Imagine having a master key for your life. A key or password that gives access to the front door to your home， your bedroom， your diary， your computer， your phone， your car， your safe deposit. Would you go around making copies of that key and giving them out to strangers？ Probably not the wisest idea—it would be only a matter of time before someone abused it， right？ So why are you willing to give up your personal data to pretty much anyone who asks for it？
　　Privacy is the key that unlocks the aspects of yourself that are most intimate and personal， that make you most you， and most vulnerable. Your past， present and possible future diseases. Your fears， your losses， your failures. The worst thing you have ever done， said and thought. Your inadequacies， your mistakes， your traumas. The moment in which you have felt most ashamed. Your most drunken night.
　　When you give that key， your privacy， to someone who loves you， it will allow you to enjoy closeness， and they will use it to benefit you. Part of what it means to be close to someone is sharing what makes you vulnerable and trusting that person never to take advantage of the privileged position granted by intimacy. People who love you might use your date of birth to organise a surprise birthday party for you；they’ll make a note of your tastes to find you the perfect gift； they’ll take into account your darkest fears to keep you safe from the things that scare you. Not everyone will use access to your personal life in your interest， however. Fraudsters might use your date of birth to impersonate you while they commit a crime；1 companies might use your tastes to lure you into a bad deal； enemies might use your darkest fears to threaten and extort you. People who don’t have your best interest at heart will exploit your data to further their own agenda. Privacy matters because the lack of it gives others power over you.

如今在手機上随意打开一款应用程序，我们都被要求允许程序获取我们的个人信息。为了贪图方便，我们不假思索地给予了这些程序访问权限，并且坚信自己的隐私并不值钱。可是，事实真的如此吗？在数据时代，隐私究竟意味着什么？我们又应该如何保护自己的隐私不被滥用呢？

　　You might think your privacy is safe because you are a nobody—nothing special， interesting or important to see here. Don’t shortchange yourself. You have your attention， your presence of mind—everyone is fighting for it. They want to know more about you so they can know how best to distract you， even if that means luring you away from quality time with your loved ones or basic human needs such as sleep. You have money， even if it is not a lot—companies want you to spend your money on them. Hackers are eager to get hold of sensitive information or images so they can blackmail you. You can probably work； businesses want to know everything about whom they are hiring—including whether you might be someone who will want to fight for your rights. You have an identity—criminals can use it to commit crimes in your name and let you pay for the bill. You have personal connections. You are a node in a network. You are someone’s offspring， someone’s neighbour， someone’s teacher or lawyer. Through you， they can get to other people. That’s why apps ask you for access to your contacts. You have a voice—all sorts of agents would like to use you as their mouthpiece2 on social media and beyond.

　　The power that comes about as a result of knowing personal details about someone is a very particular kind of power. Like economic power and political power， privacy power is a distinct type of power， but it also allows those who hold it the possibility of transforming it into economic， political and other kinds of power. Power over others’ privacy is the quintessential6 kind of power in the digital age.
　　It’s not all bad news， though. Yes， institutions in the digital age have hoarded7 privacy power， but we can reclaim the data that sustains it， and we can limit their collecting new data. Refraining from using tech altogether is unrealistic for most people， but there is much more you can do short of that. Respect other people’s privacy. Don’t expose ordinary citizens online. Don’t film or photograph people without their consent， and certainly don’t share such images online. Try to limit the data you surrender to institutions that don’t have a claim to it. Imagine someone asks for your number in a party， what would you do？ Perhaps you would be tempted to give them a fake number.
　　When downloading apps and buying products， choose products that are better for privacy. Use privacy extensions on your browsers. Turn your phone’s Wi-Fi， Bluetooth and locations services off when you don’t need them. Use the legal tools at your disposal to ask companies for the data they have on you， and ask them to delete that data. Change your settings to protect your privacy. Refrain from using one of those DNA home testing kits—they are not worth it. Forget about“smart” doorbells that violate your privacy and that of others.
　　Don’t make the mistake of thinking you are safe from privacy harms， maybe because you are young， optimistic and healthy. You might think that your data can work only for you， and never against you， if you’ve been lucky so far. But you might not be as healthy as you think you are， and you will not be young forever. Privacy is important because it gives power to the people. Protect it.
　　想象一下你有一把自己生活的萬能钥匙。这把钥匙或是这串密码可以打开你家的前门、你的卧室、日记、计算机、电话、汽车、保险箱。你会到处制作备用钥匙并分发给陌生人吗？可能这不太明智——迟早会有人滥用它，对吗？那么，为什么你却愿意将你的个人数据提供给几乎任何管你要的人呢？
　　隐私是开启你最私密的那些方面的钥匙，这些方面让你成为你自己，也让你最为脆弱。你过去、现在和将来可能罹患的疾病；你的恐惧、损失和失败；你做过的、说过的、想过的最糟糕的事情；你的不足、你犯下的错、你受过的伤；你感到最羞愧的时刻；你醉到不省人事的那一晚。
　　当你将这把钥匙（即你的隐私）交给爱你的人时，这会让你享受亲近，他们会用这把钥匙来使你受益。从某种程度上来说，与某人亲近即意味着与其分享让你脆弱的事情，并且相信这个人绝不会利用亲密关系所带来的特权加害你。爱你的人也许会用你的生日来为你组织一场惊喜生日派对；他们会记住你的品味来为你准备最棒的礼物；他们会考虑你内心最深处的恐惧来使你免受惊吓。但是，并非所有能够接触你个人生活信息的人都是为你好：骗子在犯罪时可能会利用你的生日来冒充你；公司可能会利用你的品味诱使你进行不当交易；敌人可能会利用你内心最深处的恐惧来威胁和勒索你。并非真心为你好的人会利用你的数据来达成自己的目的。隐私很重要，因为缺乏隐私会赋予他人压过你的权力。