  The steady reports of privacy invasions online paints a picture of the
Internet growing into a more dangerous place. This is supported by reports of
the potential scale for online harms facilitated by the mass deployment of
online technology and the data-intensive web. While Internet users often
express concern about privacy, some report taking actions to protect their
privacy online. We investigate the methods and technologies that individuals
employ to protect their privacy online. We conduct two studies, of N=180 and
N=907, to elicit individuals' use of privacy methods online, within the US, the
UK and Germany. We find that non-technology methods are among the most used
methods in the three countries. We identify distinct groupings of privacy
methods usage in a cluster map. The map shows that together with non-technology
methods of privacy protection, simple PETs that are integrated in services,
form the most used cluster, whereas more advanced PETs form a different, least
used cluster. We further investigate user perception and reasoning for mostly
using one set of PETs in a third study with N=183 participants. We do not find
a difference in perceived competency in protecting privacy online between
advanced and simpler PETs users. We compare use perceptions between advanced
and simpler PETs and report on user reasoning for not using advanced PETs, as
well as support needed for potential use. This paper contributes to privacy
research by eliciting use and perception of use across $43$ privacy methods,
including $26$ PETs across three countries and provides a map of PETs usage.
The cluster map provides a systematic and reliable point of reference for
future user-centric investigations across PETs. Overall, this research provides
a broad understanding of use and perceptions across a collection of PETs, and
can lead to future research for scaling use of PETs.
