Privacy Matters

Technology is meant to empower users, not control them. In this age of information data is power. How this power is used and by whom and how it threatens users’ privacy is a grave concern. 

Contemporary discourses regarding internet, the information super highway, cyberspace and rapidly growing E-businesses, involve matters of privacy. Developments in information and communications technologies (ICTs) have given impetus to this discussion like never before because they are perceived to endanger peoples’ privacy like no other. Rhetoric surrounding privacy concerns, however, is not new. Such debates have been surfacing repeatedly since the invention of modern computer.  

This debate, despite privacy issues, was not very salient with earlier forms of ICTs because those technologies could be described as closed systems. However, with the advent of internet this notion of privacy not being a big issue was changed forever. Internet is not only a massively large ocean of network that is unprecedented in history, it is also an open and decentralized system of network in which data protection and risk management are difficult goals to achieve, not just for people but for companies as well. 

Life without internet is almost unthinkable. It is undoubtedly the biggest invention of twenty first century. However, with great inventions come great concerns also. In case of internet it is for sure the privacy issue.  

A few aspects which are perceived to pose the greatest threat to users’ privacy are social media and browsers. Social network sites and browsers deeply penetrate users’ life. Many big names of social media have been found to intentionally confuse the users about privacy settings. These providers often do this under the cloak of better user experience. As pervasive technology, the issues they present often become invisible as they are widely adopted, ubiquitous and taken for granted.  

However, we think that there is another aspect which should also be named in this list, which is equally serious yet ironically very less talked about. Have you ever thought about your calling and file sharing privacy? Even the most popular audio/video calling apps and file sharing solutions have been found to retain users’ personal data and information as well as eavesdropping on conversations.  

According to Dan Villanti, senior security engineer of Cornell’s IT security office, “In the information age data is a commodity. Money and information are power. Therefore, data is power.” 

My question is who should have this power? The answer is simple and very obvious- the user. It is legitimately the user with whom this power should reside because it is his/her data. He/she has the ownership. Just because a company has enough resources to breach someone’s privacy does not give it the right to do so. Moreover, the formality of agreeing to privacy policies is nothing but a tool used by most companies to breach someone’s privacy without running the risk of facing legal consequences. 

With increasing awareness and sensitivity of the user about their data, the companies now have to rethink their business models. Transparency must rest at the core values of future companies or service providers. The future of online services will inevitably lie in stating information clearly and making it easy for users to understand it. Users now look for solutions that genuinely respect their privacy and empathize with them.  

One such solution that is going to make lives easier is trango. Trango believes that technology is meant to empower people, not control them. It is a free calling and file sharing solution which guarantees privacy. It is E2E encrypted (AES 256 bit encryption) and is peer to peer. So, your data never leaves your network. Now you have full control over your data. Nobody can access it, not even trango. It provides cloud version, or you can self-host it as well. It requires no login, no download. 

Digital privacy must be taken as a fundamental human right guarded by legislation around the globe. It is the right of the user to feel safe when he/she makes a digital footprint. It is as important as the users’ physical protection. 

Trango is set on a mission to provide users a safe, real-time file sharing and calling service that the user can use without having to worry about his/her privacy. It has incorporated your privacy concern into its brand ecosystem, and it strives every day to give you the privacy you deserve.  

To see without being seen is the definition of modern power 
Michel Focault 

Reclaim the power that is legitimately yours.  

Let’s trango!