Roughly  7 in 10 – national – internet users in the Middle East region reported that they changed how they use social media due to privacy concerns.

So it’s important to know an overview of the media usage in the region, people thoughts and behavior towards online media:

• Internet penetration in the Middle East has risen in all 6 countries surveyed, but it increased rapidly in Egypt with a rate of 59% in 2016 from 45% in 2015, and the UAE achieved 100% of internet penetration.
• Large majorities of the populations in the Middle East countries have mobile broadband access. Moreover, just 42% of Lebanese, 31% of Egyptians, and 31% of Tunisians have mobile broadband subscriptions.
• The majority of internet users in the Middle East are using Facebook with a rate of 82% in 2016, then Whatsapp with a rate of 77%. And only 30% of online users in the region are using Instagram.
• Most of the internet users from all ages in the Middle East are using WhatsApp, followed by Facebook Messenger.
• About 81% of UAE internet users are using YouTube, followed by 67% in both Lebanon and KSA, then 54% in Egypt.
• 52% of internet users in KSA, 45% in Tunisia and 36% in UAE said that they are worried about companies checking what they do online.
• On the other hand, 43% of internet users in KSA, 29% in Tunisia, and 22% in the UAE said they are worried about the government checking for what they do online.
• Most of Middle East internet users access the internet in the Arabic language.
• 43% of internet users in the Middle East said they paid to access content online in 2015, while only 4% of Egyptians have paid for this purpose.

A Graph Shows Who Agree That The privacy Have Changed The Way They Used Social Media, 2016.