It is easy not to shoot yourself in the foot if you do not have a gun.
Privacy and convenience are at two ends of a spectrum. Commerce likes to exploit this by making things more "convenient", generally at the cost of privacy. Sadly, the majority of consumers care far more about convenience than the often hidden costs of lack of privacy.
This kind of thinking basically helps powerful people erode the idea that they are not entitled to anybody's personal details.
Privacy is as easy as not shooting yourself in the foot.
You just have to not point the gun at your foot.