• by Ray Schultz , October 5, 2017

Consumers are more willing to share personal information in an email than they are with potential dates, according to a study released today by Echoworx, a provider of encryption services.

People decline to provide their full names to a potential partner until after two-and-a-half dates. In addition, they are loath to share their home address until they have been on an average of four dates with the person, and their salary after six-and-a-half dates.

And one third are reluctant to discuss their salary after any number of dates. Only 5% are comfortable disclosing their Social Security number after one date.

In contrast, 75% say they have shared sensitive or personal data electronically.

On average, they share three pieces of information by email per week.

In addition, 39% have sent data online to a healthcare provider, 35% to a bank, and 25% to a government official.

However, they question whether it is safe to share personal details online. Over a fourth have little idea what encryption is.

"It's interesting that those surveyed were more willing to send personal information across the web than to divulge facts to a person they are getting to know,” states Sam Elsharif, VP software at Echoworx. “It reveals that people are not aware of the risks they are taking in case of a breach."

Echoworx surveyed 2,000 adults in the U.S.