Our March 28th protest is around the corner, and in order to help people prepare we asked some of our community to share their experiences around digital security. Thanks to one of our members (who wants to remain anonymous) for the following: 

Digital Security & Mobile Phones At Protests

Digital security is a deep and convoluted rabbit hole, and this is just the start of it. Lets talk about phones and protest, and how to balance their usefulness and risk.

As we can plainly see from the videos coming out of Minneapolis and elsewhere, phones are extremely useful as a protest tool. Their cameras and network connections allow the outside world to see what is happening in near real time. Their evidence documents the truth and exposes the lies.

What is less plainly seen is the privacy risk phones represent.

Not only does each phone uniquely identify itself to the mobile network, and every wifi and bluetooth receiver within range, through the wonders of surveillance capitalism free apps are financed by selling your info, such as precise location data, in a global market. What once took a warrant, or at the very least a stingray (fake mobile network tower), can now be bought with no oversight. This is a good column on the scope of the issue: Twelve Million Phones, One Dataset, Zero Privacy and here is a recent article on ICE efforts to gather domestic terrorist (AKA protester) data: “Capture it all”: ICE urged to explain memo about collecting info on protesters.

If you are at all concerned about being identified at a protest do not take your phone with you, or at the very least do not turn on bluetooth, wifi, or the mobile network.

In addition to the identification risk phones pose, they also contain enormous amounts of information about us. Speaking from personal experience, unexpected arrests can happen at protests and any phones will be seized as evidence. There is never a good time or way to lose your phone, but this one was worse than most.

If you are at all concerned about your phone and the information on it being seized by police do not take your phone to a protest, no matter how unlikely arrest seems.

Can we have the benefits of a phone without the privacy risks? To varying degrees yes, but there are trade-offs to be made that will depend on your weighting of priorities. Consider your situation and chose the option that works best for you.

Ideal: A burner phone is one that can not be linked back to you through its purchase, the mobile network, or the apps installed on it. A phone like this can be used at a protest with all its functionality, but of course isn’t something you likely have lying around.

Good: You are much more likely to have an old phone you can wipe clean as if to sell, so that it no longer contains any of your information or apps. A phone like this can be used in airplane mode to take pictures and videos without risking your privacy. If seized or used without airplane mode its unique identifiers can be used to link it to you.

Good: Leave your phone at home and use a camera specific device instead. A camera will take better photos/video than most phones, are often cheaper, and do not pose an identity or privacy risk beyond any photos or video stored on them.

OK (privacy centred): Your daily driver phone turned off before you arrive at the protest and its storage encrypted with a strong password. You won’t be able to take any photos or videos with it, but it also won’t identify you or risk your information. After you have left the protest you can turn it back on.

OK (functionality centred): Your daily driver phone put in airplane mode long before you arrive at the protest and left in airplane mode until after you have left can be used to take photos and videos without identifying you as being at the protest, aside from any photographic evidence it contains. This method does put your information at risk of being seized.

Less Functional (privacy centred): Leave your phone at home. You get none of its functionality while also not risking your identity or information. This is what I tend to do and recommend. Yes I miss out on photos it would be nice to have, but two years after the arrest mentioned earlier, and despite charges being dismissed, I have given up on getting my phone back.

Least Secure (functionality centred): Your daily driver phone without airplane mode will provide you with the phones full functionality, but risks identifying you and puts the information on the phone at risk of being seized.

What else can you do to limit privacy or security risks associated with your phone?

• Uninstall all apps you don’t actively need and review the permissions of the ones you keep.
• Keep your phone software up to date
• Regularly back up your phone and test your backups. Automate this if possible.
• If you have a supported Pixel device consider running GrapheneOS
• If your Android device is no longer receiving security updates check if it is supported by LineageOS and consider using it

As I mentioned out the outset, digital security is a deep rabbit hole, but hopefully you find this information useful for your next protest.

Editor’s note: Consider also turning off the “Face to unlock” or fingerprint unlock feature and using a passcode instead to keep your phone even more secure.