If you insist on using biometric unlocking methods to get faster access to your devices, keep in mind that some phones have an emergency function to disable this type of lock. For example, press and hold the wake button and one of the volume buttons simultaneously on an iPhone, and it will lock itself and require a passcode to unlock instead of FaceID or TouchID, even if they’re enabled. Most devices let you take photos or record videos without unlocking them first, which is a good way to keep your phone locked down as much as possible.
your face
Facial recognition has become one of the most powerful tools for identifying your presence at a protest. Consider wearing a face mask and sunglasses to make it more difficult to identify you by facial recognition in surveillance footage or social media photos or videos of protests. However, Fight for the Future’s Greer warns that the accuracy of the most effective facial recognition devices available to law enforcement remains unknown, and a simple surgical mask or KN95 may no longer be enough to defeat well-sophisticated face-tracking technology.
If you’re serious about not being recognized, she says, a full-face mask may be much safer—or even a Halloween-style one. “I’ve seen people wearing weird cosplay-style cartoon masks or mascot suits or silly costumes,” Greer says, offering as examples the masks of Donald Trump and Elon Musk she’s seen protesters wearing at Tesla takedown protests against Musk and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). “It’s a great way to challenge facial recognition and make a protest more fun.”
You should also consider the clothes you are wearing before going out. Colorful clothing or prominent logos make you more recognizable and easier to track for law enforcement. If you have tattoos that make you recognizable, consider covering them.
However, Greer cautions that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to prevent assertive surveillance-empowered agencies from knowing just the fact that you attended a protest. For those of you in the most sensitive positions — such as undocumented immigrants at risk of deportation — she suggests you consider staying home rather than relying on some obscure technique to conceal their attendance at an event.
Another factor to weigh is your mode of transportation. Driving a car to a protest – whether it’s yours or someone else’s – could put you under surveillance with an automated license plate reader, or ALPR, which can be used to pinpoint vehicle movements. You should also know that, in addition to license plates, these ALPRs can detect other words and phrases, including bumper stickers, signs, and even t-shirts.
More broadly, everyone participating in a protest needs to consider – perhaps more than ever – what their tolerance for risk might be, from mere identification to the possibility of arrest or detention. “I think it’s important to say that protests in the US now come with greater risk than ever before – it comes with the real possibility of physical violence and mass arrests,” says Danasia Vo, founder of CyberLixir, a cybersecurity provider for nonprofits and vulnerable communities. “Even compared to the protests last month, people were able to come bare-faced and march. Now things have changed.”
your online footprint
Although most 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 physical surroundings, there are also 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 platform that you are attending or participating in a protest exposes the information. And if you take photos or video during a protest, that content can be used to expand law enforcement’s view of who attended the protest and what they did there, including strangers who appear in your images or footage.
Authorities can come across your online presence specifically looking for information about you, but can also get in there using bulk data analysis tools like Dataminr that provide real-time monitoring to law enforcement and other clients that connect people to their online activity. Such tools can also surface past posts, and if you’ve ever made violent comments online or hinted at committing a crime — even as a joke — law enforcement can discover the activity and use it against you if you are interrogated or arrested during a protest. This is of particular concern for people who are living in the US on a visa or who have vulnerable immigration status. The US State Department has clearly stated that it is monitoring the social media activity of immigrants and travelers.
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