How to secure your phone before attending the protest

Once again in June 2020, when this article was first written, people were taking the streets to organize justice and protest against systematic racism and Police brutality. This was reviewed after two years when people were taking the streets to protest against the possibility of the Supreme Court would turn Ro against a valley (We know how Which – which Shine).

Currently, in the first months of Trump’s new presidency, people again wonder how they can make their opinions known. While some may choose Call their representatives Or attend the city hall meetings, others may plan Attending protest demonstrations. And because we are all used to carrying a great deal of our personal data with us via our phones and / or hours, it has become more important than ever to protect this data if there is an opportunity to confront or arrest.

The following tips are related to your phone. If you also have a smart watch, you may want to leave this house simply.

If you are preparing or even just watching the protests, be sure to be aware: your phone is not just information about you and the people you communicate with, but it also works as a tracking device. For this reason it is important to keep your digital mark as smaller as possible – any evidence that puts people in protests that may be sufficient to arrest them.

You should explain the fact that your phone may be lost, stolen or broken. There is also the risk of confiscating your phone by the authorities – which means that if you are able to cancel your phone lock, they will have access to data on you and the people you know. The authorities can give access to information about what is organized and who is organizing and may give them the information necessary to close or prevent protests and arrest the concerned.

In other words, it never hurts me for the worst.

The steps we mentioned here are the main beginning towards protecting your privacy before attending a protest, but there are additional precautions that you can take. Conditions and situations differ, and none of these methods are guaranteed by 100 percent, but they provide increasing security for you and your information.

The security of the data is a continuous problem, and we are still learning the methods in which the information is collected and sold, what are the types that are collected, and who can access it, and what can be learned from it. Although the following strategies are important if you are participating in a protest, they are also useful if you want to be careful in using daily technology.

Here are some strategies that you must consider.

If you can, leave your phone at home

Your phone carries a lot of information about you specifically. When you take it to different locations, you can reveal the place where you live, where to work, and what are the protests or demonstrations that you attended. In addition, each application uses a certain amount of information on you and has a detailed record for your activity. Therefore, for example, if you use social networks to protest, this activity and your social media calculation are linked to protest. If your phone is confiscated during or after protest, it is possible (according to the Electronic Border Foundation) that the application of the law Forensic tool can be used To try to extract information from the device.

If this is a source of anxiety, it is best to avoid carrying all this data with you. If you can, buy and use a fireplace phone instead, and only run it when you are at the location of the demonstration. Download and use the safer and encrypted applications to call instead of virtual text messages applications on the phone (we will share some examples later).

If you are preparing your own phone, set up your device backup if it is confiscated and remove all the information information from the phone. Since this may be difficult, you may want to wipe your phone completely (after you have copied all your things, of course) and add applications and information that you think you will need. Try to keep your phone away unless you need to use it completely.

Use a password instead of biological measurements to secure your data

It is good to change the settings on your phone so that you cannot open it with a fingerprint or face recognition. These methods make it easy for another person to enter your phone, especially if you are there, and law enforcement can force people legally to open their phones using fingerprints or face recognition. Instead, use the pass, pin code, or password Protected by the fifth amendment.

Adjust your settings so that you cannot see the content content in notifications when locking your phone. In protest, try not to open your phone unless you have to. If you take pictures and videos, try access to the camera without opening your phone. (On Android, this varies depending on your form; for example, on pixels, you can just press the power switch twice. The lower right corner or beating on the side of the lock screen.)

It is always a good practice to encrypt your personal information, but if your phone is confiscated, stolen or lost, you do not want any information that links you or others with protests in the hands of the authorities (or anyone (or anyone else). So if you don’t have done it already, lose It’s time now to secure your device and any information about it.

It is a quick and easy process. If you have an Android phone, go to Settings> Safety and Privacy> More Security and Privacy> Encryption and Accreditation Data> Phone encryption. (As always, this may vary some extent, depending on the phone manufacturer.)

For the iPhone, as long as you set a pass icon up and see the text “data protection is enabled” at the bottom Facial ID and traffic code (or Touch ID and PassCodePage (which you will find in your settings menu), your information is safe.

It already gives your phone a lot of information about you, including where you were. These signs cannot be intercepted, but also can also be used to locate and connect to others. So, while you are in a demonstration, you will want to connect your phone to the least possible information about you.

Keep your phone or place it on the plane, which turns off the cellular and Wi-Fi data. This prevents cell carriers from knowing where they are based on the cell towers that relate to them. This will also protect from any Stingray attacks, when the device pretends to be a cell tower and collects data, including the site, from the surrounding phones. The police were accused of using the raiom, or simulations of the cell site, To collect information about phones.

The plane’s position does not disable site services, so it is good to ensure that all these services are turned off. (On Android, you can get rid of it in Settings> Site> Using the site. On iPhone, it’s Settings> Privacy and Security> Site Services> Site Services) If the plane mode interferes with your activities, you should stop cell data, Bluetooth services, site services, and Wi-Fi individually, and change what you only need.

Use access to or install your screens

Android and iOS contain features that allow you to access one application while the rest of the phone is locking effectively, so that you can use this application while keeping the device safe. This is a safer way to publish to social media or take pictures during protest, and it is useful in the event that someone, including the law application, is required, something on your phone.

The iOS feature is called access. To enable it, go to Settings> Accessibility> Getting Access And replace it on. Once you run it, you will see additional settings such as setting up time limits and locking the screen using the passcode. Enabling Abbreviation of access On the same page.

To use guided access, open the application you want to use. Press the home page three times, which will close all other applications on your phone. The popup will allow you to choose Evening router; You can then put a circle around the areas on the screen you want to disable, if you like. When you are ready, select Start In the upper right corner and adjust the passcode. To disable the guided access, press the home page three times, select access accompanied by guides, then enter your passcode and click end At the left top of the next screen.

On Android, the process is called App Binning. Go to Settings> Safety and Privacy> More safety and privacy> Installation of the application And replace it on. You can adjust it to order your pin before the circumambulation is canceled. To install the app, scroll up (if you use navigation gestures) or press a square overview key at the bottom of the screen (if you are using the navigation button) to see all your open applications. When you see the application you want to install, press the app icon at the top of its screen and choose pin. To cancel his position, either scroll and keep back switches and first look.

If you are using your own phone, or even if you are using a fireplace, it is good to use particularly safe applications. the Electronic Borders Corporation He has a list of recommended tools.

For text messages, one of the applications is often recommended signalSafe and open source, The encrypted correspondence application from one end to the end This does not store the descriptive data of the message. If you continue about protests and demonstrations, this is one of the safest ways to do so. For more safety, you can also take advantage of some of its most secure features by setting your privacy settings, for example, setting a personal identification number or using calls. It also has a useful message that disappears that causes the disappearance of every message that is sent in a conversation after a specific time limit.

If you are using Android, you may want to use a safe browser than Chrome. The main among them Pour (Also available to iphone), Which protects your identity and information through your activity liar through a set of lexes. Other browsers include security thinking braveIt is an anti -equation, and VivaldiIt has a number of privacy enhancement tools. If you have an iPhone, Apple controls the Safari browser security in a strictly (although in the past there was there Transverse swelling).

Finally, like the search engine Duckduckgo You will not store your search log or connect it with your IP title.

Inside or outside the demonstration, it is always good to download VPN and prepare it on your phone. VPN hides your activity by encrypting your connection. Also keep in mind that the VPNS, which receives subscription fees, is usually more worthy of confidence than that free.

Securing your social media accounts

If you want to protect your identity and maintain the history of your personal tweets (business), Facebook posts, and other social media history, consider creating a separate email account unrelated to any personal information. You can then use this to create social media accounts separate from protesting images or illustration and shots.

It is always good to have a good idea Authenticity of the factors that have been prepared on all your accounts.

If you take pictures and videos

Try not to take any photos or videos while identifying information about others without their consent. Be aware of things in pictures, such as street marks and monuments, which may give up the site if this is something you want to hide. After that, the other demonstrators are obliterated Rub pictures of any definition data.

If your device is confiscated

Do not open it if possible. (As we mentioned earlier, the fifth amendment rights are covered if it is locked using a personal identification number or password, but not if you can open a fingerprint or a face image.) As soon as possible, change your passwords for any applications or accounts you have there Distine your accounts from this device.

February 25, 2025: This article was originally published on June 4, 2020. It was updated to be more simultaneous with current events and most modern program versions.