Once upon a time, privacy meant closing a door, lowering your voice, or simply being left alone. Today, it means scrolling through settings, declining cookies for the fifth time, and hoping nobody is listening — while fully assuming someone is. We still talk about privacy as if it’s alive and well, protected by checkboxes, policies, and reassuring icons, even as our phones, homes, cars, and workplaces quietly log everything we do. This episode isn’t about panic or paranoia — it’s about honesty. Privacy didn’t suddenly die; it slowly dissolved into convenience, comfort, and “just one more app.” The real question isn’t whether privacy is gone, but why we keep pretending it isn’t — and who benefits from that fiction.
