Six in 10 Brits have posted something online they’ve later come to regret, it has emerged.

Researchers found our desire to keep friends, colleagues and relatives up to date with every aspect of our lives comes at a cost.

In fact, 47 per cent wish they could permanently delete aspects of their digital past due to fears of it being used in ways they didn’t intend.

Credit history, embarrassing photos and ghosts of their dating past are among the top things Brits would like completely removed from online archives amid concerns about their privacy, security and how it might affect their future

More than half of Brits don’t feel completely comfortable with retailers storing their personal data, with an equal number feeling the same about utility companies.

Three in 10 are uncomfortable with banks storing their data, and seven in 10 feel uneasy at the thought of social media businesses saving their information.

Twenty-seven per cent even admitted they are on edge due to the data the NHS keeps about them and 41 per cent said the same about their personal information which is kept by their employer.

Nick Taylor, managing director of Accenture Security, which commissioned the research, said: “In May, new [data protection] regulations will give everyone in the UK the right for their online data to be forgotten.

“Individuals will have the power to decide which businesses can store and use their personal data, and ask companies to delete any information they have about them.

“In the past, consumers have voted with their wallets; now they can also vote with their data.”