A survey by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data revealed on Wednesday that smartphone users in Hong Kong have a low awareness of personal privacy.

The survey indicated that over 90 percent of users have installed apps, but only 27 percent had read and considered the apps' privacy policies before installing them.

Allan Chiang Yam-wang, privacy commissioner for personal data, said, "Many apps collect large amounts of personal data of their users and some apps require access to personal data stored on the phones, which reveals details about a users' private life - such as where they have been in the last few days, who their friends are and what they are interested in."

Nearly 60 percent of app-users do not know what personal data on their phones can be accessed by the applications they have installed. And only 53 percent of users take steps to protect their phones and personal data by using screen locks and anti-virus software.