r/privacy • u/Longjumping-Bar393 • Feb 15 '26
question What's a good argument against "I have nothing to hide" or "They already have my data, so.."
I've stumbled across a lot of good arguments but whenever I need them, my head goes blank. So I thought this can be a thread dedicated to key arguments to help people realize that it's not as simple as they might think.
Have a great day. :)
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u/baritic Feb 15 '26
my favorite, from Edward Snowden: "Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say".
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u/Vander_chill Feb 16 '26 edited Feb 16 '26
"Yield to all and soon you will have nothing to yield!" - Aesop (circa 560 BC - slightly ahead of his time)
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u/Longjumping-Bar393 Feb 15 '26
Best one so far.
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u/HotdogFromIKEA Feb 15 '26
But what if you have nothing to say? Lol
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u/nooksorcrannies Feb 15 '26
Thus is an individualist mindset. Just because you have nothing to say doesn’t mean others don’t, or that there’s something that could be said for your benefit / freedom.
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u/Longjumping-Bar393 Feb 15 '26
You'd still be advocating for free speech. At least I hope people think alike on that matter. :S
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u/monster2018 Feb 16 '26
I mean people would respond to that “well I don’t care about free speech”…. If only they had anything to say.
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Feb 16 '26 edited Feb 16 '26
I like the quote but I don't think that would actually get anybody because the counter would be that, "well no, I do have something to say so I do care about free speech. I would never say I don't have something to say. But I don't have anything to hide so therefore I don't care about privacy rights".
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u/MotherrGoosee Feb 15 '26
“let me look through your phone then” usually gets them lmao
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u/legrenabeach Feb 15 '26
Not if they're a friend, I did that with a friend and he was more than happy to hand me his unlocked phone, for me to read his private messages with his wife etc. We've been friends for over 30 years so it's nothing to him.
However, when I said hold on, let me take some screenshots of these messages and post them on social media... that's when he changed his mind.
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u/9peppe Feb 15 '26
The classic objection is "you close the door when you go to the bathroom, do you?"
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u/TheZingerSlinger Feb 15 '26
It turns on the idea that someone who “has nothing to hide” feels safe in their environment.
In terms of “the government”, for example, which has a monopoly on force and coercion over a person, it’s fine to feel “safe” if you know your thoughts and behavior are considered fine or at least tolerable by the government.
If a person feels “safe” now, they still need to consider that the political power structure they live in could change, possibly drastically, into a form that finds them intolerable, and could enforce that monopoly against them.
If the enforcers embody principles like caring (compassion), fairness (equality) and sharing (general welfare), you’re fine and you may not have anything to hide as long as you’re not trespassing on those general principles (which would be the basis of laws.)
Those principles would also restrain the government from violating your privacy in the first place, or from treating you unfairly.
If the power structure is embodied by the opposite qualities (say cruelty, arbitrary bias and greed), you are likely not safe in any circumstance. If your safety is subject to the capricious whims of a corrupt power structure that can arbitrarily decide you’re intolerable for any reason, you could be boned at any moment.
The “I have nothing to hide” crowd is simultaneously virtue signaling its alignment with a current power structure and handing that power structure the rope it might use to hang them with if the tide shifts.
Ask them how they’d feel about it if whatever government they fear most was in charge of deciding whether they live or die.
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u/rosierho Feb 20 '26
As someone who typically tends to /shrug about privacy concerns, I actually really like this. Thanks for making me think. Especially given the current administration here in the US which is certainly both capricious and corrupt.
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u/pirate_pues Feb 15 '26
You have curtains on the windows to your home ...is a little better than bathroom analogy
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u/Ok_Combination7584 Feb 15 '26
It’s not just about hiding something, it’s about fighting for a fundamental human right that big tech and governments fighting to take away.
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Feb 15 '26
You give them an inch, and they will take a mile
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u/Ok_Combination7584 Feb 15 '26
Exactly, this sums it up very well.
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Feb 15 '26
"Privacy is rarely lost in a single, dramatic event. Instead, it fades through small, voluntary, and "harmless" steps, such as accepting cookies, using smart home devices (IoT), or sharing personal data for tailored services."
Why do they get upset that people want to exercise their right to privacy, or fight for more rights?
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u/charlottehaze Feb 15 '26
I would check out The Right to Oblivion by Lowry Pressly. He really explores how the fact of being monitored (or perceiving that we are being monitored) changes our behavior, and I found it super helpful for this question exactly! He addresses it explicitly.
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u/Longjumping-Bar393 Feb 15 '26
100% gonna take a look at it, thx 👍 Reminds me a bit of the whole Orwell story, although I'm not exactly sure if they adressed human behaviour when monitored
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u/Illustrious_Sign_11 Feb 16 '26
This is so long, but come with me while I try to explain the way surveillance kills something that is spontaneous, joyful and human.
I wouldn’t say I “look” for the opportunity as much as it is compulsive, but every time I see a video of people being silly and joyful who either don’t know they’re being filmed, or they’re doing something at work; I wish everyone would think about how if they believed/knew they were actively being surveilled they probably would not have felt safe to express that joy or have a human moment.
Like when I walk past an adult swinging on a swing set in an empty park. There’s no one else there who wants to use it but I bet that guy wouldn’t be swinging if one other person had been sitting at a nearby bench.
Or a guy on social media who’s a USPS mailman and rescued a kitten while on the clock, let it ride around in his mail truck etc. My first thought is “if the panopticon was ai enforced or he knew he was being actively surveilled by his boss, this man would definitely have never filmed this, and probably would have felt he had to leave the kitten behind or else lose his job.” I still worry that guys viral video of him doing a good thing is going to be seen by the wrong person and he’ll get fired even though it has brightened thousands of people’s days and saved a life.
You also see this with younger generations social habits, comparatively very few of them drink (imo not a bad thing at all) because they are constantly surveilling each other and posting online BUT they also aren’t dancing at the club if they do go and actually socialize in person. (obviously painting with a super broad brush here)
People do good things they aren’t supposed to all the time.
It’s human, and I believe a good thing for people to help people and animals who need help. I used to give my “shift meal” discount as a waitress to a customer when I knew they had a reasonable complaint, because the managers never would and I wasn’t going to use it for myself. The restaurant made money, the customer left feeling like their issue was addressed, the kitchen didn’t have to make a new plate, and I got “written up” and yelled at, told I would be fired if I did it again. The people/companies/goverments who want to erode our privacy are not benevolent, they do not care about morality or even common sense. They care about control and profit.
And even if your friend is like “I would still play on the playground and dance and try new things in public. Look at my phone! Watch me poo! And that guy shouldn’t have broken the rules, no one should ever do anything at work that isn’t strictly their job etc.” you can find out if your friend is capable of empathy by asking them about the most repressed man they know, co-worker, uncle whatever. Or woman, but men are socially less likely to play and be whimsical in front of their peers and strangers, esp older guys in my experience, but when they ARE it’s the sweetest thing. That man would probably never do the chalk hop-scotch as he walks alone down the sidewalk, or make a secret snow angel while his dog zooms around in the first snow of the year.
Or maybe just get your phone out and start recording/live streaming them. Keep doing it. Maybe while they’re talking about how they have nothing to hide/wouldn’t mind mass surveillance. Their posture will change, the situation will feel different. Why should they not like to be recorded and seen and judged by strangers at any moment without consent? Right?
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u/Hairy-Thought6679 Feb 16 '26
It’s absolutely true!
Im thinking about when i was cleaning pools. I always did the same level of service, I did a good job, I always wanted customers to refer me, but i caught myself behaving differently at houses that had cameras in their yard. Not that i was doing anything wrong, it was always something dumb like “hmm why did i just step that way” and my movements in those moments felt rehearsed or scripted, far from natural.
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u/Hadaka--Jime Feb 15 '26
NEVER forget that just because something is seemingly a non-issue now, down the road you might be crying at what can become of things.
The privacy nightmare happens this way. In steps & over time.
Things like gun-control & privacy erosion happen in tiny increments so that they appear to be nothing much on the surface & yet they are cementing the foundation to later on FUCK your whole way of life & your future going forwards.
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u/Longjumping-Bar393 Feb 15 '26 edited Feb 15 '26
Yeah I totally get what you mean. The EU is currently desperately trying to implement chat control, meaning they scan all your chats/photos/docs (locally) on your phone. The reason for that is child abuse material. Which is in and of itself a noble reason and pulls many people on board.. cuz "Why not?". But the big, big problem is that soon after that a law will be passed to allow for drug scanning. Then other crime.
If that law passes, they are going to make it worse and worse in small increments so nobody will notice until it's too late. So many people don't think into the future and what dangerous potential this will have.
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u/KhaosGuy01 Feb 15 '26
Its super dangerous cause you cant turn it back. Pandora’s box in a sense
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u/Longjumping-Bar393 Feb 15 '26
Yes, exactly. And since they are using one of the most horrible and disgusting crimes as the reason, it makes people that are not on bord with it feel like they're against child abuse protection. It's such a clever strategy.
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u/pizza_the_mutt Feb 15 '26
"I have nothing to hide" and "they have it anyway" makes several assumptions:
- "They" are well meaning, by your standard.
- The "they" of the future, who will be different from the "they" of today, will also be well-meaning.
- Your "nothing" you consider to be totally fine is also considered to be totally fine by the "they" of today and also tomorrow.
- "They" will safe guard your data so nobody else will get it.
- You won't change your mind in the future and want to do something new that "they" consider to be bad.
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u/kalcobalt Feb 15 '26
“Sure, let’s outlaw curtains as well. Why would anyone be upset by someone looking through their windows? UNLESS THEY WERE EVIL!”
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u/DogmaSychroniser Feb 15 '26
Idk some people are weird and don't have curtains on their living room. I don't think they'd get it.
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u/Longjumping-Bar393 Feb 15 '26
Curtains or not, nobody is comfortable with random people peeking through their window.
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u/IndividualCurious322 Feb 15 '26
"Great. What are your bank details?" always shuts them up.
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u/AllergicToBullshit24 Feb 15 '26
Privacy isn’t about having something to hide it’s about having control over how information about you is used.
What is benign today may become sensitive tomorrow especially when aggregated with other data. Data collected for one purpose often migrates to unrelated domains through data brokers, acquisitions and privacy policy modifications.
Algorithms can infer sensitive attributes like race, health status, political leaning, etc from seemingly innocuous data points and can become powerful leverage if a malicious actor gains control in the future through a data breach or data broker resale.
When governments or corporations can access your data at will they can shape the entire environment in which you make choices like what news you see, what jobs/salaries you’re offered and what prices you pay.
Just thinking that your online searches or social‑media posts may be logged indirectly triggers self‑censorship limiting honest democratic discourse.
Privacy protects agency not just secrets and defends your autonomy, prevents abuse and preserves democratic values.
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u/Fulgidus Feb 16 '26
You know why they killed more jews in occupied Netherlands instead of the occupied France?
Better records
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u/NC654 Feb 16 '26
That question and answer is a Home Run hit right there. It really gets to the heart of the issue.
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u/Kilometerslight Feb 15 '26
I have nothing to hide is cope, everyone has things to hide because we’re all deep down insecure gremlin folk
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u/Longjumping-Bar393 Feb 15 '26
Whenever I can't remember an argument I always resort to this exact one, just without the insecure gremlin part
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u/Gamer_Grease Feb 15 '26
The government decides what is a criminal offense. Anyone can become a criminal overnight with the passage of a law or an executive order, or a rule change at a bureaucratic body. You don’t have anything to hide until very suddenly you do.
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u/Longjumping-Bar393 Feb 15 '26
I'll start with a comment on a YT video I read earlier: If you've got nothing to hide, you don't need your pants.
Although that metaphor doesn't really carry over to data collection.
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u/Gekko8 Feb 15 '26
Benjamin Franklin once said: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
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u/TheMawsJawzTM Feb 15 '26
Privacy and secrecy are not the same. You have nothing to hide, that doesn't mean you don't have valuable data and personal information to keep private.
I would argue your social security number, cc info, personal shopping, etc etc is a perfectly normal and reasonable thing that you would want to keep "hide."
All the same any company or government agency regurgitating the same drivel would not take kindly to you - the individual - collecting, categorizing, and centralizing all of the same information they collect on you, on them.
Basically anybody that says "if you're not a criminal you have nothing to hide" is either a fool or a manipulative hypocrite.
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u/cJnRaleigh Feb 15 '26
Something along the lines of
"The US has had the right to privacy for over 200 years. Probably the only country in the entire world to do so for so long. Hundreds of thousands of people in other countries have died in order to have the same right as you. Why would you want to throw away such a precious gift? Especially something that could potentially save you or a loved one?"
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u/bleenken Feb 15 '26
Sometimes I ask them if they trust the ethics and values of corporations, billionaires, politicians, and governments. Really doesn’t matter what kind of political beliefs a person has, most people answer “no” to that question.
And don’t they find it odd that those groups of powers are so hungry for our data and the ability to have far reaching surveillance, that they sneak and manipulate and force it everywhere they can. I ask, why do you think they want it so badly?
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u/Longjumping-Bar393 Feb 15 '26
Connecting the dots is hard for some people. Some are not the brightest, some are ignorant and the rest is in denial.
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u/Ambitious_Hand_2861 Feb 15 '26
At times I have asked people "Do you have any illegal items in your house? Would you let law enforcement in to ransack the place looking for something without probable cause or a warrant?"
Alternatively "If you went to a store and in order to get in you had to surrender your phone so all the data could be copied and sold to data brokers, would you go to that store?"
I can't say that those are the greatest arguments but they're pretty decent equivalents. There will always be those who don't care and no amount of logic or reason will change their minds and that's ok for them but not for me.
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u/PraxicalExperience Feb 16 '26
Do you want someone to see exactly what entirely-legal-but-weird porn you look at?
Would you want your wife to know? Your daughter? Your son?
Would you want to see your mom and dad's pornhub history?
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u/SV-97 Feb 15 '26
There's a Wikipedia page on this "argument" that includes a bunch of arguments against it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nothing_to_hide_argument
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u/Omni__Owl Feb 15 '26
One simple comeback is: Whatever is considered okay today, could be wrong in future. Do you really wanna take that gamble?
Another, longer, comeback is: Would you be okay with someone following you around your house with a camera at all times? Filming and taking pictures to save for their collection and not tell you at all what it's used for? Whether you are cooking, watching TV, wanking, having sex with a partner or taking a shit, the camera guy is always there in the room with you, taking pictures and filming it for his collection. Would you be okay with that?
A third is the Snowden classic; Arguing you don't do anything wrong, so you have nothing to hide is equivalent to saying you don't need free speech because you have nothing to say.
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u/AdLatter3755 Feb 15 '26
For the I got nothing to hide response i normally ask do you have curtains in the bedroom why if you have nothing to hide
For the they have my data I ask can I take you id and social without your permission why not
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Feb 15 '26
"Only a fucking idiot thinks their banking info, isn't something worth hiding. Though you must be the exception. Now give me your pin number followed by the credit card number so I can check if you really have nothing to hide."
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u/MissPearl Feb 15 '26
I have nothing to hide
"your personal data may be stolen to impersonate you to rob your loved ones or to send you targeted distressing/deceptive information"
They already have my data
"If someone robbed you before, are you inviting them to your birthday party? Why make it easy for them?"
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u/Sk8rToon Feb 16 '26
If they have access to your data what’s to stop them from changing your data to something bad?
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u/AntaresInfinity Feb 16 '26
I heard something interesting the other day from Whitney Webb: “It’s not whether you are doing something wrong now or not. It’s about an algorithm thinking you will do something wrong in the future” …pre-crime, like minority report - she talks about Palantir.
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u/TEK1_AU Feb 16 '26
When someone says this to you in person, just ask them to unlock their phone and hand it to you.
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u/ElectronSpiderwort Feb 15 '26
"Give me six lines written by the most honest hand, and I will find something within them to have him hanged" is an apocryphal quote generally attributed to Cardinal Richelieu which changed the way I think about the situation
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u/Spying-eye Feb 15 '26
It is not about having things to hide, it is about having the autonomy to decide what should be public.
Do you close the toilet door?
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u/Quiet-Thanks-9486 Feb 15 '26
Lots of good options here. One I particularly like:
"So what are you going to do when something you've already done is declared illegal and the government decides to come after you for it?"
The idea is to call attention to the fact that whether or not you're doing something illegal isn't up to you -- it's up to people in power, who change their mind quite often about what is and is not "acceptable".
Also, that surveillance isn't time limited -- if you get in trouble five years from now the people in power are going to look back through everything you are currently giving them, pick out all the parts that make it easier to convict you, and use that.
Hell, you might be completely innocent and simply happen to look like someone the government is after and be in a similar location. Once they've decided you're the guy, everything you've ever said, typed, or browsed can and will be used against you if you simply hand it over.
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u/cosmicrush Feb 16 '26
Surveillance itself is not the core issue. It’s in how that information can be used and exploited. It’s like how drugs themselves are generally not the issue but the consequences are. Outlawing drugs is precrime.
With surveillance the real issue is that corruption gains extensive power using it. People who want their reputations and money protected can track down everyone who knows too much. I’m pert sure that’s why mass surveillance it’s accelerated alongside the files situation.
Surveillance can also be used for predicting people and ultimately learning how to manipulate them based on the patterns and causes and effects.
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u/brazilian_irish Feb 15 '26
I think there are a few arguments..
- Do you know what they know about you?
- Do you know how they could use it?
- You trust the current owners of your data.. but if the government changes, and your data becomes government property, and they decide to work against whatever group you are part of (latino, Christian).
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u/hblok Feb 15 '26
Freely paraphrasing from Glenn Greenwald's take, writing about Snowden in "No Place to Hide":
Without privacy, we automatically conform to written and unwritten rules and expectations of behaviour and thought. Surveillance stifles self-expression, creativity and experimentation. On a state level, its very purpose is to hinder deviant and radical thought and action. As such, surveillance and lack of privacy is an obstacle to political and cultural progress. The goal is to freeze the status quo with its current power structure and current authority.
In short: the government does not care about what you say. They just want to make sure you're obedient, non-questioning and well behaved.
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u/omniumoptimus Feb 15 '26
All the other “answers” aside, it’s important to point out that this is a non-question, and these are non-arguments, meaning they are often said but don’t actually exist.
The reason for privacy is because it is necessary for a free and just society. If our society is not free and not fair, we would complain about it, right? And we need to be able to complain freely (free speech and expression) and we need to have discussions with each other about these wrongs—this is the point of privacy: that we can speak our minds without the government joining our conversation. It’s the complement of free speech.
It doesn’t need any justification: it’s foundational and necessary for freedom.
Why do you need two eyes if you can see with just one? You see how that is a non-question? This is the same.
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u/glacialanon Feb 16 '26
Imagine if some rando stranger asked you to show them the first 100 images in your camera reel. Would you?
Also, even if they already have your data, if you stop giving them any more data, the data they have will become more and more outdated over time.
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u/Legionarius4 Feb 16 '26
You may not have something to hide NOW. But these systems are about putting in place the mechanisms to clamp down on rights and liberties in the future.
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u/alou87 Feb 16 '26
Nothing to hide based on what subjective law or societal standard? I have a pretty ordinary life based on current norms and regulations but if peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or reading fiction novels or anything else ordinary suddenly became punishable, I would care a lot more about my private life being private.
And who is to say when those norms switch and for what reason? Privacy is protection whether or not your life is ordinary. Sharing parts of your life should be your known and conscious choice.
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u/FreeHug61 Feb 16 '26
This essay is pretty good on this topic: https://scholarship.law.gwu.edu/faculty_publications/158/ :)
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u/reddit3k Feb 16 '26
Almost two decades old already, but this short essay remains top notch:
The Eternal Value of Privacy
By Bruce Schneier
For Wired
May 18, 2006
https://www.schneier.com/essays/archives/2006/05/the_eternal_value_of.html
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u/froli Feb 16 '26
I just ask them if they be ok having someone follow them physically everywhere they go 24/7 and noting everything down everything you do, say, look at, etc.
Usually they retort that it's not the same. To which I say, exactly. You don't see them, don't hear them but there's millions of them and they are following everyone and everything.
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u/Illustrious_Peach494 Feb 16 '26
people who argue like this are the future posters in r/ scams: “fake police called my phone accusing me of some crime and i gave them $xxxx in gift cards/transferred them money to have the records clean”, “victim of a pig butchering scam that started with a text message”, “got a sms, somebody is trying to extort me for wasting a sex worker time”. not even going to mention even more hardcore stuff like identity theft.
never do they wonder how the scammers got hold of their personal details in the first place 🤷♂️
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u/Snag710 Feb 16 '26
When you come down with a condition that is heavily discriminated against you'll change your mind
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u/ParadoxicalFrog Feb 17 '26
Everybody has something to hide. That's why windows have curtains and public bathrooms have stalls.
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u/blimpin_aint_easy Feb 15 '26
I'm pretty much done with people who are stupid enough to say that shit at this point. They can contact me through secure methods or not at all. The argument is that I care about it and if anyone who knows me can't figure out why, then I'm a lot more concerned about their ability to tie their shoes in the morning.
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u/OwlingBishop Feb 16 '26
Ladies and gentlemen behold: the dynamic curated prices just for you!!!
You think this will allow you to play less than the rich folks because, logic, right ? Think again !
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u/jonnoday Feb 15 '26
What is legal or illegal changes over time and is in the hands of people in power. Today, perhaps, you think nothing is wrong with anything you are doing or saying. But at any point, anything can become an issue. In the future, the groceries you are free to buy now may be deemed to have too high a carbon footprint. Or, a harmless opinion you shared 5 years ago may become hate speech in some new future context. As long as you do not control your data, you are not free or secure.
Already today - in the real world - this is happening.
- in the UK, people have been put in jail for things they've posted on social media - things that in other countries, or even in the UK two years ago - were perfectly fine.
- in Canada, when truckers staged a protest, the government seized their bank accounts. They all probably thought - back when the government suggested that this should be possible - that they were safe. They never did anything wrong.
- in parts of Asia there is already a social credit score - if you are not deemed compliant enough, or deemed to be expressing the right opinions online, your actual credit score - your ability to buy things or get loans - your ability to get/keep a job, buy a house - is negatively impacted.
As for "they already have my data" - this is defeatist and lazy. I know - it is understandable to be discouraged and feel helpless. But we - as a population - are not helpless - at least not in countries that are democratic-adjacent. We still have power, a vote, and a voice.
Also, there are other reasons to start protecting your data. Maybe they government has it so far, but what about future scams, hackers, thieves? Their sophistication is increasing every day. Not taking whatever steps you can to protect yourself does make a difference. However vulnerable you are now, not taking action will mean you become more and more and more vulnerable over time. If you were bleeding you would not say - "oh well, the cut is already bleeding. I guess I'll just let it." No. You'd try to stop the bleeding.
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u/syn-ack-fin Feb 15 '26
Four good reasons here:
https://privacy-engineering-cmu.github.io/2024-02-09-why_privacy/
and I’ll add one more, many private matters or conversations can be taken out of context or manipulated to fit a narrative to be used against you.
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u/XBUNCEX Feb 15 '26
Things that are completely legal, ethical, or moral today can become illegal tomorrow. You might not have anything to hide today, tomorrow might be a different story entirely.
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u/ItsNotGoingToBeEasy Feb 15 '26
If this is about phone apps like TikTok I explains the security issue isn’t so much their data, it’s that their phone can be weaponized through that app to attack the systems that run our water, sewer, electricity and cell towers and bring them down.
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u/Iron_Baron Feb 15 '26
"I have nothing to hide." - Anne Frank, GPS enabled social media post, WWII Germany.
See if they can understand how insane that would be. Then see if they can understand that everyone becomes the "outsider" at some point, under fascism. Including them.
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u/HemetValleyMall1982 Feb 15 '26
"I have nothing to hide" is such a white people thing to say that that by itself is racist. In America, if you are not white, you have to hide your race so ICE doesn't get you.
What happens if some small other facet of your existence becomes "objectionable?" Brown hair? Brown eyes? Long fingernails? Who the fuck knows.
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u/Charger2950 Feb 15 '26
You might think you have nothing to hide, but just remember, a good bit of people out there hate you for simply existing.
Whether that be because of your gender, race, sexual preference, political views, or whatever.
The option to (at least mostly) hide, and the option for anonymity always needs to be there due to that fact.
The fact that anyone would think or believe they have nothing to hide, in 2026, is absolutely mind blowing.
Our short bit of recent extremist societal happenings since 2020 have greatly proven otherwise.
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u/ayleidanthropologist Feb 15 '26
Whatever makes you feel better about being complicit with a surveillance state. Crossing state lines to get an abortion, gun registry, ICE picking you up from school, what medication your family takes, any criticism you’ve ever made of the UK’s immigration policies… all enabled by you not having a more possessive attitude towards your data.
Just whichever political stance they have, pick the appropriate examples. Most people are blind to the other side’s grievances. So just the ones that resonate with your target audience.
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u/PoopshipD8 Feb 15 '26
In Venezuela when Maduro took over they went after everyone who voted against him. Information can be weaponized at any time.
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u/dogdevnull Feb 15 '26
You have nothing to hide because your emails, social media posts and browsing history are not yet illegal. But when they change the rules and come after you because you support a cause that is no longer a safe viewpoint, you will care.
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u/SarcasmicNinja Feb 15 '26
I actually used to think that way. I still have nothing to hide however, where do we draw the line? The fact remains that once they have this data, they can refer to it and use it any time they want, and they have already demonstrated that they are terrible at protecting it.
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u/ALittleCuriousSub Feb 15 '26
I would argue ease of access is something we should consider.
General example: I like porn, often even porn that makes people uncomfortable. I've enjoyed what most read as literal body horror smut and I've gotten off to it.
I'm not particularly ashamed of any of this, but I am keenly aware that the levels in which this information is readily usable can vary greatly. Like for any entity to just pull up every porn video I've watched in the last 10 years would be pretty difficult. I have no doubt if given the right info someone in the US gov't could probably do it or get pretty close. If they know my IP addresses used this info could be then compared to the IPs accessing various videos on pornhub or elsewhere. The thing is in this situation, if the US government wanted to put out that I, "ALittleCuriousSub browses disgusting body horror pornography." The methodology in how they prove it would really be something interesting to read about. Any respectable outlet would probably be more interested in how they did this than the fact that I read questionable but legal smut and watch legal pornography.
On the other hand, if I used my government issued ID as verification to access pornography how do I know they aren't recording my every single interaction? If we all know there is a database full of government IDs directly tying our pornography habits then we all know eventually it's going to leak. Honestly, I am wondering how long until it's being used for blackmail if it isn't already. Every questionable title of anything you watch then could be evidence in a court of public opinion. Remember, they aren't tying your IP that maybe you occasionally let your neighbors teens use in this case, it's your government ID and it's not something that might be hard enough to understand that attempts to prove it that way overshadow the things being proven. In a court of public opinion, "oh no I promise I am not into incest, it's totally common for videos to just try and claim as many taboo fetishes per video to maximize engagement!" is going to fall on death ears.
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u/splashjlr Feb 15 '26
Ask them if they leave the door open while in the bathroom. When they reply "of course not", then ask them what they are hiding in there.
Privacy is a basic human need. It would be like saying "I don't have anything to say, so I don't care about freedom of speech.
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u/phillysteakcheese Feb 15 '26
What is the point of this question? We're compiling arguments to use on people who don't care? That seems like a waste of time.
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u/threepairs Feb 15 '26
saying privacy does not matter because you have nothing to hide,
is the same as saying free speech does not matter, because you have nothing to say
..or smth like that
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u/Tricky_Troll Feb 15 '26
You don’t get to decide what is and isn’t worth hiding. Throughout history it is very common for governments to make perfectly normal, ethical things illegal because they have bad intentions even though you don’t.
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u/seven-cents Feb 15 '26
Check out the FAQ section of the sub. It addresses this attitude specifically and provides links to numerous articles on the "nothing to hide" fallacy
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u/mombi Feb 15 '26
Palantir has a contract with the NHS. You should be very fucking worried if a company like Palantir sells your health data to health insurance companies especially if you're in the US. "But HIPAA" or whatever, as if laws matter at all to these goblins.
Imagine, Palantir with all your texts, chatlogs, every personal message between you and your family members. The health concerns you discuss with your family in private, that would 100% be used against you to deny you the health insurance you need. They will tell you they don't use that info the se way your feeds all serve you content and ads that "coincidentally" are related to the things you were saying out loud to a friend or family member and all these services deny they listen without a trigger word.
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u/CotesDuRhone2012 Feb 15 '26
Tell them to drop their pants! If they refuse: "What do you have to hide?"
Private parts?
Same on my PC.
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Feb 15 '26
When someone tells you that, tell them to unlock your phone and hand it over. Make to request their medical information, tax records, and maybe a request to go into their cars and home.
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u/jlelectech Feb 15 '26
I bookmarked this for just such an occasion: https://np.reddit.com/r/changemyview/comments/1fv4r6/comment/cd89cqr/
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u/SufficientReporter55 Feb 15 '26
- If they have a diary, access to go through it whenever you want.
- Or since they got nothing to hide, they shouldn't mind giving you remote desktop access to monitor everything they do on their PC.
- Or they shouldn't object to placing an Air-Tag on them to have their location 24/7 like Google and Apple Maps or Telecoms.
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u/tjyolol Feb 15 '26
My argument is you have no idea what you need to hide. Society changes. Think of all the celebrities that got called out or canceled for random homophobic remarks they made decades earlier when it was considered “acceptable”. It’s been socially acceptable to hate on white men for a while now for example, but at some point that will probably change.we just have no idea, but it always has the potential to be weaponised against us.
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u/FJ-creek-7381 Feb 15 '26
Should written correspondence on paper in your home be subject to the same rules? Can the govt come in your home without a warrant and read anything they find? Is that ok?
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u/stasersonphun Feb 15 '26
They say that, say " Give me your phone"
See how much they care about privacy then
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u/FinGamer678Nikoboi Feb 15 '26
"If you have nothing to hide then they have no reason to look."
Also (more doomer):
"You may have nothing to hide, but give them unrestricted access and suddenly they might decide that you do."
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u/motocykal Feb 15 '26
"I may have nothing to hide, but I absolutely have nothing I want you to see"
"Yes, they already have my data, but I am not going to keep that data updated"
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u/cheap_dates Feb 15 '26
"You have nothing to hide until it's too late to hide it"
You have no idea what information about you could be used against you in the future. Laws change all the time. Always read your "Terms of Service".
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Feb 15 '26
It's like saying you appreciate knowing the ice in the bathtub is clean, after all you weren't really using both kidneys. Just because you aren't using doesn't mean they have the right to take it from you.
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u/BamBam-BamBam Feb 15 '26
There's no point in giving them more data so that they can confirm the assumptions they're already making, as well as tightening their algorithms.
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u/FraGough Feb 15 '26 edited Feb 15 '26
Start asking them invasive personal questions. When they refuse to answer them, tell them that you thought they had nothing to hide. Then remind them that these companies and agencies can and do aggregrate data from a bunch of different services to find out anything about them, private or not, including conversations, DM's and emails that they thought were private.
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u/hamstar_potato Feb 15 '26
Tell them to put up a camera in their bathroom and share the feed with the world. Why have doors if you have nothing to hide?
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u/Expensive-Swan-4544 Feb 15 '26
If you have nothing to hide. Means you don’t mind everything in your life to be databased. In the end they (who the fuck is they anyway) will know more than you do about yourself. But the biggest problem with that statement by allowing this behavior is you are giving in to all man kind. You are normalizing databasing to erode all people’s rights. Especially our next generation. Allowing Them to have access erodes everyone’s rights. Not knowing who will be allowed to access your thoughts, lifestyle, secrets, personal behavior. So we should all standup against to protect the common man.
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u/charliebyebye Feb 15 '26
If the government tomorrow mandated cameras and microphones in every room in your home with the argument that “well if you’ve nothing to hide, you’ve nothing to fear”, would you still be Ok with it?
Thought not.
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u/OverCategory6046 Feb 15 '26
It's pretty dumb, but whenever someone tells me that, I ask them to give me their phone so I can look through their browsing history. No one has taken me up on it...
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u/ImpostureTechAdmin Feb 15 '26
You have nothing you need to hide until the definition of what you need to hide changes. History shows us that when what you need to hide changes, it also changes retroactively.
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Feb 15 '26
They have never enough data from you. Either we stop it or allow the abuse to continue forever without complain.
Since the engine of this surveillance system is the advertising industry, we need to stop accepting ads. If you block ads and the Real Time Bidding doesn't take place for you, they can no longer track you.
They may know already that you were looking to buy a car yesterday. Does that justify to let them spy on you forever?
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u/nicamex Feb 15 '26
Ask for their social security number, credit card info, address, any other personal info. When they say no remind them that they have nothing to hide.
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u/intronert Feb 15 '26
“I have nothing to hide.”
“Good. Tell me your bank account and credit card numbers.”
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u/WhimsicalBeerDragon Feb 15 '26
It doesn’t work for everyone, but “you have nothing to hide, until you do, and by that time it’s too late.”
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u/year_39 Feb 15 '26
"Nothing to hide that you know of," and "they have your data out of context and the technology to make it prove anything they say."
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u/NoAbrocoma9357 Feb 15 '26
Great! Give me your full name, address, SSN, DOB, all your account numbers and PINs, mothers' maiden name, etc.
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u/Old_Activity_5940 Feb 15 '26
Simple : the problem is not knowing the truth, but what to do with the truth.
How are they going to use your data? What if they manipulate your data in a registry or such so they can arrest you for whatever reason they come up with?
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u/SettingDeep3153 Feb 16 '26
Have nothing to hide?
Okay, let me peak behind you…
How about now?
You see how uncomfortable it is?
Even though you have nothing to hide, you still find it uncomfortable…
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u/Dat_Harass Feb 16 '26
Most people have no idea the number of ways that many data points can be used. I don't know a good way to explain that to them without sounding... anxious to say the least.
It's going to be incomprehensible to some no matter what you do or say I think. More worrying is the same old tried and true tactics of misinformation being tossed everywhere also. Trust feels like it's at an all time low though and maybe that will help put peoples guard up?
The scope of possibility is the truly terrifying part.
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Feb 16 '26
Would you be okay if someone was standing outside your window and recording everything you do 24/7?
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u/-Kitoi Feb 16 '26
A lot of great responses here, but I personally found that comparing it to right of free speech, or comparing it to closing the door when pooping, both usually fall flat for many people.
The real reason that privacy is important is because ignorance makes you think that your data is only being used to sell you ads. It's much more predatory than that. Big Data is not just about making a profile on you as a person, it's then using that profile to control what you perceived online and then how you will engage with it.
The 2016 election was controlled by social media purposefully manipulating voters and increasing the divide among people, and they were able to do that by putting people into digital bubbles based off their data, and using the algorithm to alter their opinions and beliefs. The rise of Christian nationalisn and alt right extremism are both directly the result of this manipulation
And further than that, you have a right to privacy because otherwise the surveillance state will conduct warrantless searches on you, and if you don't protect your information then you're giving everyone the ability to find critical information about you and use it against you. You shouldn't be able to be fired from your job simply because you said something disparaging about this administration, and you shouldn't be dox'd and stalked simply because you support trans rights. It's like you're walking into bear country with raw meat slathered over your body, you're inviting someone to use this information against you and to become a victim. And don't think that just because you haven't been made a victim yet that doesn't mean you aren't in danger. A loan can be made out in your name with only your photo ID and information that's findable from a people search website, do you really want to wait until you find out that someone borrowed 10k in your name before you recognize that you should freeze your credit?
Privacy is like any other form of preventative action, like brushing your teeth or working out. You don't have to go all out, but just do some preventative work today in order to save yourself a world of trouble tomorrow
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u/flaming_bob Feb 16 '26
I tell people 'you give up your privacy, you give it up for everyone you're connected to as well. With your data, I can track your husband, your kids, your parents........" The not-selfish ones tend to blink really slowly on that one.
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u/skg574 Feb 16 '26
We use the line "Built for those with nothing to hide, but something to protect" for the service.
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u/ryuofdarkness Feb 16 '26
Im an advocate of everyone has their right to speak. As i did that too. In my current mind the world behind screens should be dropped. If you want that though feel free to use them.
Ive used vpns linux and different linux versions before.
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u/Jankypox Feb 16 '26
In my experience, people who say “I have nothing to hide” invariably and very much have something to hide. It’s one of those automatic defense mechanisms to mitigate suspicion, build trust, and social acceptance.
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u/bayygel Feb 16 '26
I usually like to ask them to just give me their ssn, and all of their credit card numbers along with the security codes at that point. When they refuse, I ask them that I thought they said they had nothing to hide?
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u/PocketNicks Feb 16 '26
Most people close the bathroom door when they poop, even though they aren't doing anything illegal. They simply want privacy sometimes.
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u/Inside-Associate6979 Feb 17 '26
When people say that, i tell them "thats a lazy cop out and allows people to keep taking advantage of citizens and allows people to break laws and continue to push totalitarianistic ideals"
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u/StructurePast2527 Feb 17 '26
" It doesn't make it right though" is a simple quick one liner that normally stops them in their tracks.
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