Thai smartphone use exceeds regional average for internet access
Across Asia-Pacific, 72% of respondents use smartphones as their main internet device, rising to 74% in Thailand, while more personal and work data is stored on mobile devices.
- A survey found that 74% of people in Thailand use smartphones as their primary device for internet access, exceeding the Asia-Pacific regional average of 72%.
- This high usage has turned smartphones into the main repositories for important personal and work-related data for Thai users, including photos, contacts, and work emails.
- Cybersecurity experts warn that despite the increased reliance on smartphones for internet and data storage, users' security habits have not kept pace with the changing usage patterns.
Kaspersky’s latest survey across Asia-Pacific, including Thailand, found that internet habits are changing, with nearly three-quarters of respondents across the region naming smartphones as their main device for accessing the internet, relegating personal computers (PCs) to a secondary role.
However, cybersecurity experts warned that although smartphones are increasingly becoming the main repository for users’ important information, security habits have not kept pace with changing usage patterns.
Thai smartphone use exceeds regional average
The survey found that 72% of respondents across Asia-Pacific use smartphones as their main device for accessing the internet.
The proportion was slightly higher in Thailand, where 74% of respondents used smartphones as their main gateway to the online world.
The growing use of smartphones has turned them into repositories for several types of important information.
The data most commonly stored by respondents across Asia-Pacific included:
- Personal photographs and videos: 65%.
- Contact information: 57%.
- Messages and chat histories: 50%.
- Personal documents, such as national identity cards, passports and insurance documents: 49%.
The survey also found that smartphones are playing a greater role in work, with 47% of respondents storing work emails and 31% keeping work calendars on their devices.
Users also stored financial and other important information on smartphones, including:
- Bank account details: 38%.
- Passwords and login details: 34%.
- AI conversation histories: 27%.
Thai users store both personal and work data
In Thailand, the survey found that users stored a wide range of information on their smartphones.
The most commonly stored data included:
- Personal photographs and videos: 63%.
- Contact information and telephone numbers: 50%.
- Social media account information: 44%.
Smartphones are also taking on a greater role in work, with Thai respondents reporting that they stored:
- Work-related emails and messages: 40%.
- Calendars and work schedules: 27%.
- Access information for work systems: 17%.
Protecting the data is the main challenge
Anton Kivva, a cybersecurity expert at Kaspersky, noted that smartphones no longer merely store photographs, contact lists or messages, but are involved in almost every aspect of life, including personal, financial and work information.
He said the key question today was not “what information do users store on their smartphones?” but “how do they protect it?”, adding that security measures should be given as much importance as the information held on the device.
Three ways to strengthen mobile data security
Kaspersky recommended three security measures for smartphone users.
1. Do not keep data only on the phone
Although storing everything on a smartphone is convenient, loss, damage to the device or accidental deletion could make the information impossible to recover without a backup or synchronisation with a cloud service.
Sensitive information, such as passwords, national identity card numbers or financial data, should be stored in specially protected systems.
These include password managers that can hold login credentials, bank card details and important documents while synchronising information between devices.
2. Use cybersecurity protection on mobile devices
Kaspersky reported that in 2025 it detected and blocked 10,449,120 web-based cyberthreats in Thailand, averaging 28,550 incidents a day.
The company recommended installing cybersecurity protection on smartphones, as on computers, to scan applications, detect malicious links and phishing in real time, and reduce the risk of data loss and financial damage.
3. Prepare for a lost phone
Experts recommended taking the following steps in advance:
Enable device-location services and remote data deletion.
Turn on automatic backups so that important information can be recovered.
Set the screen to lock immediately when the device is no longer in use.
Avoid leaving the phone in places where it could easily be lost or stolen.
Smartphones are the centre of digital life
Kivva said many users still underestimate how much important information is stored on their smartphones.
He added that users should consider when they last backed up their information, whether they had a plan if their phone was lost and whether they checked links before clicking them.
Most users tend to prioritise installing security software on computers while neglecting smartphones, even though phones are used every day and hold large amounts of important information.
Adrian Hia, Kaspersky’s managing director for Asia-Pacific, said smartphones had evolved from communication devices into hubs for managing digital life, covering finances, work, memories and the use of AI assistants.
With several types of information concentrated on a single device, the impact of losing access to it or suffering a data breach also increases.
Mobile cybersecurity is therefore not only about protecting the device, but also the digital information users carry with them every day.
