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People hide their license plates for the same reason people use usernames (effectively online pseudonyms) and profile pictures/avatars instead of full legal names, IP Addresses, and passport photos to represent themselves on an open internet forum that is accessible worldwide.
Sure, John Doe has his license plate exposed while he goes for a beer run in Springville, USA.
In fact, anyone who comes in contact with him while he is at Liquor Mart will see that he is a 20-something Caucasian male, 6'2" in height and weighing 200lb.
The cashier carding him may see other information on his ID as he makes his purchase.
But these are localized forms of exposure and John Doe is forgotten by these strangers as soon as the encounter is over.
If a stranger wants to revisit the encounter, he can only do so by the memory in his own head.
Posting any of the above information on an open internet forum essentially creates a carbon-copy of a real-life encounter with those pieces of information.
But the virtual "encounter" is also forgotten as soon as the browser/tab is closed, right?
So what's the difference?
The critical difference is that unlike a "real-life" encounter, the information online is permanently fixed (until deleted, and often still available even after deletion) and has an audience that transcends time-constraints or geography.
If someone wants to revisit the "encounter" to get a closer look, he can do so with a few clicks of the mouse anytime, anywhere, and without the person knowing. He can even screenshot, save, copy, transfer, or forward the information such that it is available even after the original post is deleted.
Anyone across the entire globe can access the information for as long as they want, as many times as they want and at any given time.
As far as privacy is concerned, the internet presents a wild-card that has exponentially more variables (and potential) than a visit to the liquor store.
Of course, unless you live under a rock and never interact with society, there are always privacy risks.
But there's nothing wrong with those who take an extra step to minimize the wild-cards on the internet.
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