[cbd1984]

Why is most of your mail sent in envelopes as opposed to on postcards? Why don't people default to postcards, and only use envelopes when they have something to hide?

This isn't about traffic analysis, it's about social expectations and social norms. If privacy is the default, the social norm is to be private, and to expect privacy. That's important.

[justacommentx]

True, and this has a legal implication too. If privacy while browsing the Web isn't expected, then law enforcement doesn't need a warrant to ask for this data. So let's maintain our expectation of privacy.

[tdkl]

Commercial mass mail for informing isn't sent in envelopes. I presume that's what the parent was talking about.

[majewsky]

It isn't? At least in Germany, commerical mass mail is always sent out in envelopes.

I guess that, in this particular case, the reason for the envelopes is to conceal the ads inside them until the recipient has taken the time to open the envelope.

[georgemcbay]

In the USA, most commercial mass advertising mail is in large printed flyer form, not enclosed in any kind of external envelope.

Kinda like this:

http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/sale-advertising-papers-15592...

The advertisers pay bulk rates to USPS to stuff all this crap directly in our mailboxes.

There are some exceptions which arrive in envelopes, mostly to trick you into thinking it isn't just spam mail like the rest of the crap.

[tdkl]

Yep, same here. We do have an option to place a special sticker on the mailbox, which indicates to the postal worker that he doesn't put that kind of bulk commercial material inside.

[tdkl]

Well this ain't the norm here (a little bit south from you, still EU). Perhaps it has to do with Germany being always more vary of privacy for history reasons, but is merely a EU recommendation, not enforced by law.

Not targeted for your reply, just clarifying the previous post: I don't appreciate the down votes though, I wasn't stating that OP opinion is right, it was just my understanding of what he meant and trying to understand it.