If you insist on using biometric unlocking methods to get quick access to your devices, remember that some phones have an emergency function to disable these types of locks. Hold down the wake button and one of the volume buttons at the same time on an iPhone, for example, and it will lock itself and require a passcode to unlock rather than FaceID or TouchID, even if it’s enabled. Many devices also allow you to take photos or record video without turning it on first, a great way to keep your phone off as much as possible.
Your Face
Facial recognition has become one of the most powerful tools to identify your presence at a protest. Consider wearing a face mask and sunglasses to make it more difficult to be identified by facial recognition in surveillance photos or social media photos or protest videos. Fight for the Future’s Greer cautions, however, that the accuracy of the most effective facial recognition tools available to law enforcement remains an unknown, and a simple surgical mask or KN95 may no longer be able to overcome well-developed facial tracking technology.
If you’re serious about anonymity, he says, a full-face mask might be safer—or even a Halloween-style one. “I’ve seen people wearing funny cosplay-style cartoon masks or mascot suits or silly costumes,” Greer said, giving as an example the masks of Donald Trump and Elon Musk seen by protesters at the Tesla Takedown protests against Musk and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). “That’s a great way to disrespect the face and make the protest more fun.”
You should also consider what you are wearing before you go out. Colorful clothing or prominent logos make you more visible to law enforcement and easier to track. If you have tattoos that make you stand out, consider covering them up.
Gerer warns, however, that preventing surveillance agencies from learning the fact that you went to a protest is becoming increasingly difficult. For those of you in more vulnerable positions—such as undocumented immigrants at risk of deportation—he suggests you consider staying home rather than relying on any form of disguise to hide your presence at the event.
Another factor to consider is your walking style. Driving a car into a protest—whether your own or someone else’s—can expose you to surveillance from automatic plate readers, or ALPRs, which can be used to track vehicle movements. You should also note that, in addition to license plates, these ALPRs can detect other words and phrases, including those on bumper stickers, signs, and even t-shirts.
More broadly, everyone attending a protest needs to consider—perhaps more than ever before—what their tolerance for risk would be, from mere identification to arrest or detention. “I think it’s important to say that protesting in the US now comes with higher risks than ever—it comes with the very real possibility of physical violence and mass arrests,” said Danacea Vo, founder of Cyberlixir, a cybersecurity provider for nonprofits and vulnerable communities. “Even compared to the protests that took place last month, people were able to appear empty-handed and march. Now things have changed.”
Your online initiative
While many of the privacy and security considerations for attending an in-person protest naturally relate to your body, any devices you bring with you, and your surroundings, there are a set of other factors to consider online. It is important to understand how posts on social media and other platforms before, during, or after a protest can be collected and used by authorities to identify and track you or others. Simply saying on an online forum that you are going to or attending a protest puts the information out there. And if you take photos or videos during a protest, that content may be used to expand law enforcement’s view of who attended the protest and what they did while there, including any strangers who appear in your photos or videos.
Authorities can get to where you are online by looking for information about you specifically, but they can also get there using bulk data analysis tools like Dataminr that provide law enforcement and other real-time monitoring clients that link people to their online activity. Such tools can also reveal past posts, and if you’ve made violent comments online or made references to committing a crime—even jokingly—law enforcement can find work and use it against you if you’re questioned or arrested during a protest. This is of particular concern to people living in the US on visas or those whose immigration status is complicated. The US State Department has publicly stated that it monitors the activities of immigrants and travelers on social media.
