I'm not sure that refutes the idea that encryption was uncommon. A couple tech giants with challenging threat models will be ahead of the curve. Google started

I'm not sure that refutes the idea that encryption was uncommon. A couple tech giants with challenging threat models will be ahead of the curve. Google started tracking adoption of TLS in 2015, with adoption below 50% and some regions below 30%. https://transparencyreport.google.com/https/overview?hl=en https://transparencyreport.google.com/https/overview?hl=en