The series revolves around a computer program for the federal government known as "the Machine" that is capable of collating all sources of information to predict terrorist acts and to identify people planning them.
A team, consisting of John Reese, Harold Finch and Sameen Shaw follow "irrelevant" crimes: lesser level of priority for the government.
The title refers to the "Nothing to hide argument", which states that individuals have no reason to fear or oppose surveillance programs, unless they are afraid it will uncover their own illicit activities.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 12.35 million household viewers and gained a 2.1/6 ratings share among adults aged 18–49.
The Machine produces a new number: Wayne Kruger (David Alan Basche), CEO of Lifetrace, which specializes in revealing members' privacy on their profile pages and selling it to various organizations.
With Kruger's help, the team finds that a janitor in the company, Carl, is actually called Stu Sommers (Gary Basaraba), a man whose daughter was stalked and killed by her ex-boyfriend after he used Lifetrace to follow her.
Kruger holds Sommers at gunpoint and has him enter the meeting with Riverton's vice president, Peter Collier (Leslie Odom Jr.).
In its original American broadcast, "Nothing to Hide" was seen by an estimated 12.35 million household viewers and gained a 2.1/6 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Matt Fowler of IGN gave the episode a "great" 8 out of 10 and wrote in his verdict, "'Nothing to Hide' started off small but finished big.
Club gave the episode an "A−" grade and wrote, "Person of Interest has offered up more than its fair share of blameless good people who are in desperate need of help.