this post was submitted on 11 Jan 2026
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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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[–] Shortstack@reddthat.com 24 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago) (1 children)

Going to a protest? Don’t bring your phone ~~without doing this first~~

I’m skeptical of bringing your phone at all, either in airplane mode or off, because modern phones still broadcast location when it’s ‘dead’ in order for you to find it. But I don’t know enough about that to say for sure

[–] frongt@lemmy.zip 9 points 22 hours ago

Off should be off. Airplane mode often leaves WiFi and Bluetooth on because airplanes allow them. And GPS doesn't transmit anything, but if it's enabled it's still recording your location.

[–] unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de 45 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (8 children)

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.

[–] sobchak@programming.dev 14 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Modern phones rotate random MAC addresses. For WiFi, capturing SSID probes can be enough to track somebody though (some phones also have some mitigation for that too, like not probing for an SSID after it hasn't been seen for some amount of time). Even when turned off, many phones, including iPhones, turn into BLE beacons similar to AirTags, which can be used to track you.

[–] WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 day ago (3 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 22 hours 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.

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[–] unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Good additions, thanks.

Modern phones rotate random MAC addresses

My phone does, but im not sure if normal google/apple phones do by default.

[–] lepinkainen@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

iPhones do by default, you need to specifically turn on fixed IP at home to identify the damn phone reliably

Thank you, I have been saying this. Use a regular camera and be sure to delete meta data off images and videos when uploading!

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[–] AnimalsDream@slrpnk.net 26 points 1 day ago (1 children)
  1. Get a cheap mobile specifically for protests, especially using it for pictures and video.
  2. Set it up to livestream everything, so that any video evidence gained can't be taken away.
  3. Get a faraday bag for when you need to put that mobile away and not be tracked.

Maybe I'm missing something though?

[–] PillowD@lemmy.world 16 points 1 day ago

I got a body cam for about $50 amazon dot com/dp/B0BHZ4PRRG, currently unavailable. Makes a great dashcam too. When the usb charging cable is plugged in it turns on when you start your car and turns off when you turn off your car.

The only thing you're missing is to put a piece of white tape on the sole of your shoe. When you are lying on the ground It's a cop signal that you are an undercover agent.

[–] aesthelete@lemmy.world 12 points 1 day ago (1 children)

You can buy faraday wallets for like $20.

[–] hector@lemmy.today 7 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Others said not all work well though.

Wrapping in aluminum foil works. Thicker is better, more wraps is better. But one wrap stopped my test call.

[–] aesthelete@lemmy.world 3 points 23 hours ago

I tested mine using my keyfob (which is what I bought it for). Test, for sure, but there are ones that work. Aluminum foil also works.

[–] 0ndead 16 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Buy a used phone on eBay. Activate with phreeli at a library. Only turn on phone at protests. Turn off when you leave.

[–] PillowD@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago

Interesting, but $25 a month. Tello dot com has a cheap plan for $7.91 a month after taxes and fees. I use it on a $50 Amazon blu phone because I wanted something else for 2FA, and I have a phone ready if my main one breaks or gets lost.

[–] inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world 20 points 1 day ago (3 children)

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".

[–] ArsonButCute@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 1 day ago

Burner sim won't help, you need a burner phone too.

[–] Jyek@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 day ago

A VPN does not stop location data for your physical device when looking at cellular data from the carrier. Your location can and is always triangulated using cell towers. VPNs only ever protect your IP address from being geolocated and encrypting the data downloaded and uploaded while connected. Bit streams are still sent and received from a physical place in the world before the VPN hides your traffic and that is recorded by the cell provider.

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[–] ZombieCyborgFromOuterSpace@piefed.ca 63 points 1 day ago (14 children)

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.

[–] anon_8675309@lemmy.world 13 points 1 day ago

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.

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[–] LoafedBurrito@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago

These articles mean nothing. You have 2 options.

  1. Leave ALL electronics at home and do not bring anything to the protest that connects to a tower or the internet.

  2. Just deal with the fact you are being tracked and deal with it.

[–] Carmakazi@piefed.social 139 points 1 day ago (1 children)

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.

[–] U7826391786239@lemmy.zip 74 points 1 day ago (1 children)

don't leave out the fact that they'll just shoot you in the face for no reason, and then get "absolute immunity"

[–] artyom@piefed.social 41 points 1 day ago

And then go on TV and call you a terrorist 15 minutes later.

[–] empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 97 points 1 day ago (5 children)

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.

[–] Zorsith@lemmy.blahaj.zone 56 points 1 day ago (2 children)

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".

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[–] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago)

Yep, ding ding ding, buy a burner phone, with cash, from a store that doesn't have many or very good cameras.

Bringing your real main phone is you thinking you know more about cybersecurity and surveillance than Palantir, than all the cybersec and intel firms the US Mil and Police departments have been partnering with with over a decade now.

99.99999999% chance you don't.

[–] anon_8675309@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago

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.

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[–] GreenKnight23@lemmy.world 68 points 1 day ago (10 children)

Going to a Protest? Don't Bring Your Phone

FTFY

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[–] randombullet@programming.dev 21 points 1 day ago (3 children)

I would like to bring the attention to LoRa.

Meshtastic is a good example of leveraging LoRa.

[–] frostysauce@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

You wanted to bring attention to it but you couldn't bother to say what it is?

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[–] nutsack@lemmy.dbzer0.com 37 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

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

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