Security

Updated 05 Sep 2026

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What it is
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  The ability to trust the applications and services you use — that the parties involved really are who they claim to be, and that the systems involved are protected from tampering or compromise. In the web context, HTTPS certificates are a concrete example: they prove you're actually talking to the site you intended to, and stop attackers on the network from reading or altering the traffic.
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Why it matters
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  Security is a precondition for privacy, not a substitute for it. A tool can be extremely secure (well-defended against attackers) while still not being private, if the operator of that tool itself has full access to your data.
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Contrast with
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  Privacy — the article's example: Google's consumer products are very secure (few breaches, strong infrastructure) but few people would call their Gmail or YouTube activity "private," since Google itself can see it.
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Related
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  Privacy
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  Anonymity
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  Threat
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  Risk

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