The right to assemble and protest is enshrined in American law, but it can still be dangerous to hit the streets to make your voice heard. Your devices are a treasure trove of information about you, and you may not always know who’s collecting that data. Take a few minutes before you go to assess your digital and physical safety. Even if you have nothing to hide, you don’t want to accidentally give law enforcement officials any information you didn’t intend to share. Follow these tips to lock down your phone before a protest or other peaceful assembly.
Shitty article. Doesnt even contain the words SIM card or IMEI so it has no business advising people on whats safe to bring to a protest. There is no such thing as cop-proofing a mobile phone unless all wireless modules have been removed. The cops can and do track peoples cell tower signal derived locations and they can log active Wifi/Bluetooth MAC addresses in their vicinity.
As others have said, just dont bring it if you are scared. Consider just using a bodycam or gopro style camera.
Cripes all of that and not even, “Buy a burner SIM card”, “Use a VPN at all time if you have to use data”, “For the love of god don’t use biometrics as authorization, use a alphanumeric password to unlock”, “Use the damn encryption solution provided by your phone’s OS”.
Cant u just use encrypted messaging services like whatsapp signal telegram? SMS isn’t encrypted. And this is also why you shouldn’t give tech billionaire companies so much power as a nation lol they abuse ur privacy thats why I love how EU is still trying to protect our rights at least
Not relevant. Unless you use airplane mode, it will be visible that your phone was at the place.
whatsapp signal telegram
Telegram isn’t encrypted, and honestly you shouldn’t use it.[1] Whatsapp and Signal are US-based, which means that they will give up your data on the first request.
Use actually secure messengers, like Delta Chat, SimpleX, or Matrix with end-to-end encryption.
Signal have published several times when they receive a request for data and their response.
Due to the mechanisms they employ, all they can actually give is if there’s an account associated with a phone number and the last time it logged in, if even that last bit. There’s some fairly detailed articles diving into how this works so well under the hood from a cryptographic standpoint, but it basically amounts to even addresses of users being able to be secret to minimize shared metadata to a bare minimum.
Also the software is entirely open-source – app and server both – and are frequently audited on this. The server never has an opportunity to receive any plain-text data to store.
The weak spot is always just having access to your device.
It’s a little clunky, but KryptEY is an on screen keyboard that can encode/decode messages. The encoded messages can be transmitted over any service.
Just don’t bring it. Bring a digital pocket camera instead to document stuff.
Nowadays, you can’t use a mobile phone without signing in to some Google service or Apple. It’s mandatory. Giving them access to every data you own.
That and cell towers….
But a cheap burner. Don’t activate it. Keep it in a faraday pouch. In an emergency remove from faraday pouch and call 911. You can do that on phones you don’t activate.
But everything else, like you said, document with a digital camera.
I use my android phons without a google acccount without having a custom rom, it is usable just that most people are too ignorant and clueless
I have a Samsung phone and it is mandatory to have a Samsung account to use it.
GrapheneOS or KaiOS?
With the SIM completely turned off, maybe. But it’s still a bad idea.
Without the SIM.
Yup. It’s a bit of a question of how paranoid are you/you feel you need to be but it may be worth keeping in mind that the baseband modem of any phone is proprietary and runs its own unaudited software the end user has no control over or insight into.
No need to be paranoid, IMEI/IMSI are built into the protocols. Phone networks were never built with anonymity in mind
e/OS too? :3
This might be relevant for following ICE around or direct action, but at this point there’s almost zero personal risk from attending something like a rally or a march.
My relatives and even friends my age are afraid to go to protests. They read stuff like this, and it acts as demobilization messaging. In my experience, once you get them to go once they’re no longer afraid to engage, but there’s an initial fear and anticipatory obedience that has to be overcome.
inb4 protests do nothing: getting people to stick their toe in the water helps build commitment that will one day be necessary to gain critical mass for more organized disobedience.
This might be relevant for following ICE around or direct action, but at this point there’s almost zero personal risk from attending something like a rally or a march.
No. If the data exists at any point, then a future threat will be able to exploit it, so full on nazi style fascism might not be here yet, but when it is, you’ll be in danger. Data can sleep forever before it becomes a threat.
I go to protests without my phone, and I’m afraid every time.
I get that nothing is likely to happen to me, but it could. I get that this is am irrational fear. But idk strategically what to do.
I would like to bring the attention to LoRa.
Meshtastic is a good example of leveraging LoRa.
Haven’t used my client in almost a year, but my repeater is still running strong.
I really really hope that this takes off.
Going to a Protest? Don’t Bring Your Phone
FTFY
Someone’s gotta record the fascism.
Then use… a camera??
cameras exist.
Camera’s can be easily confiscated and broken by fascists.
Instant uploads are much harder to suppress.
Someone will (and probably better). There are more cameras at protests than ever in history. What’s missing is mass action by complacent people.
Pretty easy to take video on an old phone without a SIM, or with a cheapo burner sim.
Are there “burner sims” you can get nowadays that don’t require online activation (i.e. they can easily trace the sim back to you)?
Phreeli, if you pay using crypto that can keep you anonymous
Also calling help if/when they shoot you might be helpful.
Faraday bag all electronic items; phone, smartwatch; hell, I’d even bag my car keys. Cover your face, especially the eye area. Make your voice heard, but don’t be a data point.
Yeah. I see so many protesters with their face not covered. Cover your face!!!
Also, dress like them. You want to create as much confusion as possible.
Don’t bring your phone period. Any and all devices can be broken into by law enforcement. Buy a burner with cash if you need some kind of communication.
Yes a burner that you don’t activate. Keep it in a faraday bag. In an emergency you can take it out and call 911.
Its not the device cracking that’s the problem; its the “your device was identified at the protest we have labeled a riot and has been tracked to your home, which we will now raid in the middle of the night”.
And bring a separate video camera
No, , this isn’t the 90s. You want a many copies as possible immediately, later might not happen.
IMO just having your personal device on you in the presence of a protest puts you in danger. They have ample tools to track cellular devices that basically cannot be guarded against without disabling the function altogether, such as with a Faraday bag. They will catch and log that you were at a protest, and use that against you later.
don’t leave out the fact that they’ll just shoot you in the face for no reason, and then get “absolute immunity”
And then go on TV and call you a terrorist 15 minutes later.
I bring my phone, and my wallet, and my keys, and a $7,000 camera, and my lawyer’s phone number in my head.
they can suck my balls
always film cops
Shut off and leave your phone at home, buy a pay-as-you-go to bring with you for emergency contact/coordination
Shut off and leave your phone at home, buy a pay-as-you-go to bring with you for emergency contact
/coordinationLeave the pay-as-you-go phone powered off too, and only power it up if you actually have to use it. If you have to use it once, you need to get a replacement for a future event.
I’m thinking perhaps something like Meshtastic transmitters and receivers should be used for coordination instead.
Meshtastic is exactly what needs to be implemented
I ran across that instance the other day and immediately thought about coordination.
It’s like sneaker net for piracy.
Fuck yeah, hack the planet
Meshtastic is just as susceptible to listening and isn’t perfect at encryption or anonymity but should be another tool to consider when cellphone towers are down or otherwise unusable.
It’s alright for non-critical stuff. Ok for getting help, not the best for coordinating action.
Reticulum is an alternative network/protocol that focuses more on security and interconnection of different networks
leave your primary phone ON at home.
I believe there are Bluetooth network protocols that mesh that would work for messaging and not require cell service. It would be smart to organize using something like that and just use any cell phone without cell service turned on. That still gives you the ability to call 911 in case of emergencies as well.
Cell service is always turned on on a phone, even with no SIM card and the phone in airplane mode, and for most phones, even when the phone is “off”. They still ping the local towers semi regularly; they just don’t ramp up transmission power ir try to establish a full connection.
Anyone got a list of Bluetooth devices without a cell antenna where the BT MAC is regularly scrambled?
Does it matter if that cell service isn’t connected to a name?
It’s connected to your name when you go home
Unless you stop at a coffee shop, upload content to a secure server, ditch the SIM and power off the device.
Unless you stop at a coffee shop
Now they also have you on camera
So, turn it off before you go home?
They still talk to the tower when turned off
No, because it will spend most of its time after leaving the store in your home.
First, don’t buy it from a store. Second, turn that sucker off before you go home.
True, but if surveillance is your concern, they are monitoring Bluetooth devices too.
Does that matter? If it’s a device that you bought used just for this? There is no name attached to that device at that point. Buy it used on Craigslist, use it for the event, throw it away. It can be any cheap, crappy phone.
You can use Briar, BitChat, or Bridgefy to communicate, without having internet connections. I’ve only tried Briar, which works with cell networks, wifi, also bluetooth.
Right? It’s like these guys have never seen The Wire.
That show finished airing 18 years ago…
Thinking about it, that show is a terrible reference. Modern phones didn’t exist in it, as they hadn’t been invented yet. The first iPhone was released while the last season of The Wire was filming, and the App Store didn’t come out until a few months after the final season had aired. It’s from an entirely different era.
If it makes you feel better, go nuts.
But they have Face ID, gait ID, they have the signal from your cellular-equipped car, on and on. Even if your phone is “off” it’s transmitting an ID for antitheft purposes. Your smartwatch is leaking your location, and your smart tags.
Leave the car at home? They can track your public transit card via the credit card you used to fill it.
Stay home and post online? Palantir has Reddit posts from deleted accounts they will dig up to torpedo your future political ambitions as they did with Graham Platner.
We are all on the regime’s naughty list. Might as well make the most of it and demonstrate peacefully. And without a mask so you don’t look like an agent provocateur.
It’s Spartacus time.
there are less antagonistic looking ways to mask yourself, such as cute inflatable animal suits.
100%. Love the frog suits.
Good look running when you need to in that, the way it’s looking lately, the need will be there.
Even if your phone is “off” it’s transmitting an ID for antitheft purposes.
Faraday bags!
Would an old school walkie talkie be a better solution? You want to be able to communicate within a group in case shit happen
That depends what you’re trying to solve. For a lot of people, they’re still gonna need their phone. I don’t think “Just use a walkie talkie bro” would read as very helpful advice to the average person.
If, however, you are the sort of person organizing a protest or other similar activity, yes, absolutely, walkie tallies are great. A lot of people who do serious political activism talk about how radio is still the most resilient communication method. Not fool-proof, you definitely need to study up on the limitations, but an invaluable tool to be aware of.
If you are going to a protest as a group, and you have the resources to invest a few hundred bucks, getting a set of walkie-talkies for the group plus a dedicated burner one responsible person to carry (maybe someone who will be in radio range but clear of the actual happenings) is also a solid strategy, but we also shouldn’t be acting like “Going as a group” and “spending a few hundred dollars” are prerequisites for being politically active. There need to be solutions for everyone.
I think FRS is the only thing legally available without a license. You can buy GMRS radios on Amazon that will communicate with FRS radios on all of the FRS channels, see here:
https://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/FRS/GMRS_combined_channel_chart
However, these radios are VERY limited in an urban area with lots of concrete towers. In my experience the GMRS radios on “high power” really only go one little valley over out in the woods. In the city you might get two or three blocks because of all the concrete. You are required to have a license to use GMRS and identify your station every 15 minutes but almost nobody does it. Hell, I listen to the local walmart using GMRS and you’re not even supposed to use it for commercial purposes.
Maybe Meshtastic? That’s a radio I haven’t messed with and I don’t know about it’s performance in an urban environment.
Ear piece highly recommended. The audio is not like a phone call and in a loud environment you will not be able to copy. Practice beforehand because radio is not like a phone call, you need to have some experience.
Yes. You can get them cheap online and they have a built in “encryption” function that isn’t well protected but might prevent people from listening in realtime.
What’s the plan for having your phone at home? They’re going door to door and shooting innocent white American citizens.
Lol, lmao even. That’s some careful word play for the sake of unneccesary hyperbole.
They have shot innocent white American citizens. In some other places they have gone door to door. Those are independent actions, not a combined reality. We can all agree they’re god awful as a massive understatement without lying about door to door murder squads.
Inb4 “if you have to make that kind of distinction you’re already fucked” yeah, we are, but accurate information about the ground situation is vital for any forward movement.
Man, that’s a Reddit-pedantic “you forgot PEDMAS” -like response to someone worrying about getting their home raided and asking a simple question.
You’re not fucked. You’re a dick. And being one isn’t “vital” to anything.
What’s the plan for having your phone at home?
#00 inserts for my pump action wireless hole punch.
No no, you’ll need slugs if you want to hole-punch any body armor.
Not that I would know what you aim on using your wireless hole-punch for.
12ga slugs don’t reliably penetrate soft armor, and don’t penetrate hard armor. The proper tactic for armored assailants is to aim for the groin.
The proper tactic for armored assailants is to aim for the groin.
I mean, one to the chest will at least slow them down, but yea, I can get on board with blasting some dicks off. lol
