Don't bring it?!
this post was submitted on 14 Jun 2025
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I mean that's the easy answer but:
- Documenting and sharing the events is part of the protest
- You may need it in an emergency.
Go old school and bring cameras instead.
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Leave it at home for a protest if you care about being tracked.
Pretty much all cell phones can be tracked even when turned off.
Even with a libre OS and all radios turned off? (So to use the phone as a camera and offline navigation)
I feel like it could still get damaged or used as evidence in court if you get caught up in a crackdown.
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Turn it off and leave it at home.
Leave it on at home.
"Your honor, as you can see from my mobile device location history, I never even left my house that day."
Not that that'll actually work or that they'll care, but still...
"I let my landlord borrow my car, though. He said it was important."
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(9 replies)
Most modern devices track the phone even when it's turned off. If you can't remove the battery, leave it at home.
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Your car's GPS is also tracking your movements. If you have a newer car then your phone is only part of the problem.
To be specific, it's not the GPS receiver, it's the fact that the car may be communicating via cell network or satellite, right?
Correct. Yeah, if you have a newer car with GPS, it will likely also have built in communications to the car company.
There are benefits to older, "dumber" cars. Besides enjoying knobs and buttons 😁
Right, but most modern cars have that communication built in, because they use it to update firmware remotely. You can't turn it off even if you wanted to. Many car companies justify it by saying it is needed to give your location to emergency services if you use their alert button.
Idk about other brands but with Mazda you can call and get them to deactivate your car's sim. IIRC in Subarus you can just physically unplug the communication unit.
If your phone is powered your location can be tracked. Secured or not: your location can always be tracked.
The rest is doubtful, always assume law enforcement has access at will.
Just don't bring it.
YOU DONT BRING IT.
Set your phone on top of a Roomba that has scheduled cleaning throughout the day.
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people on the internet love to talk about all these great security smart things that they will definitely never do.
leave valuables at home, wear unremarkable clothes, and write your lawyers number on your arm with a sharpie.
personally i bring my phone and a leica. ive been to jail for protesting before and in my current situation i just don't care.
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Here is the simple trick: leave your phone at home. Get a burner.
Side note, leave the burner in a Faraday bag when it's going to be near your daily driver.
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Jesus Christ, this conversation is scary. I wish y’all good luck that none of these precautions are necessary.
As someone in a blue state where governance is sane, I’m “raw dogging it” (effing offensive slang term but now I’ve used it once in my life and can rest easy) and bringing my kids (teens). M also going to the local demonstration rather than go into the city for a big one - to some extent it’s a numbers game: ICE can’t raid them all and police aren’t legally allowed to help them
…. And hopefully my optimism is well founded
—-
Edit: huge success! Entirely peaceful. While a few cops drove by, there was no police presence. Thousands of people of all ages lining both sides of main st, and three sides of our town common. Constant honking from supporters driving by. It was very inspirational. I’m proud of my fellow citizens and hope our voice for restoring sanity and democracy is heard.
For those pessimists,a bit more context why I was so optimistic….. a few years back, our mayor and police were participants in a local BLM rally. Also a big part of local outrage against fascism was a city counselor getting assaulted and arrested for videoing an illegal raid on one of his constituents.
I’m in one of the bluest. Our police and FBI are not “blue.” American spy forces and “committee on anti-American activities”-ass motherfuckers are not kind or just, no matter the voting tendencies of the populace.
How many decades have we seen far right terror groups overlooked for anti-capitalist leftists? The left threatens the status quo, the right fortifies it. The blue and red dichotomy is the status quo. The democrats support the genocide in Palestine. Going against that status quo makes you not safe from government crackdowns, the party in power is completely irrelevant.
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Doesn't matter of the state is blue, the police force is going to do everything they can to fuck you anyways.
The fact that this conversation is even necessary is to me more scary.
I used to think the Bush era was bad. I’d gladly trade that for now.
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... Goes to a protest to support gaza, get's phone unlocked because police is using Israeli cellebrite software...
By leaving it at home.
You leave it at home. Take an old factory-reset with a prepaid sim. Keep it off unless you 100% need it.
You get a burner for the protest and give your phone to a friend or family member for the day so that it still pings towers at the usual places.
Or at home. It’s not unusual for me to spend several hours at home on a Saturday.
Buy a Burner.
I learned this recently: if you have an iPhone, pressing the lock button five times rapidly will lock it so that you need to enter a passcode, not just FaceID. Useful if you think somebody might forcibly use your face to unlock it
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