It’s a basic human right, and if you’re in a restrictive country like North Korea or China, data privacy means everything because individuals don’t know if they’re saying something wrong that could put them in danger.

A friend from college who is Chinese told me that whenever they go back to China for holidays, they have to clear out all the chat history on WeChat, a messaging app commonly used in China. This is because sometimes Chinese guards pick someone’s phone and check for any content that could be seen as critical of China.