When Scott McNealy, former CEO of Sun Microsystems, said “privacy is dead” and that we needed to “Get over it” in 1999, it was meant to provoke.
At the time, digital was just beginning to take shape, and few people understood how much personal data they were sharing.
Three decades later, the question still stands – but the answer looks different. Privacy isn’t dead; it’s evolving, reshaped by generations who’ve grown up online.
Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at Supermetrics.
Digital natives expect both personalization and control. They want companies to be transparent about how data is used and to protect it by default.
For organizations, this means moving beyond compliance and embedding privacy into design, governance, and culture.
The data tells the story
Recent research underscores this generational shift. A Pew Research Center survey in late 2023 found that 78% of Americans feel confident in making the right decisions about their personal information. Yet 61% believe there’s little they can do to protect it.
That tension between agency and helplessness is especially acute among younger users, who are more willing to question whether the systems around them are trustworthy.
Cisco’s 2023 Consumer Privacy Survey echoed that globally. Across 12 countries, most consumers said they want greater visibility into how their data is used, more control over what’s shared and stronger guarantees of protection.
These concerns aren’t hypothetical. In 2024, more than 1.35 billion individuals had their personal data compromised. Numbers like these show consumers’ fear is grounded in lived reality, not paranoia.
What’s most telling is how different generations respond to these risks. A 2025 study of digital natives found that nearly half would reduce app permissions once they realized what could be inferred from the data they shared. Awareness drives behavior, but only once the risks are made visible.
For older generations, by contrast, privacy is often framed as a trade-off: give up some control in exchange for convenience. That mindset is fading as new cohorts demand both personalization and protection.
From compliance to strategy
Meeting GDPR or CCPA requirements is no longer enough. The differentiator comes from going further: embedding privacy into product design, governance, culture and communications.
That requires asking, “Can we collect this data?” and “Should we?” Companies that rethink data practices with restraint and purpose show customers that they respect boundaries.
The payoff is loyalty. When a brand demonstrates respect for user agency, it signals that customer relationships matter more than short-term data exploitation.
The reverse is also true. Breaches like the MOVEit incident in 2023, which exposed data from over 2,700 organizations, show how fast trust can collapse. Rebuilding it can take years, if it’s possible at all.
Generational expectations
It’s a mistake to assume younger generations don’t care about privacy because they share so much online. Current surveys suggest otherwise. They expect privacy to be part of the digital experience, just as they’ve come to expect seatbelts in a car, because they have never lived life without them.
What they want is not an end to personalization but to allow for more transparency about how it’s delivered.
Older consumers, who may have been more willing to accept opaque trade-offs, are also becoming more skeptical as they face the consequences of breaches themselves. In 2024, Statista reported that 78% of baby boomers are concerned about their data privacy.
Generational lines are blurring. What began as a digital-native demand is becoming a mainstream expectation.
A new trust equation
Privacy has moved beyond the legal department to the boardroom. That starts with clarity. Privacy policies should be written in plain English, rather than being buried in dense legal text.
Consumers should be able to see what data is collected, how it’s used and what choices they have. Just as importantly, they need to know those choices are real, not cosmetic toggles with no real impact.
It also means accountability. Independent audits, visible certifications and transparent disclosures when things go wrong all signal that this company takes responsibility. Accountability is the new reassurance in an era of growing skepticism.
Where personalization meets protection
The real opportunity lies in balance. Consumers value relevance, but not at the cost of intrusion.
The opportunity here is to design systems that can reinforce personalization and privacy. That means models that minimize data use, anonymize wherever possible and give consumers options that still deliver even with less data from them.
Redefining privacy, not burying it
McNealy’s declaration that “privacy is dead” was never a prophecy etched in stone. It was a provocation to excuse companies that wanted unfettered access to data. Today, the evidence suggests that privacy exists, but it is conditional. It’s only real when companies design for it, regulate against abuse and respect boundaries.
Privacy isn’t dead. It thrives when companies respect boundaries, design responsibly, and remember that every data point represents a human being deserving of dignity.
We’ve featured the best privacy app for Android.
This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro’s Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro
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