If there’s one lesson I’ve learned from the Internet over the last few years, it’s that it’s never, ever, ever a good idea to take nude pictures of yourself. Ever. Because if you have a vagina, you stand a very good chance of finding those pics on some scummy revenge porn site—and by virtue of the fact that you have a vagina, you will not be able to sue to get those pics removed. It’s part of the whole “don’t be a woman” lesson America likes to reinforce.

But I digress. A new survey from AVG Technologies reveals that fully one in four mobile users store nude/intimate photos on their smartphone or tablet. To clarify—this isn’t a survey of a handful of Spring Breakers in Lake Havasu. This is a survey of 5,000 people from the UK, U.S., France, Germany, and Brazil.

Here’s the kicker: while one in four people surveyed said they do keep nude and intimate photos on their mobile devices, fewer than 40% of users said they use their devices for mobile banking because they don’t believe it’s secure. Only 35% of respondents said they shop from their mobile device—and those that don’t also cite security concerns.

So we have a problem with what people think is secure. Only 36% said they would consider checking their bank balance from a smartphone compared to 78% who would check it from a PC. (So 22% of people seriously don’t do online banking at all. Srsly.)

"This survey has clearly demonstrated that there is confusion in the minds of consumers about what is and isn`t safe or sensible to do with a mobile device," said J.R. Smith, CEO of AVG Technologies, in a statement. "It is already limiting the appeal of mobile shopping, banking and ticketing, and this is in turn hampering the industry`s efforts to drive new innovations and monetization methods. At the same time, millions of consumers are exposing themselves to risk of personal and professional embarrassment by storing sensitive images on their devices.”

Personally, I’m surprised people still do this. Didn’t we learn anything from Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, Pamela Anderson, and Screech from “Saved by the Bell”?

Smith argues that the industry needs to start educating consumers on privacy and security.

"If it does not, mainstream consumers will remain skeptical about mobile commerce, potentially wasting billions of dollars of investment into new features,” said Smith. 

Image source: ning.com