How to secure your phone before attending a protest

Back successful June 2020, erstwhile this article was first written, group were taking to the streets to shape for justness and protestation against systemic racism and police brutality. It was revised 2 years later erstwhile group were taking to the streets to protestation the anticipation that the Supreme Court mightiness overturn Roe v. Wade (and we cognize how that turned out).

Currently, successful the first months of the caller Trump presidency, group are erstwhile again wondering really they tin make their opinions known. While immoderate whitethorn take to call their representatives aliases be municipality hallway meetings, others mightiness beryllium readying to attend protestation demonstrations. And because we’ve each go utilized to carrying a awesome woody of our individual information pinch america via our phones and / aliases watches, it has go much important than ever to defender that information if location is simply a chance of confrontation aliases arrest.

The pursuing tips person to do pinch your phone. If you besides person a smartwatch, you whitethorn want to simply time off that home.

If you’re attending aliases moreover conscionable watching the protests, past beryllium aware: not only is your telephone a trove of accusation astir you and the group you pass with, but it besides functions arsenic a search device. That’s why it’s important to support your integer footprint arsenic mini arsenic imaginable — immoderate grounds placing group astatine protests could beryllium capable to get them arrested.

You should relationship for the truth that your telephone whitethorn get lost, stolen, aliases broken. There’s besides a consequence of your telephone being confiscated by authorities — which intends that if they’re capable to unlock your phone, they’ll person entree to information connected you and group you know. It could springiness authorities entree to accusation astir what is being organized and who is doing the organizing and mightiness moreover springiness them the accusation basal to unopen down aliases forestall protests and apprehension those involved.

In different words, it ne'er hurts to hole for the worst.

The steps we’ve listed present are a basal commencement toward protecting your privateness earlier you be a protest, but location are further precautions you tin take. Circumstances and situations vary, and nary of these methods is 100 percent foolproof, but they do connection accrued information for you and your info.

Data information is an ongoing issue, and we’re still learning the ways successful which accusation is collected and sold, what kinds are gathered, who gets entree to them, and what tin beryllium learned from them. While the pursuing strategies are important if you’re participating successful a protest, they are besides useful if you want to beryllium observant successful your mundane exertion use.

Here are immoderate strategies you should consider.

Your telephone carries a batch of accusation astir you specifically. When you return it to different locations, it tin uncover wherever you live, wherever you work, and what protests aliases demonstrations you’ve attended. In addition, each app you usage collects a definite magnitude of accusation and has a elaborate log of your activity. So, for example, if you usage societal networking astatine a protest, that activity and your societal media relationship get tied to the protest. And if your telephone is confiscated during aliases aft the protest, it’s imaginable (according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation) that rule enforcement could usage a forensic tool to effort to extract accusation from the device.

If that’s a concern, it’s amended to conscionable debar carrying each of that information pinch you. If you can, acquisition and usage a burner telephone instead, and only move it connected erstwhile you’re astatine the tract of the demonstration. Download and usage much secure, encrypted apps for connection alternatively than the default matter messaging apps connected the telephone (we’ll stock immoderate examples later).

If you’re bringing your ain phone, backmost up your instrumentality successful lawsuit it gets confiscated and region each personally identifiable accusation from the phone. Since that whitethorn beryllium difficult, you mightiness want to swipe your telephone wholly (after you’ve backed up each your stuff, of course) and adhd conscionable the apps and accusation you deliberation you’ll need. Try to support your telephone disconnected unless you perfectly request to usage it.

It’s a bully thought to alteration the settings connected your telephone truthful that you can’t unlock it utilizing your fingerprint aliases facial recognition. These methods make it easier for personification other to get into your phone, particularly if you’re there, and rule enforcement tin legally unit group to unlock their phones utilizing their fingerprint aliases facial recognition. Instead, usage a passcode, PIN, aliases password, which are protected nether the Fifth Amendment.

Adjust your settings truthful that you can’t spot connection contented successful notifications erstwhile your telephone is locked. At the protest, effort not to unlock your telephone unless you perfectly person to. If you are taking photos and videos, effort to entree your camera without unlocking your phone. (On an Android phone, this varies depending connected your model; for example, connected a Pixel, you conscionable property the Power cardinal twice. On an iPhone, you tin unfastened the camera from the lockscreen by long-pressing connected the camera icon successful the lower-right area aliases swiping to the broadside of your lockscreen.)

It’s ever a bully believe to encrypt your individual information, but successful the arena that your telephone is confiscated, stolen, aliases lost, you don’t want immoderate accusation linking you aliases others to the protests to autumn into the hands of authorities (or anyone else). So if you haven’t done truthful already, now’s a bully clip to unafraid your instrumentality and immoderate accusation connected it.

It’s a speedy and easy process. If you person an Android phone, spell to Settings > Security & Privacy> More information & privateness > Encryption & credentials > Encrypt phone. (As always, this whitethorn alteration somewhat, depending connected the phone’s manufacturer.)

For an iPhone, arsenic agelong arsenic you’ve group a passcode up and you spot the matter “Data protection is enabled” astatine the bottommost of the Face ID & Passcode (or Touch ID & Passcode) page (which you’ll find successful your Settings menu), your accusation is secure.

Your telephone really gives disconnected a batch of accusation astir you, including wherever you’ve been. And not only tin those signals beryllium intercepted, but they tin besides beryllium utilized to find you and link you to others. So while you’re astatine a demonstration, you’ll want your telephone to pass arsenic small accusation astir you arsenic possible.

Keep your telephone disconnected aliases put it successful airplane mode, which turns disconnected cellular information and Wi-Fi by default. This stops compartment carriers from knowing wherever you are based connected what compartment towers you connected to. This will besides protect against immoderate stingray attacks, which is erstwhile a instrumentality pretends to beryllium a compartment building and collects data, including location, from phones astir it. Police person been accused of utilizing stingrays, aliases cell-site simulators, to cod accusation astir phones.

Airplane mode does not disable location services, truthful it’s a bully thought to make judge each of those services are switched off. (On an Android, you tin toggle it disconnected astatine Settings > Location > Use location. On an iPhone, it’s Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > Location Services.) If airplane mode interferes pinch your activities, past move disconnected cellular data, Bluetooth, location services, and Wi-Fi individually, and only move connected what you need.

Android and iOS some person features that fto you entree 1 app while efficaciously locking the remainder of the phone, truthful you tin usage that app while keeping the instrumentality secure. This is simply a safer measurement to station to societal media aliases return photos during a protest, and it’s adjuvant successful the arena that you request to show someone, including rule enforcement, thing connected your phone.

The iOS characteristic is called Guided Access. To alteration it, spell to Settings > Accessibility > Guided Access and toggle it on. Once it’s on, you’ll spot further settings specified arsenic mounting the clip limits for guided entree and locking your show utilizing a passcode. Enable the Accessibility Shortcut on the aforesaid page.

To usage Guided Access, unfastened the app you would for illustration to use. Press the location fastener 3 times, which will fastener down each the different apps connected your phone. A pop-up will fto you prime Guided Access; you tin past circle areas connected the surface you would for illustration to disable. When you’re ready, prime Start successful the upper-right area and group a passcode. To disable Guided Access, property the location fastener 3 times, prime Guided Access, past participate your passcode and pat End connected the top-left area of the adjacent screen.

On Android, the process is called app pinning. Go to Settings > Security & privateness > More information & privateness > App pinning and toggle it on. You tin group it truthful it will inquire for your PIN earlier unpinning. To pin an app, swipe up (if you’re utilizing motion navigation) aliases property the quadrate Overview cardinal astatine the bottommost of your surface (if you’re utilizing fastener navigation) to spot each your unfastened apps. When you spot the app you want to pin, long-press connected the app’s icon astatine the apical of its screen, and prime Pin. To unpin it, either swipe up and clasp aliases long-press the backmost and Overview keys.

If you’re utilizing your ain phone, aliases moreover if you’re utilizing a burner phone, it’s a bully thought to usage particularly unafraid apps. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has a database of recommended tools.

For texting, 1 of the apps that’s astir often recommended is Signal, a secure, open-source, end-to-end encrypted messaging app that doesn’t shop connection metadata. If you’re communicating astir protests and demonstrations, this is 1 of the safest ways to do so. For added safety, you tin besides return advantage of immoderate of its much unafraid features by adjusting your privateness settings to, for example, group up a PIN aliases usage telephone relays. It besides has a useful disappearing connection characteristic that causes each connection sent successful a speech to vanish aft a circumstantial clip limit.

If you’re utilizing an Android phone, you whitethorn want to usage a much unafraid browser than Chrome. Chief among them is Tor (also disposable for the iPhone), which protects your personality and accusation by bouncing your activity done a group of relays. Other security-minded browsers see Brave, which is aggressively anti-advertising, and Vivaldi, which has a number of privacy-enhancing tools. If you’ve sewage an iPhone, Apple controls the information of its Safari browser beautiful strictly (although, successful the past, location person been occasional blowups).

Finally, a hunt motor for illustration DuckDuckGo won’t shop your hunt history aliases link it to your IP address.

In aliases retired of a demonstration, it’s ever a bully thought to download and group up a VPN connected your phone. A VPN hides your activity by encrypting your connection. Also support successful mind that VPNs that complaint a subscription interest are usually much trustworthy than free ones.

If you want to protect your personality and support the history of your individual (and business) tweets, Facebook posts, and different societal media history private, see creating a abstracted email relationship that isn’t linked to immoderate individual information. You tin past usage that to create abstracted societal media accounts for protestation aliases objection photos and footage.

Try not to return immoderate photos aliases videos pinch identifying accusation astir others without their consent. Be mindful of objects successful the photos, specified arsenic thoroughfare signs and landmarks, that whitethorn springiness distant the location if that’s thing you want to hide. Afterward, blur retired different demonstrators and scrub the photos of immoderate metadata.

Don’t unlock it, if astatine each possible. (As antecedently mentioned, your Fifth Amendment authorities are covered if it’s locked utilizing a PIN aliases password, but not if you tin unlock it pinch a fingerprint aliases look image.) As soon arsenic possible, alteration your passwords for immoderate apps aliases accounts you have, and disconnect your accounts from that device.

Update, February 25th, 2025: This article was primitively published connected June 4th, 2020. It has been updated to beryllium much successful sync pinch existent events and much caller package versions.