% (+5 points since 2020)CREDOC, Baromètre du numérique, 2025 data
French people who have heard of the GDPR44% (last rank in the EU)Eurobarometer, March 2019
Complaints received by the CNIL in 202520,150 (+10% in one year)CNIL, 2025 annual report
Fines issued by the CNIL in 2025€487 million (83 sanctions)CNIL, 2025 sanctions report
Cookie refusal rate39%CNIL, IFOP survey, June 2022
Internet users using an ad blocker31%GWI via DataReportal, 2024
Average Google dependence score of respondents47/100This site’s barometer, July 2026 (111 respondents)

Yes, some of these studies are old. That’s the usual story with this subject: solid public measurements are rare, and nobody has done better since. I take them for what they are, orders of magnitude, each with its year.

CNIL complaints, the most reliable thermometer

A complaint is not an opinion. You have to identify the problem, fill out a form, make your case. In 2025, the CNIL received 20,150 of them, 10% more than in 2024. In 2018, the year of the GDPR, it counted 11,077 and was already calling that a record. The volume has almost doubled in seven years.

The sanctions followed, and not by a little. In 2025, the CNIL issued 83 sanctions for €487 million in fines, an unprecedented amount. Two decisions of September 1, 2025 account for most of it: €325 million for Google, which inserted ads between Gmail emails without consent, and €150 million for Shein, which placed cookies before the user made any choice. The same year, 6,167 data breaches were notified to the regulator, yet another record.

Actions follow, but only halfway

What do people actually do with this concern? Lots of small things: 80% of internet users have taken at least one step to limit the tracking of their information (INSEE, 2023). In detail, 59% have refused the advertising use of their data and 58% have blocked their geolocation. But only 33% have changed their browser settings. Cookie refusal reached 39% in June 2022 (CNIL), and banners still show 55 to 60% acceptance in 2025 (Didomi). One internet user in three uses an ad blocker (31%, GWI, 2024).

In other words, people refuse when the button is right in front of them. They rarely act when they have to go looking for it.

What the gap says about dependence

75% concerned, one third touching their settings: researchers call this the privacy paradox. I believe the explanation is more down to earth. Refusing a cookie costs one click, leaving an ecosystem costs hours. And Google captures 88% of searches in France while 20 to 30 million French people have a Gmail address. The concern stops where the dependence begins. Who slams the door on the service that keeps their photos, their emails and their passwords?

My barometer tells the same story on a small scale. The average Google dependence score there reaches 47 out of 100 in July 2026, across the first 111 respondents (the barometer). A self-selected sample, I insist: these visitors are already thinking about their use of Google, the French average is probably higher. The dependence statistics detail what those 47 points cover.

Measure the gap in your own case

Saying you’re concerned costs nothing. Measuring, barely more: the diagnostic takes 3 minutes to score what your digital life owes to Google, no account to create. And if the result convinces you to close the gap between what you think and what you do, the guide to leaving Google gives the big picture, without rushing.

Sources

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Frequently asked questions

How many complaints does the CNIL receive each year?

20,150 complaints in 2025, 10% more than in 2024, according to its annual report. That's almost double 2018 and its 11,077 complaints, a figure that was already hailed as a record when the GDPR came into force. Filing a complaint has become a reflex: it's the most concrete sign of how much the French care about their privacy.

Do the French know the GDPR?

Not well: in March 2019, one year after it came into force, only 44% of French people had heard of it, the lowest rank in the European Union according to the Eurobarometer. Nobody has published a serious national measurement since. Yet the GDPR guarantees very concrete rights, like the right to retrieve your data: that's the right my book puts to work to leave Google.

Why do we still accept cookies if we distrust them?

Because refusing takes a repeated effort, banner after banner. Acceptance rates still hover around 55 to 60% in France in 2025 (Didomi), while the refusal rate already reached 39% in June 2022 (CNIL). Consent fatigue does the rest. To measure your own exposure, the diagnostic scores your dependence in 3 minutes.

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