‘I’ve got nothing to hide’ is what people say who have never had to deal with the consequences of loss of data, an annoying agency or an uncooperative government. Perhaps that’s naive, but why would you worry about something that won’t happen to you anyway?

At the end of the day, though, everyone will reach a turning point and realize that privacy – the right to have a private life – is actually important. Some people may have reached this point with the introduction of compulsory identification, today many people scratch their heads when they have their fingerprints taken for an ID-card. For Mariette Hummel it concerned the simple fact that she found her address and mobile telephone number on the internet. That’s why Mariette has started the DigiMe project, taking a close look at her own profile to find out which digital traces she has left behind.

Take a look at her website and in case you wonder exactly what kind of information goes around on the internet, then please consider contributing to this research project.