By - Tanisha Dubey
For some people, privacy is an integral part of their everyday lives, something they cannot imagine living without. They feel uncomfortable when their personal space is invaded, when their conversations are overheard, or when they are expected to explain every little detail of their lives. But for some, privacy isn't even a choice. They don't get to decide what they want to keep private and what they are comfortable sharing. Their circumstances, surroundings and social realities often make that decision for them.
But what exactly is privacy? Is it simply having something to hide, or is it the freedom to decide what parts of your life you want to share with others? Privacy is the right to have control over your personal space, information, thoughts, relationships and choices without unnecessary interference. It is a fundamental human right, closely connected to individual liberty, dignity and autonomy. Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognises the right to privacy, stating that no one should be subjected to arbitrary interference with their privacy, family, home or correspondence. In India, the Supreme Court also recognised privacy as a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution in its landmark 2017 Puttaswamy judgment. Yet, despite this legal recognition, the ability to actually exercise this right is not equally available to everyone.
And that makes me wonder: Have we mistaken privacy for something everyone naturally has, when in reality, it is a privilege not everyone gets to experience?
We often associate privacy with having secrets, but privacy is so much more than that. It is the freedom to exist without constantly being questioned, observed or judged. It is having a space that belongs only to you, where you don't have to explain your choices, defend your decisions or make your life accessible to everyone around you.
There is also an economic dimension to this conversation that we often overlook. Poverty and privacy are more closely connected than we might think. We usually measure poverty through income, access to food, education, healthcare and housing, but rarely do we consider the loss of privacy that can accompany it.
Think about a family living in a one-room house, where multiple members share the same sleeping space. A personal conversation, a moment of vulnerability, an argument or even a simple phone call can happen within everyone's hearing. There is little room for personal boundaries, not necessarily because people don't respect them, but because their circumstances don't allow them to exist. For someone who can afford a separate room, a locked door or even a personal workspace, privacy might feel like an ordinary part of life. For someone who cannot afford these things, it can remain an inaccessible luxury.
But the situation becomes even more difficult as income deteriorates and people are pushed further towards economic insecurity. Consider those who live on footpaths, under flyovers or by the sides of roads. For them, privacy is not merely limited; in many cases, it is almost nonexistent. Their daily lives unfold in public spaces, where sleeping, eating, changing clothes, having conversations and caring for their families happen under the constant gaze of strangers. They have little control over who sees them, who approaches them or who becomes a witness to their most personal moments. Even something as basic as getting a few hours of uninterrupted sleep or finding a secluded space to change clothes can become a challenge. When survival itself becomes a daily struggle, personal boundaries often become a compromise they cannot afford to avoid. And if this is what the absence of financial security can look like, we can only begin to imagine how much of a person's dignity, autonomy and personal freedom gets compromised along with it.
The relationship goes beyond physical space, too. Economic dependence can sometimes mean having to justify personal expenses, movements and decisions to those providing financial support. People in financially vulnerable situations may also have less control over who accesses their personal information, where they live and how much of their lives they have to disclose to seek assistance.
This creates an uncomfortable reality: the less economic independence a person has, the harder it can become to establish and protect personal boundaries. Of course, poverty does not automatically mean an absence of privacy, just as wealth does not guarantee it. But financial security can provide people with more choices, personal space and control over their surroundings.
And perhaps this is where the inequality becomes most visible. Some people have to actively protect their privacy, while others are still struggling to afford the conditions in which privacy becomes possible.