How to secure your phone before attending a protest
-
Don't take your phone to a protest
Bring an old point and shoot digital camera though. Pics and video might keep you from getting locked up.
-
But seriously, unless there’s some reason to stream live, old tricks are sometimes still the best tricks.
Cops who know they are being recorded MIGHT behave slightly better. It is why they are so hellbent on never wearing bodycams ever again.
An SD card on the person of someone being thrown in the back of a van to have an "accident" on the way to booking? Not so useful.
It really just depends what shenanigans you intend to get up to. No method is perfect, and it's good for everyone to remember that there's multiple options available.
-
Smile only existed to bleed referral revenues away from search engines. Once enough people started using their app directly they no longer needed smile to make them skip referrers.
Which search engines would do that?
-
Bring an old point and shoot digital camera though. Pics and video might keep you from getting locked up.
If it came to that, the SD card would be confiscated and/or the camera smashed.
-
remove the battery
Don't forget a portable heat gun, suction cup and prying tools. /j
Please execute in a dust and static free environment.
-
This post did not contain any content.
Start protecting your privacy by not visiting the Verge and the 876 partners they share your personal data with.
-
I disagree about saving numbers, you should add your emergency contacts and anyone you went with in case you get separated or shit goes down
Or just... memorize them?
(Does nobody do that anymore?)
-
If you aren't communicating that a protest happened, then it didn't happen.
It's quite literally the entire point.
Buy a camera. Record. Then when you get back, scrub the exif, then upload.
(Hopefully you got a Tails USB ready)
-
This post did not contain any content.
Can we revive radios?
I mean, yes they can triangulate transmissions, but (As far as I know) they don't have IMEIs, and you talk in code to obscure meanings.
You turn it off before going home, and there's no tracking, don't transmit from home and its fine.
For evidence, bring a camera.
-
Or just... memorize them?
(Does nobody do that anymore?)
I still remember some of my school friends' phone numbers form 30+ years ago, but I have difficulties remembering new people I meet. My brain is weird.
-
I wouldn’t bring paper directions unless they lead to and from a place that ISN’T related to you. Somewhere you know you can get to and from by heart but is a public place, for instance. Don’t give away a beautiful map from your home address To the protest.
I heard prints are unique and have a hidden pattern which can be mapped to a single printer. Not sure if this is true.
-
Please execute in a dust and static free environment.
What, you don't have a portable clean room with you all the time? Amateurs...
-
I still remember some of my school friends' phone numbers form 30+ years ago, but I have difficulties remembering new people I meet. My brain is weird.
That's long term memory for you. Normal when you get old.
-
Going to peaceful protests are useful because it can help you meet some more like-minded folks.
Not to mention sometimes a protest starts peaceful and then goes to shit.
I participated in plenty of protests but haven’t made any acquaintances. I think internet is a better space for meeting people.
Not to mention sometimes a protest starts peaceful and then goes to shit.
Taking a look at the Tesla protests it’s just no-impact feel-good thing. Liberals have too much of disdain for non-economic violence.
-
This post did not contain any content.
Do not bring your phone with you to a protest.
If you really need a phone on you, get a burner phone with a prepaid card not linked to your person. But remember, MITM attacks are possible and the police can intercept your traffic and in some cases even compromise your E2EE services (if the key exchange takes place on a compromised spoofed network, see stingrays [1]).
If communication is necessary, get a meshtastic device. It's not the most reliable, and the channels can be jammed, but no one will bother with that. Because they work on usual IoT/smart home appliances frequencies, there is so much interference in cities that triangulating your position in a crowd of people isn't very realistic.
[1] https://theintercept.com/2020/07/31/protests-surveillance-stingrays-dirtboxes-phone-tracking/
-
I heard prints are unique and have a hidden pattern which can be mapped to a single printer. Not sure if this is true.
-
Do not bring your phone with you to a protest.
If you really need a phone on you, get a burner phone with a prepaid card not linked to your person. But remember, MITM attacks are possible and the police can intercept your traffic and in some cases even compromise your E2EE services (if the key exchange takes place on a compromised spoofed network, see stingrays [1]).
If communication is necessary, get a meshtastic device. It's not the most reliable, and the channels can be jammed, but no one will bother with that. Because they work on usual IoT/smart home appliances frequencies, there is so much interference in cities that triangulating your position in a crowd of people isn't very realistic.
[1] https://theintercept.com/2020/07/31/protests-surveillance-stingrays-dirtboxes-phone-tracking/
Yes the article says to leave your phone if you can, and to use a burner phone otherwise.
-
Do not bring your phone with you to a protest.
If you really need a phone on you, get a burner phone with a prepaid card not linked to your person. But remember, MITM attacks are possible and the police can intercept your traffic and in some cases even compromise your E2EE services (if the key exchange takes place on a compromised spoofed network, see stingrays [1]).
If communication is necessary, get a meshtastic device. It's not the most reliable, and the channels can be jammed, but no one will bother with that. Because they work on usual IoT/smart home appliances frequencies, there is so much interference in cities that triangulating your position in a crowd of people isn't very realistic.
[1] https://theintercept.com/2020/07/31/protests-surveillance-stingrays-dirtboxes-phone-tracking/
Bringing extra meshtastic nodes to a protest could be really helpful. Extra nodes would allow information to more easily find a clear path out of a hot zone to routers in safer locations, and it’d do so without using any telecom infrastructure. The encryption’s pretty good too.
-
Or just... memorize them?
(Does nobody do that anymore?)
I have 1 number committed to memory, and it's the only one I need if I get arrested. Until that happens I prefer to stay in touch with my people
-
This post did not contain any content.
how to secure your phone: leave it at home. Done
