Why Privacy matters?
I was having a short discussion with a friend about online privacy, and he believes that privacy on the internet does not really matter for an average person.
His argument was basically:
“If you are not a criminal, journalist, politician, activist, or someone with secrets to hide, why should you care about privacy at all?”
What is a good way to explain it?
Why does online privacy matter for a normal person living a calm everyday life?
- No criminal activity
- Nothing embarrassing to hide
- No huge amount of money
- No important public position
- No controversial opinions
- No sensitive documents
If companies like Google, apps, governments, or websites know what you search, watch, buy, or where you go — why is that necessarily a problem for an ordinary person?
I understand obvious cases like identity theft, scams, hacked bank accounts, etc. But beyond security risks, why is privacy itself important?
Note: my karma is low so I couldn't post it to r/Privacy.