---
title: Privacy is OK
date: 2022-12-29
featureImage: images/blog/surveillance.png
author: Cincinnatus
authorThumb: /images/author/cincinnatus.jpg
---

## Tim Bray wants to defend Signal

This is really about whether "bad guys" can use Signal. Tim, rightly, says "who cares". We all need privacy.

https://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/202x/2022/12/29/Privacy-is-OK

But then Tim admits Signal can and does hand over conversations to those with subpoena powers:

>in the course of the law-enforcement investigation of the January 6th insurrection, police got access to the traitors’ Signal conversations

Hmmm. OK. We don't want to wade into "traitors". Just to point out, if someone thinks your conversation deserves unmasking, and they can get a subpoena, it will be unmasked. That's the power of the *centralizers*.