[jglauche]

One of the NDAs someone wanted me to sign had a phrase like "I will not share or use anything that I learned working on this project". Not limited to the client's project or anything. Whenever I work on something, I learn something. Be it a minor thing. How would I ever met that contract on my side? I can't forget what I just learned.

My policy is that I charge about 33% extra if they don't trust me not disclosing sensitive information. In fact, if the project requires such, my obligation is to use more work and resources to make sure that this will never leak, including encrypting project files separately, make sure I don't write down notes in my usual 'survival notebook', etc. But the NDA has to be sane.

[biztos]

> I charge about 33% extra

Has that ever come up for you in real life, with the client paying you the 33% extra and you accepting such a wide-ranging NDA/noncompete?

It seems to me that you'd be taking on a risk much greater than 33% of your earnings on the project, though I suppose the risk of actual "enforcement" of the letter of the agreement is not very high.

[jglauche]

Once I was asked and I stated my conditions, but we ended up not having mutual trust in each other. The communication was weird and seemed very suspicious on their side. I slept over it and my gut feeling said not to do it.

No one has ever sued me before but with my personal business as company structure, I am legally liable with up to all my private assets. I am not an anonymous entity, I get jobs mostly by recommendation, getting letters from lawyers messes me up mentally easily and I can't mess with my client's sensitive data in the first place.

My extra charge is giving me extra time and compensation for adding extra security measures and most importantly (encrypted) documentation for myself if in any unlikely case they'd enforce their part.

In essence: I value mutual trust a lot, if I feel lack of trust on their side, I need to be extra careful. The more mutual trust I form with a client, the easier it is to get a mutual understanding and less likely that they'll escalate it to lawyers and courts.