Ask HN: Are NDAs Just Security Theater?

[webhat]

For the past couple of years I've felt NDAs are a form of security theater. They create the illusion of safety, and don't actually make you any safer.

An NDA won't stop anybody from disclosing information, and only regulate the aftermath.

Personally I don't sign NDAs, and was wondering if you generally do sign an NDA? And why, if you ask for somebody to sign an NDA, you do?

[jseeff]

1) NDA may stop someone from disclosing information.... it may not, but it may. That has a degree of value and the document is generally pretty short and simple to understand so not too problematic.

2) for the same reason many people will not sign an NDA (trust, hassle) you may want them to- trust, commitment.

3) even if an NDA only serves to regulate "the aftermath", that too can have value, especially in the rare but possible cases of mis-use of information e.g. by a competitor...

[webhat]

Thanks for the answer!

[markbarrington]

Many companies where I have worked typically ask potential suppliers to sign NDAs because they don't want details of future product plans either being made public or, more likely, discussed in the industry.

[webhat]

Thanks for the answer!

[tmuir]

Isn't it the policy of most tech companies to force all new employees to sign an NDA as a condition of employment?

[ColinWright]

Some previous discussions you might find useful and/or relevant. There are many, many more, some of which you can find through this search:

https://hn.algolia.com/?query=sign%20nda&sort=byPopularity&p...

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https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7158091

    Why I Won't Sign Your NDA (svbtle) (ryanckulp.com)

========

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7160262

    Show HN: Why sign a NDA when you can just
             pinky swear instead?
             (pinky-swear.herokuapp.com)

========

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7234094

    Why I Won't Sign Your NDA (medium.com)

========

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7587687

    When startups should sign non disclosure
    agreements (startacus.net)

========

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7604500

    Don't ask me to sign your NDA (medium.com)

========

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7731724

    Should freelancers in gamedev industry
    sign NDAs? (t-machine.org)

========

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7933163

    Why I Won't Sign Your NDA (landonschropp.com)

========

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8169957

    Ask HN: Would you sign an NDA?

========

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8284681

    Why You Shouldn't Ask Us to Sign Your NDA
    (atomicobject.com)

========

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9172583

    Ask HN: A potential investor in my startup
            asked me to sign an NDA. Should I?

========

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9195949

    Ask HN: What does it mean to sign NDA?

[webhat]

Thanks for the list.

I asked on purpose again for a couple of reasons: most of the answers were over 1 year old, most focus on why people shouldn't ask and not why they do ask or why they do sign.