Some app or service is always watching you while you’re online, and if that bothers you then you’re not alone. The Pew Research Center has just released a report which indicates that people are more aware of their privacy than some might suspect.

The report is drawn from a Pew survey conducted in late March 2011, where 2,254 Americans were polled by phone. 88% of Americans said they owned a cellphone of some kind, and 43% of that group downloaded apps to their phone, a noticeable increase from the 31% who affirmed this detail in 2011.

More than half of respondents (54%) to this survey indicated that they decided not to install an app once they found out how much personal information they’d have to share with the world. What’s more, 30% of respondents reported removing an app after they discovered how much information it collected.

The survey also showed that 12% of the respondents have had their privacy invaded when someone accessed their phone without permission, and over 30% have had a phone stolen at one point. The youngest owners tended to be more likely to have this happen, with some 45% of the 18-24 age group reporting that their phone had been lost or stolen, and 24% saying that someone else has accessed their phone in a way that compromised their privacy.

You can find the full report, with an extensive set of questions, on the Pew website.