• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, August 22, 2013

Many teens download apps, but eschew the ones that collect too much data, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center.

Almost six in 10 teens (58%) say they have downloaded apps to smartphones or tablets. But more than half of that group (51%) say they decided against downloading an app after learning that the app would gather personal information. Around four in 10 teen app users (26%) say they have uninstalled apps due to privacy concerns.

Many teens were particularly concerned about geolocation tracking, with 46% of teen app users saying they disabled location tracking features on their cell phone. Girls were especially likely to do so, with 59% of them saying they turned off location tracking.

Overall, boys were more likely than girls to download apps, with 79% of boys installing apps, compared to 62% of girls. Family income also correlated with app downloading; 79% of teen cell phone owners in homes with at least $50,000 in annual income downloaded apps, compared to 60% of teens in homes with less than $50,000 in annual income.

The report is based on a recent survey of 668 teen cell phone or tablet users between the ages of 12 and 17.