This page is about why one may prefer PGP over clear text messaging. If you don’t care, and just want to learn how to use PGP, read the introduction page.

Why bother doing all that PGP stuff?

Encrypting one’s messages is a personal choice. But here is what I will tell the doubters: once you get past the initial learning curve, using PGP will almost feel seamless. Moreover, you won’t need to use it for every single message, just the ones you absolutely would prefer to have encrypted.

Are you afraid or hiding something?

This is a common ruse some people try to play to devalue digital privacy and security. The truth is, everyone prefers to have select elements of their life kept private. Think about it, you probably shut your blinds and have a fence around your house. Are you hiding something, committing some felonies perhaps? In that same nature, I value my privacy in the digital world; a message is meant for the eyes of the sender and recipient, unless further specified and allowed. I will leave you with a great quote on the subject:

“Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.”
— Edward Snowden