There was a time when we controlled our data. You didn’t need permission from a company to send someone a file. You didn’t need an account. You didn’t need to agree to anything. You just shared it. One computer talked to another. That was enough.
It wasn’t perfect. It broke sometimes. But it worked. And it belonged to us.
Now, every photo, document, or message has to pass through someone else’s server. We hand it over. We wait. We trust. Most people don’t even think about it. They’ve been told this is just how the internet works.
But it’s not how the internet was designed. It’s not how it has to be.
We’ve centralized everything. We’ve given up control. We’ve accepted that our files live in someone else’s system, under someone else’s rules. Not because it’s better. Because it’s easier. Because it’s what we were told to do.
And in doing that, we gave up something important. Autonomy. Privacy. Simplicity. The idea that two people can talk to each other without a corporation sitting in between.
We can do better. The tools exist. Encryption is stronger. Networks are faster. We can build systems that are secure, private, and truly ours.
But we have to care enough to try.
We have to remember what we had. And why we gave it up.
Not to go back. But to build something better.
And this time, to keep it.
