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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[–] empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 100 points 1 day ago (4 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.

[–] sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 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.

[–] Zorsith@lemmy.blahaj.zone 55 points 1 day ago (1 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".

[–] Scotty_Trees@lemmy.world -1 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Has this regime already done this or are you just saying what the next steps might be if nothing changes?

[–] Zorsith@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago)

For the "already done this":

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COINTELPRO

For the modern technology making it significantly easier:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMSI-catcher

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stingray_phone_tracker

TL:DR, if you're at a protest and your signal drops to 2G, your device is being monitored and tracked. Whether or not anyone acts on that data is a whole other thing.

[–] 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.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 15 points 1 day ago (1 children)

And bring a separate video camera

[–] db2@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago

No, , this isn't the 90s. You want a many copies as possible immediately, later might not happen.