Abstract: It is often argued that privacy is antithetical to publicity, that it works by separating the individual from others, restricting the access others have to particular areas of her life. While thinking of privacy in terms of separation may appear inescapable, there is an alternative: privacy may function by providing the individual with control over certain aspects in her life. Faced with this rift between separation and control-based definitions of privacy, I argue that privacy should be understood in terms of control over a realm of our lives.

Keywords: control, privacy, publicity, separation,