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Ask HN: What's a good response to “It's fine, I've got nothing to hide online”?
11–20 of 87 posts
Re: Ask HN: What's a good response to “It's fine, I've got nothing to hide online”?
#12Using police as an example since I don't trust Facebook at all.
For me the turning point was when I realised that while I have nothing to hide from police or governments today I might have something I wish to hide from governments in 2030.
For a real world example of this, see Turkey - a country that was quickly approaching western standards but turned around in less than 2 years.
Also, while I trust local police that most of them will not abuse their knowledge I don't trust them to keep that data safe from hacking for decades to come.
Also, while I've used (local) police as an example of someone I trust i do not trust companies by default.
Re: Ask HN: What's a good response to “It's fine, I've got nothing to hide online”?
#13"I do."
yeah, pretty much this. The problem with people willing to share everything is that they don't realize they're also sharing data about other people. Classic example would be address books that many apps are allowed to read.This can be dangerous for journalists or whistle blower as it becomes easier to infer their whereabouts.
The more general problem is that social media gives away a high resolution model of how a certain society is functioning. The danger here is that someone else knows more about a group of people than the members themselves. Anyone who gets hold of the data can use it as a great foundation for social engineering. Be it rulers of countries that slipped into dictatorship, black hat hackers or terrorists.
Re: Ask HN: What's a good response to “It's fine, I've got nothing to hide online”?
#14I have nothing to hide about my bathroom activity, but I'd feel uneasy having a Dump Indicator Light installed above my front door.
Re: Ask HN: What's a good response to “It's fine, I've got nothing to hide online”?
#15A more aggressive example that seems to get the idea through to people:
> Would you be OK with the police installing a camera in your house? Don't worry, they'll only look at it if they think you've done something wrong, you can trust them on that. Totally. You've got nothing to hide, right?
I think non-tech people don't quite realise what sort of footprint they leave online, whereas the idea of a camera being in your home where someone may or may not be watching makes people feel quite uncomfortable. This is an opportunity to draw a parallel between the two.
I have found this argument to be effective in changing people's views on this topic.
Re: Ask HN: What's a good response to “It's fine, I've got nothing to hide online”?
#16I have enough of other people's secrets to protect even if I've got nothing to hide. Other people's secrets are not mine to reveal.
Who is secretly pregnant, who is gay or bi and travelling in areas where that is bad, who is cheating, medical history, information about smaller law transgressions.. All of these topics and more are taboo on electronic media for me.
Re: Ask HN: What's a good response to “It's fine, I've got nothing to hide online”?
#17I usually ask "So, if you have got nothing to hide, would you shower naked on your balcony for everyone to see?"
Normally you wouldn't, because there could be effects you find displeasing in the best case and harming in the worst case, such as getting ridiculed/discriminated/ostracized/etc.
Collecting private data about you can get you categorized in a similar way, carrying the same potential ill effects.
Re: Ask HN: What's a good response to “It's fine, I've got nothing to hide online”?
#18I thought Senator Durbin phrased it well: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rTIKWURvbQ4
Re: Ask HN: What's a good response to “It's fine, I've got nothing to hide online”?
#19I'd start with "it's not always about you" because it's likely to stop them in their tracks long enough to get a real explanation in. Stalkers, harassers, identity thieves, and other criminals routinely use perfectly innocent information about people to harm them. So do some parts of the government, unfortunately. Even if you are not a target (which is less likely than you think), others certainly are. Children have nothing to hide either, but we still take extra privacy measures to protect them.
Re: Ask HN: What's a good response to “It's fine, I've got nothing to hide online”?
#20This is maybe a controversial approach, but it works really well.
Agree with them and say it is fine you have nothing to hide at this moment, but you are not important now. There are politicians, high ranked officials and a lot of other people that impact your life without you knowing that they can be influenced/blackmailed because of the lack of privacy. Maybe your future self really dislikes your lack of hiding right now or some family member is becoming a public figure and you are a weak link because you can be blackmailed. You don't control the future, so you don't know what to hide.
This argument always worked/works for me :)