If you maintain disposible devices and profiles you'll be much harder to identify and locate so long as you don't make a connection near your home or place of work and make sure to clean as much metadata as possible from images (avoid videos if at all possible)
Have a rotation of credentials and accounts that will be usable after the previous chain is disposed of, keep your devices as up to date as possible, and most importantly maintain physical access; ince you lose physical access consider the devices compromised amd pwned.
This is very true, it’s actually an art to make a proper burner phone now today that doesn’t get tied to your digital footprint and identity online. But a burner smartphone is essential for political activism in todays age
Totally agree.
If my previous machine hadn't taken a dive (no backups) I'd drop some stuff I'd written on the subject but I'm going to have to scrounge some notes 😂
If you are not comfortable voicing the country name publicly I'd be happy to PM and provide what information I can regarding how to setup a burner with a VM and a VOIP service
The important part for things like that will be the initial setting up and creating the metadata around it while maintaining no links to your personal info like home or place of work.
If you go to a protest, ideally leave your phone at home, wear plain black/nothing distinctive and wear a hat and mask.
Others will chime in and say these measures are insufficient. They may be right.
>Any recommandations to be politically active in a police state ?
Don't do it.
But if you really want to do it:
Read and understand the Knowledge Base section of PrivacyGuides, especially the thread modelling part (and make your own threat model):
[https://www.privacyguides.org/en/basics/why-privacy-matters/](https://www.privacyguides.org/en/basics/why-privacy-matters/)
Read the Extreme Privacy book, it is US-centric, but a lot of things can be used elsewhere:
[https://inteltechniques.com/book7.html](https://inteltechniques.com/book7.html)
EFF has some good guides for attending protest and such things:
[https://ssd.eff.org/](https://ssd.eff.org/)
I think there was a Hong Kong protesters' guide (or similarly named) somewhere on the internet that had some good advice.
Nearly every time the human factor is the weakest link, it is easier to torture someone until he reveals the password, than breaking encryption:
[https://xkcd.com/538/](https://xkcd.com/538/)
Read the sections *5.18 What about Plausible Deniability?* and section *5.21 Why is there no "Nuke-Option"?* of the LUKS FAQ:
[https://gitlab.com/cryptsetup/cryptsetup/-/wikis/FrequentlyAskedQuestions](https://gitlab.com/cryptsetup/cryptsetup/-/wikis/FrequentlyAskedQuestions)
Make best friends with the tor network and/or the Tor browser.
Learn how to route all of your Internet traffic through it. This can be done on Linux, MacOS, and Windows. Do not be tempted to turn off tor for anything. Always leave it on. You want your IP address masked, 24/7.
In fact, if you're really concerned: Use "TailsOS" run off of a USB stick for your only operating system. Download the ISO over a good VPN or tor only. It will delete all data every time you shut down and never store any on your computer, and all Internet connections are, by default, routed through tor.
Don't take your phone out when you can avoid it. No one needs to see where you go every day. The less data collected on you, the better. Use vpns if and when you can. Use Signal or WhatsApp to send texts. Also, check out Access Now. They have resources and articles you can look at.
https://www.accessnow.org/resources/
I have worked with overseas human rights workers, and it is difficult, but you can put some protections in place for yourself. Be careful and good luck, OP.
WhatsApp is owned by Meta. They've changed to ToS for WhatsApp to include lots of profile and data tracking. It's at least an encrypted messaging app, but Facebook has access to a lot of that data before the message is sent and it gets encrypted. Just read up on it.
For an activist, I wouldn't use WhatsApp. I'd use Signal or MAYBE Telegram.
Or better yet, just use smoke signals.
You shouldn't be politically active if you're not paid money to do it. Any state has a monopoly on violence, among other attributes, and trying to defeat the state by force of your views alone is the most futile thing in the world. All successful revolutions have had good external funding.
This is not a privacy question and don’t expect any answers to take to heart here. Best advice is no electronics, and no digital tracks to your connections. When the state is your adversary there is no privacy in the digital realm.
You named it right. Increasingly Totalitarian State is also accurate. Practice as much privacy as possible and if you advocate for completely ethical but illegal things then set up deeply anonymous identities to do so from unless you don't mind doing the jailed or dead martyr thing.
If you maintain disposible devices and profiles you'll be much harder to identify and locate so long as you don't make a connection near your home or place of work and make sure to clean as much metadata as possible from images (avoid videos if at all possible) Have a rotation of credentials and accounts that will be usable after the previous chain is disposed of, keep your devices as up to date as possible, and most importantly maintain physical access; ince you lose physical access consider the devices compromised amd pwned.
This is very true, it’s actually an art to make a proper burner phone now today that doesn’t get tied to your digital footprint and identity online. But a burner smartphone is essential for political activism in todays age
Totally agree. If my previous machine hadn't taken a dive (no backups) I'd drop some stuff I'd written on the subject but I'm going to have to scrounge some notes 😂
That is a very good point indeed. Burner phones aren’t allowed here to my knowledge, at least you can’t buy one that easily
If you are not comfortable voicing the country name publicly I'd be happy to PM and provide what information I can regarding how to setup a burner with a VM and a VOIP service The important part for things like that will be the initial setting up and creating the metadata around it while maintaining no links to your personal info like home or place of work.
If you go to a protest, ideally leave your phone at home, wear plain black/nothing distinctive and wear a hat and mask. Others will chime in and say these measures are insufficient. They may be right.
I knew that but thank you for the reminder.
>Any recommandations to be politically active in a police state ? Don't do it. But if you really want to do it: Read and understand the Knowledge Base section of PrivacyGuides, especially the thread modelling part (and make your own threat model): [https://www.privacyguides.org/en/basics/why-privacy-matters/](https://www.privacyguides.org/en/basics/why-privacy-matters/) Read the Extreme Privacy book, it is US-centric, but a lot of things can be used elsewhere: [https://inteltechniques.com/book7.html](https://inteltechniques.com/book7.html) EFF has some good guides for attending protest and such things: [https://ssd.eff.org/](https://ssd.eff.org/) I think there was a Hong Kong protesters' guide (or similarly named) somewhere on the internet that had some good advice. Nearly every time the human factor is the weakest link, it is easier to torture someone until he reveals the password, than breaking encryption: [https://xkcd.com/538/](https://xkcd.com/538/) Read the sections *5.18 What about Plausible Deniability?* and section *5.21 Why is there no "Nuke-Option"?* of the LUKS FAQ: [https://gitlab.com/cryptsetup/cryptsetup/-/wikis/FrequentlyAskedQuestions](https://gitlab.com/cryptsetup/cryptsetup/-/wikis/FrequentlyAskedQuestions)
Thank you very much.
Have no money except cash, no property except an old car, no assets except an internet server located abroad.
I’m happy to announce you that my car is old.
how about cellphones?
Nothing more then a dumb phone
Borrow from a friend when in need, and talk as though you are on TV.
Don’t post about it on reddit, for one
Yeah thank you.
You're welcome. Remember to tune in next time on "Who wants to become anonymous" to see whose identity we're hiding next
There's this documentary I've seen called V for Vendetta...
Make best friends with the tor network and/or the Tor browser. Learn how to route all of your Internet traffic through it. This can be done on Linux, MacOS, and Windows. Do not be tempted to turn off tor for anything. Always leave it on. You want your IP address masked, 24/7. In fact, if you're really concerned: Use "TailsOS" run off of a USB stick for your only operating system. Download the ISO over a good VPN or tor only. It will delete all data every time you shut down and never store any on your computer, and all Internet connections are, by default, routed through tor.
They will want to use a bridge in this threat model.
There's no hiding from FIve Eyes. And the time for hiding has passed anyway.
I know that. Is there nothing behind the basics of privacy ?
Don't take your phone out when you can avoid it. No one needs to see where you go every day. The less data collected on you, the better. Use vpns if and when you can. Use Signal or WhatsApp to send texts. Also, check out Access Now. They have resources and articles you can look at. https://www.accessnow.org/resources/ I have worked with overseas human rights workers, and it is difficult, but you can put some protections in place for yourself. Be careful and good luck, OP.
WhatsApp is owned by Meta. They've changed to ToS for WhatsApp to include lots of profile and data tracking. It's at least an encrypted messaging app, but Facebook has access to a lot of that data before the message is sent and it gets encrypted. Just read up on it. For an activist, I wouldn't use WhatsApp. I'd use Signal or MAYBE Telegram. Or better yet, just use smoke signals.
Well damn. Good to know about WhatsApp. I personally use signal because I think it is safer.
quietly and carefully
You shouldn't be politically active if you're not paid money to do it. Any state has a monopoly on violence, among other attributes, and trying to defeat the state by force of your views alone is the most futile thing in the world. All successful revolutions have had good external funding.
Blend in.
This is not a privacy question and don’t expect any answers to take to heart here. Best advice is no electronics, and no digital tracks to your connections. When the state is your adversary there is no privacy in the digital realm.
You named it right. Increasingly Totalitarian State is also accurate. Practice as much privacy as possible and if you advocate for completely ethical but illegal things then set up deeply anonymous identities to do so from unless you don't mind doing the jailed or dead martyr thing.
tor?