Are private members really more “secure” in Java?

Question

Learning Java I was sometimes taught to use the private access modifier so as not to expose \"sensitive information\" to other classes, as if this could open a legi

Answer 1

private isn't really for security, since reflection can bypass it (modulo classloader/secure classloader stuff). It serves as an indication of intent, and as barrier to one type of programming error.

But consider a third-party API--API users don't even see the private properties or methods. It's not just about your own code, it's about what code is exposed to others. (Again looking at it from a "I'm not trying to break in to the code" standpoint.)