this post was submitted on 11 Jan 2026
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412
Going to a Protest? Don't Bring Your Phone Without Doing This First (www.pcmag.com)
submitted 1 day ago by throws_lemy@lemmy.nz to c/technology@lemmy.world
128 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

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.

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[–] WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 day ago (2 children)

almost worthless. I just learned that the android 13 xiaomi phone of a family member broadcasts some of the wifi AP names it knows when scanning for available networks! constantly! why the fuck it does I don't know because neither are hidden networks that would need this, and there's no setting for it

[–] sobchak@programming.dev 3 points 1 day ago

Yeah, I'm guessing it's so if you "hide" the network, it will still connect to it. Anyone can scan these advertisements, then go to wigle.net and likely get a good idea of where you live/work.

[–] chaospatterns@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Are those networks marked as hidden SSID networks? Hidden networks require the client STA to broadcast them to find them.

[–] WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works 1 points 10 hours ago

they aren't. one of them is an AP from another phone, so I believe that one couldn't even be configured as hidden by accident, because the phone does not offer it. another is one I sometimes use, and it's not hidden either.