Got secrets? Eighty-seven percent of smartphone users respondedin the affirmative to a survey commissioned by Dallas appsdeveloper NQ Mobile which bluntly asked them if they had content ontheir devices they would prefer others not see.

Nearly one-fourth indicated that others may have secretlyaccessed content on their smartphones. Potential snoops includedthieves, friends, employees and significant others, said NQ Mobilein a statement.

“Whether being passed around to share photos from a recentvacation, being used to entertain children or being left untendedon a table in a business meeting, it's clear our smartphones arefinding their way into more and more people's hands,” said GavinKim, chief product officer at NQ Mobile. “Surprisingly, smartphonesprovide no simple way to curate the content we feel comfortableothers seeing and storing away the content we'd rather keepprivate. “

The occasion for these announcements is NQ Mobile's release ofan Android App – NQ Mobile Vault – free at the Google Play store.

The app creates an encrypted and password-protected space on aphone where users can store content they want to keep away fromprying eyes. This could include SMS messages, call logs, videos,even financial institution passwords.

Whether this app is the right or best solution is of course achoice for each consumer. What is evident, suggested the experts,is that there is increasing consumer awareness of the sensitivenature of content on their smartphones and a determination toattempt to keep that content private.

Experts also point out that a starting point for securingsmartphone content is to PIN protect the device, which isaccomplished under the SETTINGS tab. Setting up a PIN takes secondsbut, say security experts, this simple step keeps at least casualsnoops at bay by locking down the whole device.

Meantime, Dropbox – an app available on Android and iPhone devices – alsoprovides free, encrypted storage of content a user may want to keepsecret.