Ways to Protect Yourself and Your Information
Time to protect yourself! With the current climate and times, we have found that the best way to stay safe is to share tips and tactics to keep ourselves and the people we love informed. Here are some things you should know to keep your personal information and yourself protected.
TAKE YOUR PHONE OFF OF FACE ID OR FINGERPRINT ID
PHOTO ZANA LATIF
Under current laws, police can force you to unlock your phone using facial recognition or fingerprint ID, but according to online sources, you legally do not need to present your password, passcode, or pattern lock. This is because you are protected by the Fifth Amendment (your right to not incriminate yourself).
If you are going to protest or are arrested/detained, this protects what you have on your phone. This does not, however, cover searches at the border, and at this time, it’s unclear if that type of search is being applied to potential ICE raids.
Sourcing: Threads, eff.org, informationsecurity.princeton.edu
IF YOU PLAN TO PROTEST, COVER YOUR RECOGNIZABLE FEATURES
PHOTO AMI NICOLE ACRONYM
In today’s technological world, there are cameras everywhere. If you plan to protest, it is not “bravery” that you show your face. You need to protect yourself in multiple ways including covering your face, tattoos, and any feature that can only be attributed to you so you cannot be identified or tracked. Also, given that you are protesting, this isn’t the time to be taking photographs of your outfit or documenting for social media, because that can be traced back to you. No photos of your outfit or anything is good to have, or share.
WRITE DOWN ACLU’S PHONE NUMBER IF YOU PROTEST
Do not rely on your phone to hold this information. If you’re going out, write your local ACLU number, or your number for your legal counsel on your body with Sharpie so you can obtain it if needed and your phone has been confiscated. You can also write down numbers of people you may need to call, as many of us don’t know phone numbers off the top of our heads these days.
COMMUNICATE IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON NON-SOCIAL MEDIA APPS
Photo by Tracy Le Blanc
While social media is here to connect, apps connected to government contracts should not be where you are sharing your information. Get people’s phone numbers, or look into apps that are encrypted to communicate (Signal is popular, but some are noting to switch to Threema because you can have anonymous user IDs, end-to-end encryption, no phone number to sign up, and the only thing that is stored is a time frame that a message was sent).
It’s hard to stay connected as we rely so heavily on social media, but this is your safest option. Another choice is to go back to the “punk AF” option of distributing hardcopy zines to relay information. In addition to not discussing things over social media, it is within good practice to begin to look for “third spaces” in which you don’t have to spend money, such as your local library, where you can meet up to have offline discussions.
DISCONNECT ACTIVITY TRACKING ON FACEBOOK
Screenshot
According to a Threads user (and we checked the process), here are the steps to remove the off-Facebook activity tracking, and how sometimes these apps have way more information than they’re supposed to have.
- Go to Facebook settings
- Scroll down to click “off-Facebook Activity”
- Login to the accounts center
- Clear previous activity
- After that, click manage future activity, and then disconnect the future activity
Sourcing: Threads, tested, and it is accurate.
Note: Mine also included the Instagram account that was associated with my account. The other option is to go completely off of Meta properties, but we know that can be hard for some people for health reasons or business reasons.
LEARN PROTECTIVE MEASURES
Photo by Rodolfo Clix
While we hope to not have to use physical force, it’s good to know how to protect yourself without any form of tools or weapons. A user on TikTok shared a link for educational purposes in which the army has their training manuals online for free to download at ArmyPubs.Army.Mil.
Another suggestion from this user: the next time you’re “boxing,” your index and middle finger are your strongest fingers and if you connect with your ring and pinky finger when punching, you can get a boxing fracture. Also, make sure to keep your fist in line with your elbow to avoid injury. A user on Threads also noted that if your state has laws against things like brass knuckles, invest in some thick rings for your own protection.
BE TECHNOLOGICALLY SAVVY
The same TikTok user previously mentioned in the last section also shared that you can get online security tools to protect your information and in some cases remove information using the site PrivacyTools.io. This is a public-facing website.
MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
WHO LOGO
A new thing for this administration is that the HHS, CDC, FDA, and other related agencies have been put under a gag order. This means that you will not know when the next outbreak of COVID is, if Bird Flu comes back from human to human, etc. While NBC News notes that it has been communicated as a “short pause,” if it goes longer than a week, we need to be concerned. Make sure to keep tabs on the World Health Organization (WHO) for up-to-date information.
WHO comments on the withdrawal saying:
“The World Health Organization regrets the announcement that the United States of America intends to withdraw from the Organization.
WHO plays a crucial role in protecting the health and security of the world’s people, including Americans, by addressing the root causes of disease, building stronger health systems, and detecting, preventing and responding to health emergencies, including disease outbreaks, often in dangerous places where others cannot go.
The United States was a founding member of WHO in 1948 and has participated in shaping and governing WHO’s work ever since, alongside 193 other Member States, including through its active participation in the World Health Assembly and Executive Board. For over seven decades, WHO and the USA have saved countless lives and protected Americans and all people from health threats. Together, we ended smallpox, and together we have brought polio to the brink of eradication. American institutions have contributed to and benefited from membership in WHO.
With the participation of the United States and other Member States, WHO has over the past 7 years implemented the largest set of reforms in its history, to transform our accountability, cost-effectiveness, and impact in countries. This work continues.
We hope the United States will reconsider and we look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue to maintain the partnership between the USA and WHO, for the benefit of the health and well-being of millions of people around the globe.”
Have more tips to share? Send us a DM on social media. Find us at @acronymzine.