One in four men admit they would be embarrassed if their wife or boss checked their internet history, a survey found.
Research revealed millions of men search for things which would leave them red faced if caught, while others buy things which they wouldn’t want other people to know about.
The study also found one in 20 men own a second mobile phone to keep things from their other half.
And three quarters of men regularly delete text messages in case their wife or girlfriend went ‘snooping’ through their phone.
The worrying figures were revealed in a study carried out by internet and mobile security firm BullGuard.
Mike Hodges, COO at BullGuard, said: “Of course there are legitimate security concerns that might involve someone setting up a second email address, or clearing browser history.
“We would hope that in most cases this is being done for moral reasons for example to help avoid phishing scams and not because people are being unfaithful or up to no good.
“Many people use a secondary email account when registering for casual activities such as hobbies and interests, with a primary email account used for more important tasks such as online banking and online shopping.
“Naturally we all have details that we want to keep private but we are all guilty of accidentally leaving our phones around haphazardly whether it’s at home, in the office or even on public transport.
“If your mobile phone were to be stolen, you never know who could end up with your personal and confidential information.”
The poll also found 20 per cent of men who keep emails hush-hush said there were certain aspects of their life their spouse just didn’t need to know about.
It also emerged more than one in twenty men has even been dumped because of something incriminating a partner had found on their phone or PC.
And a crafty one in four men use a plethora of different passwords to their email accounts and social networking sites to try and deceive the lady in their life.
Nearly a quarter said they had content in their inbox that they wouldn’t want their partner to see, with confirmation of purchases they have bought being the main reason.
Although a third said they had flirty emails stored that they need to keep under wraps.
One in ten men has confided over email to friends about their relationship problems which could also land them in hot water with their wife or girlfriend.
Of those polled, two thirds of all men choose not to share their passwords with their other half and 23 percent admitted to being secretive about what was stored on their phone and PC.
And a guilt ridden 18 per cent also feel the need to delete certain pictures and video clips ‘just in case.’
