You Think You Have Nothing to Hide? Think Again.

2017-01-28
Today is Data Privacy Day. Many people are still not aware of the importance of privacy and how it is being invaded on a day-to-day basis. Yet the invasion of our privacy affects each and every one of us, and it is crucial to spread the word about it.

"I have nothing to hide"

The statement "I have nothing to hide" is very popular. When people use it, they mean that they don't care if their privacy is being invaded. But if you look closer, everyone has got something to hide.

If you feel like everyone can know everything about you, ask yourself this: Would you give your mobile phone to your neighbor, unlocked? Would you let them snoop around in your messages, emails, photos? Do you also feel like letting people know what you fear, what you dislike, unethical things you might be doing or phantasizing about? We say: dance like noone's watching, encrypt like everyone is.

Whatever you say or write online: It is being recorded and stored unencrypted on some server. It will be collected, it will be read, it will be used.

Why should I encrypt my data?

Not long ago the Microsoft Corporation was allowed to refuse data access to the U.S. Government on basis of a legal judgement. The emails in question had been stored on servers outside the United States that's why the American authorities weren't granted access to the data. But some of the judges disagreed and demanded further tightening of laws as a consequence. And that's only one example why secure email is more important than ever.

Secret services around the world are collecting our data in order to "maintain security for the public", at least that's the official statement. We do not believe that more surveillance increases security.

Instead we believe in Murphy's law: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. You think that you have nothing to hide, but are you really sure that you have nothing to hide? Go ahead and look at your documents, images, emails, everything that can be found on your phone or on your computer. May it be governments or companies, there are many parties who have diverse reasons - political or economical - in gaining access to your; and everybody else's data. They might already know you better than you know yourself. The problem is: With this kind of knowledge there is a lot of potential for abuse.

Do you want to be free?

If you want to search for whatever you want online, if you want to say whatever you want to say, if you want to become an activist for whatever you think is important and, most importantly, if you want to be free, you should use the Tor browser and secure messaging. Tutanota encrypts your emails plus attachments and contacts automatically.

On top of the encryption, Tutanota protects your right to privacy by allowing you to register an anonymous email address.

Tutanota is also your go-to open source email service. The Tutanota web client and the Tutanota Android and iOS Apps are already published as open source. In the future, the Tutanota Android app will also be published on F-Droid and not rely on Google Services for push notifications anymore.

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