Is Privacy Possible? Exposing Hidden Surveillance
Every day, the average Londoner is captured on CCTV nearly 300 times. This fact alone captures the reality of modern surveillance: our every move, both offline and online, is monitored. For many, this raises a crucial question—do we accept constant surveillance as an inevitable part of 21st-century life, or can we still fight back and protect our privacy? In a recent episode of "Things Visible and Invisible," Gabriel Custod, creator of Watchmen Privacy and Escape the Technology, and host Sean navigate these thorny issues. Their conversation provides a roadmap through our digital dystopia, blending practical steps with philosophical insights about technology, freedom, and the meaning of privacy.
The Surveillance State: How Did We Get Here?
Surveillance is no longer science fiction; it’s the landscape of our daily lives. Surveillance cameras track us in public spaces, companies monitor our online activities, and increasingly, our devices feed data to corporations and governments. If you feel like there’s always someone watching, you’re not wrong.
Gabriel Custod contends that the surveillance state emerged from historical trends in technology, control, and utopian thinking. The late 19th century saw huge technological leaps—railroads, telegraphs, early computers—that made the world smaller and control easier. Visionaries like HG Wells wrote of a “New World Order,” where society would be managed by elite technocrats armed with the latest scientific tools. What began as utopian dreams morphed into dystopian realities, laying the groundwork for the surveillance societies described by later writers like George Orwell and Aldous Huxley. These influences, Gabriel argues, are not just literary curiosities. They're blueprints that shaped how modern institutions operate, from welfare states to today’s data-hungry corporations.
Understanding the Systems That Control Us
Gabriel believes that privacy, while eroding, is not entirely lost. Most people, he points out, are aware on some level that their digital lives aren’t private. Yet, many feel powerless or overwhelmed—a bit like Neo recognizing something is wrong in the Matrix but unsure where to start unravelling it.
That sense of futility, Gabriel cautions, is dangerous. He challenges listeners with a simple question: "Does privacy matter to you?" Almost everyone says yes. The next step is deciding whether to take ownership and do something about it. While going off-grid entirely is one option, Gabriel suggests it's more practical—and empowering—to learn how systems work and to subvert them. Understanding technology equips us to defend our data and, perhaps even more importantly, reclaim our individual freedom and autonomy.
Practical Steps Toward Digital Privacy
So, what can you really do? Gabriel offers tangible advice for anyone ready to reclaim their privacy—even if you’re not a tech expert:
1. Rethink Your Online Presence: Be smart about what you share on social media. Assume any information posted publicly can be found, used, or weaponized against you.
2. Use Privacy Tools: Something as simple as using a reputable VPN (Gabriel mentions Mullvad as a favorite) can shield your internet activity from nosy ISPs. Use alternative email providers like Proton Mail and avoid giving out personal data unless absolutely necessary.
3. De-Google Your Life: Seek out alternatives to mainstream, always-online software. For everyday needs, there are open-source or offline alternatives that won't track your every move.
4. Pay Attention to Your Devices: Modern vehicles, smartphones, and smart gadgets are all potential privacy risks. Avoid unnecessary syncing of personal data—your car doesn’t need your phone’s entire address book! Read privacy policies with a healthy dose of skepticism.
5. Control What You Share: Whenever possible, pay cash instead of handing over identifying information for simple transactions.
6. Educate and Empower Yourself: Gabriel's Watchmen Privacy podcast and books dive deep into both the philosophy and practicalities of digital freedom, cybersecurity, and privacy. Exploring such resources can demystify the process and make protection accessible for everyone.
The Philosophy of Freedom: Old Wisdom for a New Age
Privacy isn’t just about keeping your browsing history secret—it’s the foundation of a free and independent mind. Without a private "room in our mental house," as Gabriel puts it, we’re vulnerable to manipulation and groupthink. The dystopian warnings of Orwell and Huxley aren’t just cautionary tales; they're reality checks for a society at risk of losing its grip on individual autonomy.
Yet, Gabriel is not just doom-and-gloom. He weaves in philosophical grounding from figures like Jean-Paul Sartre and the ancient Stoics. Freedom, they remind us, is ultimately an inside job. Even in restrictive societies, even in prison, the ability to shape your response and guard your innermost self remains. At the same time, external freedoms—privacy, security, property, family—must be protected through conscious choices and sometimes, a willingness to push back against societal norms.
Society, Family, and the Return to Old Values
Much of Gabriel’s analysis highlights a pendulum swing: we've veered away from the foundational values of family, self-reliance, and community, drifting toward hyper-consumption and digital dependence. The current loneliness epidemic and declining birthrates in the West are symptoms of a deeper malaise. But, history and philosophy offer hope. As old norms fall out of fashion, there’s an emerging revival among younger generations who crave meaning, connection, and autonomy.
The solution, Gabriel argues, isn’t running away to some mythical haven—there are no perfect refuges for freedom in today’s world. Instead, the answer is to act locally: defend the values and freedoms that made the West unique and cultivate inner freedom through discipline, skepticism, and critical thought.
The Takeaway: It’s Not Too Late—Start With a Single Step
It’s never too late to reclaim your privacy and autonomy. Gabriel’s advice is both practical and philosophical: refuse to be a passive consumer, question defaults, and take small steps to secure your data. Become intentional about the information you share, the technology you use, and the habits you cultivate.
Inner and external freedoms are deeply connected. The more you set boundaries—whether via technology choices or personal values—the more capacity you’ll have to enjoy genuine freedom. As Nietzsche famously said, if you truly care about the state of the world, your first act of rebellion is to improve yourself.
You don’t have to disappear to the woods to start regaining ownership of your life. Begin with a single decision—a new email provider, a privacy-focused podcast, or a cash transaction—and let the journey unfold from there. Change may be slow, but the journey toward true freedom, both visible and invisible, is always worth taking.
📕 Guest: Gabriel Custodiet
Gabriel is a leading privacy advocate, creator of the Watchman Privacy and Escape the Technology websites, host of the Watchman Privacy Podcast, and author of The Watchman Guide to Privacy. He writes extensively about digital freedom, surveillance, and the psychology of societal control.
🌍 Website: https://watchmanprivacy.com
🎧 Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@WatchmanPrivacy/podcasts
🐦 Twitter/X: https://x.com/WatchmanPrivacy
📚 Book: The Watchman Guide to Privacy
https://www.amazon.com/Watchman-Guide-Privacy-Financial-Lifestyle/dp/B08PX7KFS2
