Your cell phone is one of the most powerful tools you can bring to a protest, but it can also be the most vulnerable. This year there have been many protests across the US, particularly against immigration enforcement and the use of force by local governments and local authorities — including the shooting of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis — where protesters have used their phones to record video, document abuse and communicate with each other.
Phone data and usage are increasingly targeted by police and government agencies. Phones are also tracking devices that can be intercepted to monitor locations, game identities and monitor text messages (the FBI has threatened to investigate encrypted Signal conversations as well). While the safest move is to leave your phone at home, that’s not always possible.
If you want to protect your phone data, limit your digital space and protect your privacy while exercising your constitutional rights, here are some steps you can take.
If you plan to protest or act as a bystander, here’s advice from the American Civil Liberties Union and Amnesty International.
Make sure strong encryption is enabled
Your phone contains all kinds of information about you: contacts, work address, photos, social media accounts, emails, stored financial information, etc. If your phone is taken, lost or stolen, you don’t want to make it easy for someone to take that data.
As a first step, make sure your device is securely encrypted. Most iPhones and Android phones encrypt data automatically when you set a passcode. Make sure it’s a strong passcode (8-12 random characters).
On Android, go to Settings > Security & Privacy > Device Unlock > Lock screen (or similar, depending on which device you have).
On iOS, go to Settings > Face ID (or Touch ID) & Passcode and press Open the Passcode.
You can double check that encryption is on after setting the passcode. On iOS, go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode, then scroll down, where you should see the phrase “Data protection is enabled.”
On Android, go to Settings > Security & Privacy > More Security & Privacy (or similar, depending on your device), then check the line “Encryption and Details” or similar which should confirm that the data is encrypted.
Turn off local settings
Location services allow apps and services to track a phone’s location via GPS. Turning this off prevents that data from being accessed. You’ll find it in Privacy & Security Settings on iPhone and in local settings on Android.
Turning off Location on iPhone (left) and Android (right, Pixel 10 Pro shown here) ensures that your phone and its apps don’t store location data.
Turning off location services also prevents location data from being saved to any photos you take. You can also manually prevent photos you take from including location information in their metadata, usually found in the camera app or within your phone’s settings.
On iOS, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > Camera to turn location metadata on or off.
On most Android phones, you can disable location data for photos right in the camera app. Open the camera, press the button settings icon, and look Save Location (or a variation of that: Save Location Data, Location Markers), and close it.
Turn off the scan to unlock and touch to unlock features
Biometrics make it easy to unlock your phone and provide security during everyday use, but if your phone is confiscated by law enforcement, they may try to force you to unlock it using facial recognition or fingerprint readers.
This is an area of draft law, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which states in its guide to attending protests, “using a memorized passcode often provides a strong legal basis to push back against a court order to forcibly unlock/unlock a device.”
Turn off biometric phone unlocking methods such as facial recognition and fingerprints. iOS on the left, Android on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra on the right.
On iPhone, go to Settings > Face ID (or Touch ID) & Passcode and turn off iPhone Unlock.
On Android, look for fingerprint or face unlock options Settings > Security and Privacy or Lock the screen settings.
Immediately disable biometrics for now
What if you forgot to disable your biometrics and you’re faced with someone trying to force you to use them? There is a quick program that forces you to use a passcode, even without resetting your phone (all phones require you to re-enter your passcode when you reboot).
On an Android device, hold the power button and the volume up or volume down button (depending on your device) and select The closure of the country. You may need to specify that the Lockdown option appears. On a Samsung Galaxy phone, for example, in Lock screen and AOD > Protect lock settingsopen the Show Lockdown mode option.
On an iPhone, hold the Sleep/Wake and Volume Up buttons for a second until you see the options for power, medical ID and Emergency SOS. Then tap Cancel. The next activation will require your passcode.
Remember that if you use this option, biometrics are only disabled until the next time the phone is unlocked with a passcode. In case of protest, it is better to disable biometrics as described above.
Turn off Bluetooth
Bluetooth, a short-range network feature, is widely used to send music and podcasts to wireless headphones or connect to smart devices such as watches and fitness trackers. But it’s also reaching out to people like Apple AirTags and checking other nearby things.
Turn off mobile data when not in use
Your phone sends and receives a lot of data in the background — such as checking for updates, sending and receiving text messages, and receiving app notifications — which requires it to constantly communicate with nearby cell towers. That traffic can identify your approximate location or indicate that you (or at least your phone) were at the protest later. (Note that turning off mobile data will disrupt any encrypted connections you may be using.)
While disabling mobile data, you should also disable Wi-Fi. Connecting to Wi-Fi networks can not only reveal your location, but it is also a battery drain, especially in densely populated areas where there are many networks.
Leave your phone at home, or get a hot phone
If you leave your phone at home, you won’t have to worry about all these settings. Another option is to get a prepaid hot phone that you will only use at the protest and turn it off before you go home (so it can’t be traced back to you).
An inexpensive prepaid phone can keep you in touch with friends and family, without bringing all your sensitive information to the polls.
Don’t forget about other devices
Your phone may not be the only thing tracking you. Your smartwatch may connect to cellular networks or store location data, and portable trackers like Apple AirTags are designed to transmit their locations via Bluetooth. Consider putting your watch on airplane mode and leaving the trackers at home.
Take photos and videos while your phone is off
You’ll probably use your camera a lot during a protest event, and in addition to disabling Location Services so that GPS data isn’t saved on photos, it’s a good idea to use the camera without turning on the phone. That way, someone who steals your phone while you’re recording can’t access your data.
iPhones and Android phones include this feature as an easy way to take photos quickly. The camera works, but other features of the phone are not available. From the iOS lock screen, press and hold the Camera icon or swipe from the right side of the screen. Your model may also include a Camera Control button or an option to activate the camera using an Action button.
On an Android phone, look for the Camera icon on the lock screen. There may also be quick boot options, such as double-pressing the power button.
And a final note about recording: Be careful about taking photos of protesters’ faces and sharing your photos later, as law enforcement uses facial recognition technology to identify people in publicly uploaded or posted photos.
