Much needed practical advice in our increasing surveillance state! I took a screenshot as suggested for quick reference.
Proton, which is a Swiss company, provides end-to-end encryption and is the most secure email out there. They also have other secure products which are alternatives to Google.
How do we make our political donor dollars count? Jess Craven author of the political action blog “Chop Wood, Carry Water” interviewed Brian Derrick, political strategist, activist, and tech founder of Oath.vote, a one-stop shop for informed political donation. Oath is a political advising platform that empowers Democratic donors to maximize their impact. They provide guidance and tools that identify the most critical races in need of support to eliminate wasteful spending and protect donors from spam. They protect your personal information (it is not traded or sold to other fund raising organizations) and do not deduct a fee from your donation.
I was really disappointed not to see anything along the lines of "going Neanderthal" (or whatever the smart people call "leaving your phone at home", or leaving it in the car, or…
Using some simple tech to make it disappear on you or in your backpack, etc.)
The corollary to this is to (RE?)-learn how to actually function in the world *without the tech*, which would/could lcome in handy in a lot of different scenarios, including big EMF or power outages, civic incidents, various disasters, strikes, etc.
while we're at it, it would be great if somebody could make a simple bullet list of what you can do with an old smart phone that you have lying around, to render it useful, (navigation, communication, other good functions to have on the street) but incapable of identifying or betraying you…
I guess one of the keys for that would be to figure out how to anonymize with the service provider and limited essential Apps?
While I agree with your suggestions, I think this guide is meant to be a good starting point for people interested in their digital security. Obviously, there is always more a person can do, but getting started is a great first step. There is so much more to OpSec than this simple guide covers, but most people will never get to that point.
The social and literal infrastructure that made life possible pre-smartphone just doesnt exist anymore. You will have to make major sacrifices to live without tech including things like public transit and access to emergency services. The average person just doesnt need to go to that extreme to be safer.
SIGNAL is a good app, but like any other mobile app (such as Telegram or WhatsApp) it requires you to provide your phone number to Apple or Google when you download the app to your phone. So bad actors may not know what you're saying, but they know who is talking to whom with that app.
Try out the free MakeItPrivate.org service to send private encrypted messages over public messaging platforms (GMail, text, WhatsApp...)There is no need to instal an app. There's no registration and users pick their own encryption password. It can be used from a phone or laptop and even works offline.
Encrypt your message with your own password before you send it. Share the encryption password separately with your intended recipient(s) so they can decrypt and read your message. Encrypt and decrypt messages offline for extra security. Read more:
I was on the L here in Chicago and a woman with a mask on had a Flipper 0 and was using 2 different phones. I'm curious as to what she was doing, anyone know?
She could have been attempting to hijack cell signals or Bluetooth connections, if I saw someone with that setup I'd make sure my Bluetooth was turned off and probably also put my phone in airplane mode with wifi turned off.
Any modern cell phone can broadcast a wireless network, it would be easy to give it a name that sounds like it's a free wifi connection and then take advantage of that to gain access to someone's phone.
I put my phone into airplane mode, I rarely use bluetooth. I've been aware of flipper 0s but it was the first time I saw someone using one. I also got the feeling there were others on the train working together.
ICE and other law enforcement routinely violate this ruling.
Before going to a protest or coming through airport security, delete all of your phone calls and texts from your phone history. Be careful what emails and pics you have in your phone. You can be harassed for having political cartoons or images depicting Trump, Vance or any other MAGA fascist. They can use this to say you are a security threat and take you in for questioning. Remember, even using the numbers 8647 can result in you being deemed a threat to Trump.
Also, if you have a dating app or intimate pics of yourself or others delete them. You could face porno charges or anti LGBTQIA+ harassment. These people are looking for an excuse to give you problems.
Google is handing user information over to the Trump administration. Use the Duck browser.
If you have an Internet domain register it with InMotion Hosting. They are a progressive company with servers in the Netherlands. https://www.inmotionhosting.com/
Use a VPN so your Republican donor ISP can’t track your Internet use.
I use Optery to delete my personal information from the Internet (search engines and data broker websites). https://www.optery.com/
Be careful about using your name and pics online or exchanging pics with strangers. Pics can be searched and associated with your full name, address and other personal details. The U.S. government uses paid data broker companies (about 650 of these companies nationwide) to obtain our information so they don’t have to get search warrants for state and federal databases and agencies. Often, data brokers post incorrect information about people or mix up the details about people with the same or similar names.
A cop demanded my phone at a No Kings protest. I put it in the ground, stomped on it, broke it and handed it to him. Don’t give a working phone to any fascist thug. It was worth $600 for a new iPhone to protect my privacy and rights.
Turn your phone off in airports and if you see ICE or cops approaching.
Much needed practical advice in our increasing surveillance state! I took a screenshot as suggested for quick reference.
Proton, which is a Swiss company, provides end-to-end encryption and is the most secure email out there. They also have other secure products which are alternatives to Google.
Thanks for all these tips.
Thank you so much! This is really, really helpful advice.
How do we make our political donor dollars count? Jess Craven author of the political action blog “Chop Wood, Carry Water” interviewed Brian Derrick, political strategist, activist, and tech founder of Oath.vote, a one-stop shop for informed political donation. Oath is a political advising platform that empowers Democratic donors to maximize their impact. They provide guidance and tools that identify the most critical races in need of support to eliminate wasteful spending and protect donors from spam. They protect your personal information (it is not traded or sold to other fund raising organizations) and do not deduct a fee from your donation.
Our democracy is at risk and most of us aren’t billionaires. We need our scarce resources are going to where they will have the greatest impact. Oath.vote appears to do this. https://chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions.substack.com/p/how-do-we-make-our-political-donor?r=1d2cea&utm_medium=ios
not to belabor the obvious, but...
I was really disappointed not to see anything along the lines of "going Neanderthal" (or whatever the smart people call "leaving your phone at home", or leaving it in the car, or…
Using some simple tech to make it disappear on you or in your backpack, etc.)
The corollary to this is to (RE?)-learn how to actually function in the world *without the tech*, which would/could lcome in handy in a lot of different scenarios, including big EMF or power outages, civic incidents, various disasters, strikes, etc.
while we're at it, it would be great if somebody could make a simple bullet list of what you can do with an old smart phone that you have lying around, to render it useful, (navigation, communication, other good functions to have on the street) but incapable of identifying or betraying you…
I guess one of the keys for that would be to figure out how to anonymize with the service provider and limited essential Apps?
Carry ON!!
While I agree with your suggestions, I think this guide is meant to be a good starting point for people interested in their digital security. Obviously, there is always more a person can do, but getting started is a great first step. There is so much more to OpSec than this simple guide covers, but most people will never get to that point.
The social and literal infrastructure that made life possible pre-smartphone just doesnt exist anymore. You will have to make major sacrifices to live without tech including things like public transit and access to emergency services. The average person just doesnt need to go to that extreme to be safer.
SIGNAL is a good app, but like any other mobile app (such as Telegram or WhatsApp) it requires you to provide your phone number to Apple or Google when you download the app to your phone. So bad actors may not know what you're saying, but they know who is talking to whom with that app.
Try out the free MakeItPrivate.org service to send private encrypted messages over public messaging platforms (GMail, text, WhatsApp...)There is no need to instal an app. There's no registration and users pick their own encryption password. It can be used from a phone or laptop and even works offline.
Encrypt your message with your own password before you send it. Share the encryption password separately with your intended recipient(s) so they can decrypt and read your message. Encrypt and decrypt messages offline for extra security. Read more:
https://thedemlabs.org/2025/09/21/encrypt-messages-makeitprivate-org-protect-your-privacy/
I was on the L here in Chicago and a woman with a mask on had a Flipper 0 and was using 2 different phones. I'm curious as to what she was doing, anyone know?
She could have been attempting to hijack cell signals or Bluetooth connections, if I saw someone with that setup I'd make sure my Bluetooth was turned off and probably also put my phone in airplane mode with wifi turned off.
Any modern cell phone can broadcast a wireless network, it would be easy to give it a name that sounds like it's a free wifi connection and then take advantage of that to gain access to someone's phone.
I put my phone into airplane mode, I rarely use bluetooth. I've been aware of flipper 0s but it was the first time I saw someone using one. I also got the feeling there were others on the train working together.
The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously decided in 2014 that searches of phones require a search warrant. The case was Riley v. California.
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/573/373/?__cf_chl_f_tk=7uG.c5S5Yh7HtxNLYyuTrT4q3dYlzb.FIPlnWuOFKYI-1782836408-1.0.1.1-YFjJDgG6dnnIqn1rYoWRpJzIbDjf9jQjmNAggZ1_5fg
ICE and other law enforcement routinely violate this ruling.
Before going to a protest or coming through airport security, delete all of your phone calls and texts from your phone history. Be careful what emails and pics you have in your phone. You can be harassed for having political cartoons or images depicting Trump, Vance or any other MAGA fascist. They can use this to say you are a security threat and take you in for questioning. Remember, even using the numbers 8647 can result in you being deemed a threat to Trump.
Also, if you have a dating app or intimate pics of yourself or others delete them. You could face porno charges or anti LGBTQIA+ harassment. These people are looking for an excuse to give you problems.
Google is handing user information over to the Trump administration. Use the Duck browser.
https://duckduckgo.com/
Don’t use Gmail. Use proton if you need a free email account. This is a Swiss company.
https://proton.me/
If you have an Internet domain register it with InMotion Hosting. They are a progressive company with servers in the Netherlands. https://www.inmotionhosting.com/
Use a VPN so your Republican donor ISP can’t track your Internet use.
I use Optery to delete my personal information from the Internet (search engines and data broker websites). https://www.optery.com/
Be careful about using your name and pics online or exchanging pics with strangers. Pics can be searched and associated with your full name, address and other personal details. The U.S. government uses paid data broker companies (about 650 of these companies nationwide) to obtain our information so they don’t have to get search warrants for state and federal databases and agencies. Often, data brokers post incorrect information about people or mix up the details about people with the same or similar names.
A cop demanded my phone at a No Kings protest. I put it in the ground, stomped on it, broke it and handed it to him. Don’t give a working phone to any fascist thug. It was worth $600 for a new iPhone to protect my privacy and rights.
Turn your phone off in airports and if you see ICE or cops approaching.