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Indians are more likely to check their partner’s email accounts, stalk their ex-partners on Facebook and Twitter and even post pictures of private moments online, compared to their global counterparts, says a survey by security software maker McAfee.

The survey titled ’Love, Relationships, and Technology: When Private Data Gets Stuck in the Middle of a Breakup’ found 52% of Indian respondents saying they checked their partner’s email and social media accounts occasionally, highest among global counterparts.

"India had the most number of respondents, who regularly track their partner’s activities on Facebook (49%). They even go to the extent of tracking their partner’s ex on Facebook (30%) and Twitter (4%), highest among all the countries," it added.

The Indian respondents also stalk their own ex-partners on Facebook (47%) and Twitter (6%), which is also the highest among all countries, the survey showed.

While Indians also seem trusting of their partners in sharing personal data (66%), nearly half of them regret doing so post break-up due to fear of misuse of photos and messages, the survey said.

"More than 70% of the polled Indians said they shared their mobile content, email account details (75%) and bank account details (63%). Only 4% said they believe in not sharing any personal details with their partner, one of the lowest figures compared to other countries," it said.

However, after breaking up, almost half of the Indian respondents accepted to being regretful to have sent intimate photos or messages to their ex-partner and 49% asked their ex-partners to delete such pictures.

"It is a scary situation when ex-partners threaten to carry one’s risqué pictures online. Indian respondents ranked the highest on this parameter at 31%. Of this, 77% ex-partners have even gone to the extent of posting these pictures online. Both statistics are highest amongst all countries," the survey said.

Indian respondents also scored the highest at 15% for hacking into someone’s device and exposing content or impersonating the person, especially post breaking up (41%) or calling off the wedding (23%).

Despite the risks, 53% of the Indian respondents said they still planned to send sexy or romantic photos to their partners via email, text and social media on Valentine’s Day.

About 86% Indians said they have personal/intimate information on their smartphones, second only to Mexicans (88%).

The survey examines sharing personal data in relationships and breakups leading to privacy leaks online. The survey was conducted in 10 countries, including the US, the UK and France covering about 1,000 respondents in each country.