“I Have Nothing to Hide”- The Dumbest Lie We Keep Repeating

I remember a time when privacy was sacred.

It wasn’t even up for any discussion. It was a given. Like breathing. You didn’t need to justify it.

You didn’t need to ask for it. You certainly didn’t have to pay for it.

But somewhere between dial-up modems and TikTok filters, we sold it in the last decades.

Worse: we gave it away for free. Willingly, repeatedly and gleefully.

All in exchange for convenience.

"I have nothing to hide."Say it again. Slower and louder. So the ghosts of Orwell and Huxley can hear it and collectively punch a wall.

And Congratulations. You’ve just surrendered the last ounce of your autonomy with one sentence. It’s the laziest, dumbest, and most dangerous justification we’ve ever created for mass surveillance, data theft, and behavioral programming.

It’s the verbal equivalent of leaving your front door open because “you trust people.”

You don’t say, “I have nothing to hide,” when it comes to your bank pin, your bedroom, your therapy notes, or your embarrassing Spotify playlist.

But your entire digital footprint? Sure. Take it. Track me. Profile me. Sell me.

As long as I get my same-day shipping and curated content, right?

The Price of a Digital Life? Your very own soul, please. We click “Accept all cookies” like it’s a handshake. We let apps access our photos, our microphones, our calendars, our locations and all of it because “otherwise it doesn’t work.” We're so overstimulated, so overloaded, we forgot how to give a damn.

We trade away every last bit of personal agency to be part of the great digital party. And when someone dares to raise a concern and dares to say,

“Hey, maybe this is insane?”

They’re dismissed as paranoid, dramatic and “one of those privacy nuts.”

Cool. Just perfect. Let’s mock the people who still want to keep their dignity. That’s how civilizations crumble... laughing at the canaries in the coal mine.

Well. I’d rather be outdated than owned.

And to make one thing pretty clear - the Devil didn’t break in - you invited him.

Over and over.

Every time you tag your location.

Every time you upload a selfie with facial recognition enabled.

Every time you whisper to your smart speaker.

Every time you say, “It’s fine, everyone does it.”

It is not fine!

It’s exactly how systems of control grow. Not through force. But through comfort.

They don’t need to steal your privacy. They just wait for you to trade it in for dopamine.

And wait there is more madness...there’s this whole thing with smart speakers.

You know the people who voluntarily install a microphone in their living room.

Wi-Fi connected. Permanently listening.

With names like Alexa, Siri, or Hey Google. Just so they can say things like:“Turn on the lights.” Or: “Play something chill while I cook.”

Or - my absolute personal favorite - “Alexa, how can I protect my privacy?”

I mean common...Seriously? That’s like asking someone how to get them out of your house after you handed them the keys, gave them the Wi-Fi password, and made them a double espresso. We’ve traded our homes, our conversations, our thoughts - for a little bit of convenience. And the worst part? We asked it to come in.

So, what now? I’m not telling you to go live in a cave. (Though, honestly, tempting.) But maybe - just maybe - it’s time to stop saying, “I have nothing to hide,”and start asking,

“Why do they want to see it?”

Because the issue was never whether you’re hiding something. It’s whether someone else is watching…and what they plan to do with what they find.

We are Not the customers anymore. We Are the product.

Your attention? Monetized like there is no tomorrow.

Your data? Sold to the highest bidder.

Your conversations? Transcribed, sorted, fed into training models.

You know what’s wild? We used to be afraid of Orwell’s 1984. Turns out, we preferred Black Mirror with better UX.

And let me make me make one thing absolutely clear in the end - Privacy isn't about secrets. It’s about sovereignty. And if you’ve already given it up - maybe it’s time to ask: What’s left that still belongs to you?

The future isn’t watching you. It’s already inside you.