A study from Spain has found that more women are choosing to keep their tops on at beaches and pools, with researchers linking the decline in topless sunbathing to growing anxiety about being photographed without consent and having those images shared or spread online. The trend reflects a broader shift in attitudes towards public nudity, once far more common at Spanish beaches, as concerns over privacy and the ease of covertly capturing and distributing images via smartphones and social media reshape how comfortable women feel undressing in public.

Researchers behind the study point to fears of unwanted "snaps" being taken and circulated without permission as a key driver behind women covering up, rather than shifting social norms alone. The findings suggest that the ubiquity of camera phones and the potential for images to end up online has made many women more cautious, marking a notable change from decades when topless sunbathing was a common and largely unremarked-upon sight on Spanish beaches.