Why You Shouldn't Bring Your Phone to a Protest in the US

How to protect yourself from digital surveillance at protests.

Dear friends,

A couple of weeks ago, in my series of posts about protesting safely, I wrote this:

Your smartphone is a tracking device

If possible, leave your smartphone behind and take a burner phone—one with prepaid minutes that can call or text, maybe with a map, but nothing more. Don't save any names or numbers to it—if it gets lost, it needs to reveal nothing about your habits, location, or contacts.

Some folks thought I was being melodramatic, shrugged their shoulders, and packed their phones without a second thought. After all, our phones are how we stay safe, connected, and informed, right? They’re how we record and share the events of the day!

But again I’d like to caution you that in the context of a protest, that same device can quietly become a surveillance tool, revealing more about you than you ever intended to share.

I’m not being dramatic— this isn’t theoretical. It’s already happened in the US, to peaceful demonstrators. Here’s how it works.

Stingrays: Surveillance Without…