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Read and share online: https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/we-have-nothing-to-hide-only-everything-to-protect

Dear Ruben Safir,

"I have nothing to hide." That's what most people say when I start a
conversation about privacy. Have you ever wondered why you should use
software that protects your privacy and the privacy of the people you
communicate with? To understand this better, I recommend watching the
first talk in our LibrePlanet 2023 lightning talk series. In her
five minute talk, the speaker will convince you that you are worthy of
all the privacy you want and need. For people who claim that they have
nothing to hide, she has a persuasive reply: "I have nothing to hide,
only everything to protect."

If you don't use free software for the sake of your own privacy, then
use it to protect your loved ones; if you don't value yourself enough
to make sure that information that's yours -- and only yours -- stays
with you, then at least honor the privacy of the most vulnerable
people in our society. History shows that even societies that are
considered to be free have areas in which they struggle to exercise
equal treatment and fail to guarantee human rights for everyone who
lives within them. In the above-mentioned lightning talk, the speaker
cites the example of the Underground Railroad, a network of
secret routes and safe houses that helped enslaved African Americans
in the 19th century escape from slavery. The Underground Railroad
would not have been possible without privacy!

At a time when ongoing legislation all over the world is threatening
end-to-end encryption and developers of large language models
blatantly violate privacy laws to get training data for their
systems, we will be publishing a series of articles to highlight the
importance of privacy. In our upcoming articles, you will be
introduced to people who use privacy-protecting free software and
learn what you can do to counter the dangers resulting from the
ongoing legislative processes. While waiting for these articles, you
can read our previous articles on privacy and strengthen
end-to-end encryption by using it.

Strengthen end-to-end encryption by using it

The more people who use end-to-end encryption in their everyday lives,
the stronger the protection is for all of us. Only as a community can
we withstand oppressive mass surveillance. And only by using free
software can we rest assured that our privacy is protected. And, if
you wonder why it has to be free software, we recommend reading our
blog article "True privacy and security depend on free software."
To protect your privacy, we recommend using:

• GNU Privacy Guard (GPG) for encryption. The FSF's Email
  Self-Defense Guide will help you learn how to encrypt your
  emails and files;




• a secure video conferencing tool like Jitsi Meet or GNU
  Jami. The FSF provides a fully free Jitsi Meet server to
  all associate members as a member benefit;




• GNU Jami, XMPP, Silence, Matrix, or Tox
  when messaging your friends on your mobile phone or when writing
  colleagues about a patient, a client, or a student;




• a secure browser like GNU IceCat. Read our article
  "Intelligent tracking prevention" if you want to learn why GNU
  IceCat is a better choice than many other browsers when it comes to
  protecting your privacy as you browse the web;




• the Tor network to browse privately. With a system like
  Snowflake, you can use the Tor network to avoid being watched
  by Internet censors and help others bypass censorship by operating a
  Snowflake proxy. On your phone, you can use Tor Browser for Android
  to securely browse via the Tor network and Orbot to route the
  data from your email client, messaging, and other apps over the Tor
  network. Enable the Guardian Project's repository to download
  Orbot from F-Droid.

By using these programs, you will protect yourself as well as your
loved ones. We all deserve privacy!

In freedom,

Miriam Bastian

Program Manager

Illustration Copyright © 2014, Johannes Landin. Licensed under
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International license.