 Imagine that you're posting a package to a friend. People who work at the post office can see who the package is being sent to, what the return address is, and when it will be delivered. They might also have a vague idea of what the package contains based on its shape or wrapping. They can know all of this without ever opening the package. Now imagine that the package is a text message. Ideally, the message shouldn't be opened. The information or data that you're sending to your friend should remain private. However, information about the message, who it is from, where it is going, when it was sent, should be accessible so that networks can get the message to the right place. This kind of information is called metadata. Data about data. We create metadata every day. Over the phone, on social media, through applications, these metadata can say a lot about who we are, what we do, and even what we might do. But this kind of information can be dangerous. It can be used to profile individuals or influence their behavior. And if this can create risks in times of peace, imagine the risks it can create in times of war. Find out more in our report on the humanitarian metadata problem doing no harm in the digital era.