Privacy
Etymology
From Latin “privatus,” “withdrawn from public life, belonging to oneself,” from “privare,” “to deprive,” from “privus,” “single, individual.” The root sense is deprivation: in Rome, private life was life deprived of public office. Only later did the “deprived” condition become a valued sanctuary rather than a lack.
noun · /PRY-vuh-see/
The condition of being free from observation, intrusion, or the collection of one’s personal information.
What it names
Reach for it to name a person’s claim to a zone — of body, home, or data — that others may not enter or surveil without permission.
Example
She switched off location tracking to claw back a little privacy from the apps.
Related idea
Privacy is broader than secrecy: secrecy is hiding specific information, while privacy is the right to control access to yourself even when you have nothing to hide. You can want privacy in a bathroom without any secret being kept.