How I think about privacy.

I have been advocating for privacy for a while. However, I have not shared much about how I personally define and think about privacy in my daily life.

How I define privacy.

I define privacy as a “set of options regarding data sharing.” Privacy is the right to have control over any information from you or about you. Information could be about your health data, conversation with friends and family, and more.

Control is key

The key to privacy, in my opinion, is having control. As I mentioned when defining privacy, having control over information is crucial to living a privacy-respectful life. The reason I advocate for privacy in this digital era is due to the lack of control in the apps and services we use daily. From social media to entertainment, there seems to be a lack of control over what information is tracked, collected, surveilled, and sold about us. I am not against it if services provide effortless options and procedures to let users allow or deny tracking. However, again, this seems to be missing in many major services available today.

You are NOT a criminal for protecting privacy

Some people, including myself from 10 years ago, thought that privacy is a weird concept that only applies to criminals hiding malicious activities. However, the truth I have learned since is that privacy is not for criminals, but for everyone who wants to live any life. I believe that privacy should not be violated for anyone, regardless of their race, religious status, gender, financial class, or anything else. Privacy is a fundamental human right that everyone has the right to possess.

You are the product, if it’s free

There is a famous saying that if you are using something for free, it is likely that you are the product. Many social media and search engine services today are free to use despite the fact it costs billions of dollars to operate them. The reason you are not paying anything in the form of currency is because your information is being sold at a value much more that I used to think. For example, Google pays 20 billion US dollars to Apple to be Safari’s default search engine; that’s two with ten zeros. Google is not a non-profit organization making no money, they are an international multi-billion company making millions of dollars. The reason they are able to make so much money is because your data is more valuable than how they seem. What you searched up, where you are, what your interests are, and such information is much more valuable than letting you use the service paid without tracking.

The ability to make a mistake

I have often heard the saying, “a mistake is a path to success.” I believe this is true, as without trying, you cannot succeed, but you also cannot make mistakes. Making a mistake is an indication that you tried something new. Without privacy, it is difficult to try new things, as mistakes occur occasionally. There are several studies—such as Asch’s conformity experiments—that demonstrate how opinions and actions could change under the eyes of others. Privacy allows people to make mistakes, which is a result of being able to try something new; meaning that people will be able to initiate their path to success.

Conclusion

Overall, I believe that privacy is the right to have control over information about you. I think privacy is not about being tracked or monitored, but rather whether you can opt out of them without any friction. I think privacy is especially important today, where everything is digitalized and recorded permanently.