What you don't know won't hurt you

what (someone) doesn't know won't hurt them

Remaining ignorant or uninformed about something will allow someone to not have to worry about, feel responsible for, or get upset by it. A: "Where are you going?" B: "It's better that you stay in the dark about this. What you don't know won't hurt you." A: "Mom will freak out if she finds out that you took the car without asking!" B: "Of course she will. But what Mom doesn't know won't hurt her."
See also: hurt, know, what
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

What you don't know won't hurt you.

 and What you don't know can't hurt you.
Prov. If you do not know about a problem or a misdeed, you will not be able to make yourself unhappy by worrying about it. (Often used to justify not telling someone about a problem or misdeed.) Ellen: What a beautiful diamond necklace! Thank you! But how on earth did you get the money to pay for it? Fred: What you don't know won't hurt you.
See also: hurt, know, what
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • what (someone) doesn't know can't hurt them
  • what (someone) doesn't know won't hurt them
  • what one doesn't know won't hurt one
  • what the eye doesn't see
  • what the eye doesn't see, the heart doesn't grieve over
  • stay in the dark
  • stay in the dark about (something)
  • keep (someone) in the dark (about something)
  • keep in the dark
  • keep someone in the dark
References in periodicals archive
What you don't know won't hurt you. But such is not the case when you are experiencing muscle cramps because of liver disease.
Leg Cramps: A Sign Of Liver Disease?
A similar saying, 'what you don't know won't hurt you' is equally bothersome.
Honoring my Mother / Pause and Breathe
Please contact NastyNickMusiQ@gmail.com for interviews, appearances or promo copies of "What You Don't Know Won't Hurt You."
More New Music by Rapper Nasty Nick
"What you don't know won't hurt you" is a proverb many of us have heard and maybe even said.
The great reporting debate: risk managers and loss reporting
You've heard the expression "What you don't know won't hurt you." Well, that doesn't fare well when it comes to your money.
Fee for all: avoid airline surcharges before you take off
"A lot of people run around with the idea that what you don't know won't hurt you," he said.
Smallpox vaccine and HIV: a deadly combination. (Science)
Two of my favorites in this regard are "knowledge is power" and "what you don't know won't hurt you. " Personally, I tend to subscribe more to the first than the second and, at least where your business is concerned, urge you to adopt that slogan as a mantra.
THE POWER IS YOURS