--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are free only insofar as we exercise…" description: "\"“We are free only insofar as we exercise control over what people know about us, and in what circumstances they come to know it. During”\" — Timothy Snyder" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/565/timothy-snyder-882_control_we-are-free-only-insofar-as-we-exercise_2540761.jpg" --- # We are free only insofar as we exercise control over what… ![“We are free only insofar as we exercise control over what people know about us, and in what circumstances they come to know it. During” quote by Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/565/timothy-snyder-882_control_we-are-free-only-insofar-as-we-exercise_2540761.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/565/timothy-snyder-882_control_we-are-free-only-insofar-as-we-exercise_2540761.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/565/timothy-snyder-882_control_we-are-free-only-insofar-as-we-exercise_2540761.jpg) > ““We are free only insofar as we exercise control over what people know about us, and in what circumstances they come to know it. During”” [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Freedom depends on controlling information about ourselves and the contexts in which it’s revealed. **In simple terms:** Control over personal data defines freedom. Key Takeaway Guard your information to stay free. Themes privacy control freedom information Mood cautious analytical Type political inspirational When to use this quote - social media - employment - legal proceedings Key Concepts political theory surveillance digital rights Questions to Reflect On - What data do you share unknowingly? - How can you limit unwanted exposure? A Different Perspective Complete control is impossible in interconnected societies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) ## Related quotes > [“We are free only insofar as we exercise control over what people know about us, and in what circumstances they come to know it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/we-are-free-only-insofar-as-we-exercise-control-over-what-people-know/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [Powerful people do not try to control other people. They know it doesn't work, and that it's not their job. Their job is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-silk/powerful-people-do-not-try-to-control-other-people-they-know-it-doesn/) [Danny Silk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-silk/) > [I want people to come see my films and enjoy them but at the end of the day you can't control what people think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-wahlberg/i-want-people-to-come-see-my-films-and-enjoy-them-but-at-the-end-of/) [Mark Wahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-wahlberg/) > [You can't control how other people see you or think of you. But you have to be comfortable with that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-mirren/you-can-t-control-how-other-people-see-you-or-think-of-you-but-you/) [Helen Mirren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-mirren/) > [A public figure cannot control what people say in open meetings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-bridenstine/a-public-figure-cannot-control-what-people-say-in-open-meetings/) [Jim Bridenstine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-bridenstine/) > [If you want to control other people, first control yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abu-bakr/if-you-want-to-control-other-people-first-control-yourself/) [Abu Bakr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abu-bakr/) > [Liberty does not exist where rights are on one side and power on the other. To be liberty, rights must be armed with vital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-quintus-cincinnatus-lamar-ii/liberty-does-not-exist-where-rights-are-on-one-side-and-power-on-the/) [Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-quintus-cincinnatus-lamar-ii/) > [The thing in basketball is you always want to be free. I don't want to be hugged up to my guy. When we're body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-griffin/the-thing-in-basketball-is-you-always-want-to-be-free-i-don-t-want-to/) [Blake Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-griffin/) > [What a thing of free will to be in the air and to have that much control over one's directionality, up, down, left, right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramell-ross/what-a-thing-of-free-will-to-be-in-the-air-and-to-have-that-much/) [RaMell Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramell-ross/) > [“When you let go of control and commit yourself to happiness, it is so easy to offer compassion and forgiveness. This propels you from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/when-you-let-go-of-control-and-commit-yourself-to-happiness-it-is-so/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [And after Brexit, we will be free to determine our economic future, with control over our money, laws and borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-truss/and-after-brexit-we-will-be-free-to-determine-our-economic-future/) [Liz Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-truss/) > [The British people voted to take back control of our borders, trade, money and laws. They chose a bright future as a free, independent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priti-patel/the-british-people-voted-to-take-back-control-of-our-borders-trade/) [Priti Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priti-patel/) > [“Some people are just having a misfire of judgment or control. But other people are letting you see a bit of the rotten person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alessandra-torre/some-people-are-just-having-a-misfire-of-judgment-or-control-but/) [Alessandra Torre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alessandra-torre/) > [“Religion must use law to empower itself and control the people who they need in order to survive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-p-young/religion-must-use-law-to-empower-itself-and-control-the-people-who/) [William P. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-p-young/) > [I'm in a business where there's complete anarchy. You can't control it - you can only react to it. The control that people traditionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sorrell/i-m-in-a-business-where-there-s-complete-anarchy-you-can-t-control-it/) [Martin Sorrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sorrell/) ## More by Timothy Snyder > [“Nationalism is relativist, since the only truth is the resentment we feel when we contemplate others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/nationalism-is-relativist-since-the-only-truth-is-the-resentment-we/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“The time is out of joint. O cursed spite,/That ever I was born to set it right!” Thus Hamlet. Yet he concludes: “Nay, come,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-time-is-out-of-joint-o-cursed-spite-that-ever-i-was-born-to-set/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“the democracies that arose after the First World War (and the Second) often collapsed when a single party seized power in some combination of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-democracies-that-arose-after-the-first-world-war-and-the-second/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“salami tactics—slicing off layers of opposition one by one. Most people were distracted, some were imprisoned, and others were outmatched.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/salami-tactics-slicing-off-layers-of-opposition-one-by-one-most/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“We allowed ourselves to accept the politics of inevitability, the sense that history could move in only one direction: toward liberal democracy...We imbibed the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/we-allowed-ourselves-to-accept-the-politics-of-inevitability-the/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“The key to this translation of ideology to politics in both cases was an effective appeal to human experience at the crucial time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-key-to-this-translation-of-ideology-to-politics-in-both-cases-was/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Both of these positions, inevitability and eternity, are antihistorical. The only thing that stands between them is history itself. History allows us to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/both-of-these-positions-inevitability-and-eternity-are-antihistorical/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“The whole notion of disruption is adolescent: It assumes that after the teenagers make a mess, the adults will come and clean it up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-whole-notion-of-disruption-is-adolescent-it-assumes-that-after/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“As she observed, “the first essential step on the road to total domination is to kill the juridical person in man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/as-she-observed-the-first-essential-step-on-the-road-to-total/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“The first mode is the open hostility to verifiable reality, which takes the form of presenting inventions and lies as if they were facts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-first-mode-is-the-open-hostility-to-verifiable-reality-which/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Once we subliminally accept that we are watching a reality show rather than thinking about real life, no image can actually hurt the president…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/once-we-subliminally-accept-that-we-are-watching-a-reality-show/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Confidence in duration is the antidote to panic and the tonic of demagogy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/confidence-in-duration-is-the-antidote-to-panic-and-the-tonic-of/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Be calm when the unthinkable arrives. Modern tyranny is terror management. When the terrorist attack comes, remember that authoritarians exploit such events in order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/be-calm-when-the-unthinkable-arrives-modern-tyranny-is-terror/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Life is political, not because the world cares about how you feel, but because the world reacts to what you do. The minor choices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/life-is-political-not-because-the-world-cares-about-how-you-feel-but/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Extremism' certainly sounds bad, and governments often try to make it sound worse by using the word 'terrorism' in the same sentence. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/extremism-certainly-sounds-bad-and-governments-often-try-to-make-it/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) [Explore all 339 Timothy Snyder quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) ## More Control quotes > [We have to get control of our borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-coffman/we-have-to-get-control-of-our-borders/) [Mike Coffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-coffman/) > [Grit and self-control are related, but they're not the same thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-duckworth/grit-and-self-control-are-related-but-they-re-not-the-same-thing/) [Angela Duckworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-duckworth/) > [“You can't control who loves you...you can't let someone love you anymore than you can make someone love you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-harmon/you-can-t-control-who-loves-you-you-can-t-let-someone-love-you/) [Amy Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-harmon/) > [I thought I fought a really good Orlando Salido. I never let him get into his fight. I knew what I needed to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikey-garcia/i-thought-i-fought-a-really-good-orlando-salido-i-never-let-him-get/) [Mikey Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikey-garcia/) > [Don't think you can...know you can! You human body is the most impressive tool you'll ever own. Even if you can't control everything, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-hardy/don-t-think-you-can-know-you-can-you-human-body-is-the-most/) [Jeff Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-hardy/) > [If you have everything under control, you're not moving fast enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-andretti/if-you-have-everything-under-control-you-re-not-moving-fast-enough/) [Mario Andretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-andretti/) > [“Without time management, you lose control of your life and do what other people tell you to do. You lose control and become a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-miller/without-time-management-you-lose-control-of-your-life-and-do-what/) Thomas Miller > [I started off as a model maker, so the first part of my career was a model maker and then a motion control camera…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-knoll/i-started-off-as-a-model-maker-so-the-first-part-of-my-career-was-a/) [John Knoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-knoll/) > [Many of us rely on our own illusion of control. But when God makes it known to you that you're not the one steering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/many-of-us-rely-on-our-own-illusion-of-control-but-when-god-makes-it/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [In Congress, Florida Republicans worked with the Trump administration to secure funding for coastal restoration projects following the devastating impacts of Hurricanes Irma and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-waltz/in-congress-florida-republicans-worked-with-the-trump-administration/) [Michael Waltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-waltz/) > [“He who can destroy a thing has the real control of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/he-who-can-destroy-a-thing-has-the-real-control-of-it/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [Sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying or getting overly angry or to maintain control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-haysbert/sometimes-you-have-to-laugh-to-keep-from-crying-or-getting-overly/) [Dennis Haysbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-haysbert/) > [My sister-in-law works for a group that supports orphanages in Cairo. She and her colleagues take care of children left behind by circumstances beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-elbaradei/my-sister-in-law-works-for-a-group-that-supports-orphanages-in-cairo/) [Mohamed ElBaradei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-elbaradei/) > [Some nights I'm funny with the between-song commentary, some nights I'm not. I have no control over this. I pace the stage a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-berman/some-nights-i-m-funny-with-the-between-song-commentary-some-nights-i/) [David Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-berman/) > [“Control never be a means to any practical end. It can never be a means to anything but more control… Like punk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/control-never-be-a-means-to-any-practical-end-it-can-never-be-a-means/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) [Browse all 6,032 Control quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We are free only insofar as we exercise control over what people know about us, and in what circumstances they come to know it. 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