Why Privacy?

The value of privacy may not be as clearcut to some as it is to others. However, the value of protecting one's attention has become increasingly clear, and measureable, over time. Enhancing one's privacy is a good means to disrupting the positive feedback loops that are used to hijack attention. Some good sources on this are Jonathan Haidt on the anxiety epidemic, Yuval Harari and Tristan Harris on the the failure of the silicon valley business model and potential impacts of AI, and more recently journalists like Chris Hayes. The message is perhaps more direct in moments of brutal honesty straight from the benefactors of the attention economy themselves, such as: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J54k7WrbfMg
I'm pretty sure Sean Parker and Chamath Palihapitiya value their privacy, which provides a pretty strong signal that everyone else should value privacy as well.

https://www.wired.com/2006/05/the-eternal-value-of-privacy/ [archived version]

Why privacy? I'd instead reason by asking "why not privacy?". The burden of proof should always be on the party wanting to infringe on your right to privacy. Companies could've moved to monetization of online services by now but there is an entire data industry that is thriving off casting the widest net possible by putting their trackers on virtually every site.

Practically speaking there is really no telling what these companies do with the data they collect. I mean they'll never say they abuse the data or resell it but enough of us here know firsthand how shoddy some companies security practices can be. Huge data breaches happen somewhat regularly, keeping your data to yourself is a way of mitigating those risks.

DeletedUser127 I don't like this argument because it fails to illustrate the pervasive nature of surveillance. It's one thing for my friend to ask me to hand my phone over. It's another thing for my friend to "keep tabs" on me in the background without my explicit awareness.

I've heard this sentence somewhere and wrote it down because I like it a lot: "It's not because you're trying to hide what you do, but because what you do will at some point become exposed to every bad actor on the internet."

I can also recommend this German article in case your friend is German: https://www.kuketz-blog.de/nichts-zu-verbergen-ein-moderner-mythos-und-12-argumente-dagegen/

fid02 I remember this article written by Bruce Schneier which I had then lost sight of, thank you, it's very topical 19 years on and will remain so for years to come.

"I have nothing to hide." Nothing becomes something overnight. Who would have thought your private (made public) views about a medication would cost you your job before 2020? Or that certain political candidate you support would result in your bank closing your accounts before 2016? Or your private religious beliefs and traditions would have you targeted by 3 letter agencies before 2023? All of this in the "freest" country on earth (allegedly). Everyone has something to hide even when they shouldn't...

This is the best thing I've ever found to explain why, a very short read:
https://whyprivacymatters.org/
It's such a perfect, short, to-the-point explanation.

You need to start looking for smarter friends.

Privacy is also more than just "I have done nothing wrong," because malicious actors can hurt you with information that is perfectly normal or reasonable to have. For example, researchers have revealed that Facebook tracks if you have problems with alcoholism or gambling, for example, and serves you more ads for alcohol products and casinos: https://www.admscentre.org.au/research-reveals-facebook-alcohol-and-gambling-companies-target-ads-at-australians-most-at-risk-of-harm/

Now maybe YOU don't have problems with alcohol or gambling, but what other innocent aspects of your life will corporations capitalize on, at your expense? If your Facebook app, with always-on location tracking, determines that you tend to drive over the speed limit, they can alert your car insurance company to raise your rates. If TikTok has always-on Bluetooth scanning (to connect to speakers), it will figure out who you live with, because it will detect their phone's Bluetooth MAC at regular times of day. If your roommate/child/spouse/whatever later goes to, say, a protest (or an abortion clinic, or whatever) and other phones with TikTok detect their phone's Bluetooth MAC, TikTok can now easily figure out their identity, where they live, and what their habits are.

SimpleX looks better every day.

In my experience, changing people's beliefs is very hard. People will believe what they want to believe, regardless of what you say or how you say it. Making arguments about what another person "should" or "should not" do usually has the opposite effect.

I don't bring it up anymore and I don't use the word "privacy". If directly asked why I don't use Meta's services, I'll say:

I think making money by exploiting people is unethical and I want fewer companies with those business models in the world. I prefer to use software and services that respect me.

That's the entire reason; you can agree with it or not, but that's why.