Privacy is Power
Tags: privacy
Published: 2017-03-01 21:14:58

---
title: Privacy is Power
published: true
description: Why the fight for privacy matters.
cover_image: https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/2000/1*aUFA6G1I40xP0LNxdcjGow.jpeg
tags: privacy
canonical_url: https://journal.standardnotes.org/privacy-is-power-f0a064ab36ea
---

The desk I'm typing this on is a little wobbly. I adjusted the legs yesterday to be a little shorter after noticing the reason my wrists were hurting was because they were bent upward at an uncomfortable angle. My office at home is now clean and empty, after spending several hours the day before throwing away empty boxes of electronics that I for some reason found value in keeping.

I also finally fixed our “broken” bathroom door, which for the last three months wouldn't shut all the way for some complex reason that I never took the time to investigate. Turns out it was a loose screw. Righty tighty.

Being in an existential crisis is surprisingly good for doing things around the house.

My latest bout with my brain's reality was about the project I'm working on: a notes app that focuses on privacy. It encrypts your notes on your device before it sends it to the server. Why? For your privacy. Why?Â _I don't know._

And so it begins.

_What's the point?_, I cry.

_What if this whole privacy wave we're all swimming in ends up being shallow? What if this war we're waging ends up being a cold war between ourselves and those we aim to hide information from, and it one day ceases to be the looming threat it is today? What if this monster we claim is out to eat our information turns out to be just a shadow?_

The whispers begin pointing at me.

_What if I'm putting all this time into this for nothing? I mean, doÂ __you__Â even care about privacy?_

Ouch.

But here, after being pushed to the bottom, I found a small strand of reason, and it reasoned with me:

_Privacy isn't aboutÂ __you_. It's about all of us.Â To worry about privacy today, even though you may have noÂ compellingÂ reason to, is one of the largest contributions you can make to the future of humankind and the nature of governance.

_Privacy is aboutÂ __power_.Â Many of us have taken a middle school course on civics, and the functioning of the U.S government. You know,Â _three branches of government_Â andÂ _checks and balances_, or you may remember it as,Â _like that's ever going to come up._

EnterÂ [February 2017](https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=federal+judge+immigration+ban). Oh.

We owe this balanced functioning of a government to the strong paranoia of several individuals 240 years ago,Â enacting what can be described as even ridiculous measures toÂ ensureÂ some abstract functioning of a government that hadn't even begun yet.

None of these individuals reaped any tangible benefits from their actions and contributions in their lifetime. But without them, our lives and reality today would be very different.

Many of us are today exhausted worrying after our privacy, not knowing how to keep up with the newest trends in encrypted messaging apps or _which new wire-tapping programs can monitor which type of software on what port over what technology_.

And after the initial burst of adrenaline fromÂ _hide-and-seek_Â wears off, it's easy to feel worn out, especially because we aren't seeing any tangible benefits to our efforts.

But privacy isn't just aboutÂ _you_Â orÂ _me_, and what immediate returns we may see on our investment. It's about the future of power.Â Of ensuring a system ofÂ _checks and balances_Â between ourselves and our governments and other large entities.Â There is a reason the information we produce is so cherished by these entities, and they will fight till the end to make sureÂ _our_ information is inÂ _their_Â control. And because these entities are already so much more powerful than the collective privacy conscious, self-doubt and defeat is a reoccurring event.

Battles may be lost, but never doubt the significance of this cause.Â A paranoia is in the air, like the paranoia of 1776. Don't ignore it. Don't believe it isn't real.Â Don't believe it's not important.

You are creating a better future for the people of 2217.

And as humans who live comfortably today on the contributions and sacrifices of those before us, we owe it to contribute just as much to ensure a better life for our descendants.Â The fight for privacy will wage on for the next hundred years, and it starts with the actions, sacrifices, and decisions we make today.

<hr></hr>

As humans in this century, some of the most important byproducts of our existence is the information produced and stored in our emails, notes, and messages. And make no mistake about it:Â this information belongs toÂ you, and to no one else.Â You can join the fight for a balanced control of power by using and supporting applications that strive for privacy first and foremost.

Email  
[ProtonMail](https://protonmail.com/)â€Š–â€ŠSecure Email Based in Switzerland  
[FastMail](https://www.fastmail.com/)â€Š–â€ŠPrivate, secure, ad-free email hosting for you or your business

Notes  
[Standard Notes](https://standardnotes.com/)Â (by the author) A standard notes app with an un-standard focus on longevity, portability,Â and privacy.  
[Turtl](https://turtlapp.com/)â€Š–â€ŠTake notes, bookmark websites, and store documents for sensitive projects.  
[Laverna](https://laverna.cc/)â€Š–â€ŠKeep your notes private.

Messaging  
[Semaphor](https://spideroak.com/solutions/semaphor)â€Š–â€ŠEncrypted group chat and file-sharing.  
[Signal](https://whispersystems.org/)â€Š–â€ŠPrivate messaging.  
[Wire](https://wire.com/en/)â€Š–â€ŠModern communication. Full privacy.

_Missed any? Shoot me a message on Twitter:Â _[_@bitario_](https://twitter.com/bitario)