mask on zone

anti surveillance protest guide

select scenario:

I'm going to a protest, I'm at a protest, I'm returning from a protest.

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before

Mask on

  • do Protect yourself and others from getting sick from COVID-19, other diseases AND facial recognition. N-95 masks are the most effective. If you don't have a mask, you can transform a t-shirt into a mask that also covers your head. 

Aerial surveillance

  • do In the case that you are being threatened by aerial surveillance, such as the predator drones that are being used by authorities, you can bring along an umbrella to cover the top portion of your head, along with other protesters, or you can bring disposable plastic ponchos to cover yourself. 

Tattoos

  • do If you have any tattoos, make sure they are covered, as they are strongly identifiable. 

Shoes

  • do Try and switch up the shoes you wear to different protests and/or wear generic shoes. Shoes are often forgotten about as they can also be used as a discernable feature of protesters. 

Gloves

  • do Gloves are helpful in both protecting yourself against COVID-19, but they can also be helpful in making sure fingerprints aren't tracked. Heat resistant gloves can also be useful for picking up tear gas canisters and throwing them back. 

Anonymity

  • do Wear shapeless, baggy, black/dark clothing that has no discernable logos or markings. In police reports, you are identified by how you are distinguished from other people, so try to avoid that.  

Anonymity

  • do not Try not to wear branded clothing that can be identified automatically.
    Avoid bright colors and multicolored clothing. 

Anonymity

  • do Hoods are helpful in achieving shapeless attire, as they are able to cover your head and protect from identification and aerial surveillance. 

Eye protection

  • do Bring goggles or sunglasses to both cover your eyes and protect yourself from tear gas, rubber bullets and advanced surveillance mechanisms that only require your eyes and eyebrows to be used for facial recognition. 

Sharing photos

  • do Can I do something more helpful with this information/photo/video than post it? 

Sharing photos

  • do Is this photo benefiting me, my "clout," my career, or the movement & activists at the forefront? 

Sharing photos

  • do Am I putting someone at risk? 

Identity protection

  • do Untag yourself from photos with your face, delete photos with your face 

Identity protection

  • do Lock your accounts (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) 

Identity protection

  • do Remove all personally identifiable information from your accounts 

Identity protection

  • do Consider deleting tweets/posts with personal information or with stuff that can be used against you. 

Identity protection

  • do Search your name online to see what personal information (address, cell phone number, etc.) is available readily and could put you in danger of doxxing. 

Identity protection

  • do In the case that your phone gets taken away by the police, log out of your accounts remotely immediately, so that there is no possibility of them accessing it on your phone. 

Documenting police

  • do Make sure your devices are charged, carry a backup charger and/or battery pack. 

Phone

  • do Consider getting a burner phone such as TRACphone or Mint Mobile. 

Phone

  • do If possible, leave your phone at home, for the reasons of avoiding geolocational tracking or avoiding the possibility of your phone being taken away by the police. 

Phone

  • do If you cannot leave your phone at home, wrap your phone in aluminium foil or get a faraday bag, as they prohibit signals from entering and exiting your phone. 

Phone

  • do Disable message previews on your lock screen so someone who has your phone can't read your chats. 

Geolocational tracking

  • do Put your phone in airplane mode and turn off location services on your phone in the "Settings." Make sure that individual apps are also not tracking your location. You never know how this information is being used and how your data is being exploited. 

Biometrics

  • do Turn off face recognition on your phone and fingerprint recognition. 

Biometrics

  • do Make sure you still have a complex passcode to your phone. 

Data

  • do Back up your phone before you go out to protest. Store the backup on a secure drive in a secure place. 

Data

  • do Make sure you have deleted any sensitive information that could be compromised if you take your phone.  

Data

  • do Delete search history from your browser to protect against phone seizure 

Data

  • do Avoid using browsers that track your history such as Chrome or Safari, use browsers like Firefox or at best DuckDuckGo to quicky burn history. 

Smart watch

  • do not Do not bring a smart watch to protests. 

Smart assistants

  • do not Do not leave Google Home, Alexa, etc. plugged in. Unplug to make sure you're not being surveilled at home. 

Email

  • do Make fresh email accounts with dummy personal info for coordination 

File sharing

  • do not Don't rely on Google Drive or Dropbox for file sharing. Onionshare.org is a good alternative. 

Public transit

  • do Purchase your public transit card or ticket with cash because a debit or credit card will track your personal information and can be used to track your movements. 

Methods

  • do Consider walking or biking to the protest to avoid authorities capturing license plates 

Methods

  • do not Do not use ride sharing services such as Uber or Lyft as they track your locations. 

Mobile payments

  • do Make your transactions private, not public. 

Mobile payments

  • do Put emojis or random words that aren't likely to be flagged by the funding platform or the state. 

Mobile payments

  • do Try and replace letters with numbers or astericks so that keywords are harder to search. For example, you can put '3' instead of 'E', '1' for 'I', '4' for 'A', and so on. 

Email

  • do Consider using a separate email from your regular one in case the source of the transaction is traced back to you. 

Captions

  • do not Do not put captions that make specific reference to the cause, fund, leftist ideology, or protest. 
during

Identity protection

  • do not Do not share your social media handles with people you meet at protests that you don't know. 

Taking photos

  • do Take photos without unlocking your phone and try not to keep it unlocked while in your possession 

Backup

  • do Send to someone else you trust so that these can be saved in a secure place in case your phone is compromised or taken 

Storing and sending photos

  • do Take photos without unlocking your phone and try not to keep it unlocked while in your possession 

Storing and sending photos

  • do Send photos to someone else you trust so that these can be saved in a secure place in case your phone is compromised or taken 

Documenting police

  • do Read and understand your rights before filming 

Documenting police

  • do Try to film in landscape rather than portrait, so that you are able to get all the details of the scene. 

Documenting police

  • do Record yourself to verify you are filming or a code name if you want to remain anonymous 

Documenting police

  • do For verfication, capture image of intersection or landmarks in the area. 

Documenting police

  • do If possible, record the name of the officer and badge name (voice recording or video) 

Messaging apps

  • do Use encrypted messaging apps (E2E Encryption Services) like Signal, Bridgefy, Telegram, Wire or Wickr. 

Internet

  • do Consider using a virtual personal network (VPN) like Proton VPN or Tunnelbear. 

Methods

  • do not Do not use ride sharing services such as Uber or Lyft as they track your locations. 

Police surveillance

  • do Overwhelm police surveillance apps with traffic. 

Police scanners/cop radio

  • do Listen for any of the polices' tactics or plans in order to avoid them before they happen. Follow @NYPDPoliceRadio on Twitter. 

Safety

  • do Try to ignore them or walk away. 

Anonymity

  • do not Do not give any personal information about your political leanings, any organization you're with, etc. 

Safety

  • do Stay with people you know and trust. 

Identity protection

  • do not Do not give any personal information about your political leanings, any organization you're with, etc. 

Anonymity

  • do not Do not exchange any information that would help someone keep tabs on you, like your name or your social media handles. 
after

Sharing photos

  • do Ask yourself, "Will posting this photo help more than it will harm?" 

Consent from protestors

  • do Blur distinguishing features of protestors before posting the photo on social media networks 

Metadata on photos

  • do Use an image scrubbing tool by Everest Pipkin that scrubs the metadata and paints over by blurring faces and identificable features 

Consent from protestors

  • do not Don't post photos of protesters or activists that distinguish their identity or faces. This puts them in danger of being targeted by the state and authorities, especially Black activists. 

Metadata on photos

  • do If you don't have access to an image scrubber, take screenshots and repost photos instead of re-sharing or sharing original. This avoids the metadata from being reproduced in the posted photo.  

Methods

  • do not Do not use ride sharing services such as Uber or Lyft as they track your locations. 

Expressing your rights

  • do Say you're invoking your right to remain silent and that you request a lawyer. 

Requesting a lawyer

  • do not Do not attempt to defend yourself without the presence of a lawyer.