this post was submitted on 14 Jun 2025
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Before going to a protest, demonstrators or observers should note that their cellphones may subject them to surveillance tactics by law enforcement. If your cellphone is on and unsecured, your location can be tracked and your unencrypted communications, such as SMS, may be intercepted. Additionally, police may retrieve your messages and the content of your phone if they take custody of your phone, or later by warrant or subpoena.

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[–] TaterTurnipTulip@lemmy.world 5 points 3 hours ago

Your car's GPS is also tracking your movements. If you have a newer car then your phone is only part of the problem.

[–] Lanske@lemmy.world 12 points 5 hours ago (2 children)
[–] tehn00bi@lemmy.world 2 points 54 minutes ago

Go old school and bring cameras instead.

[–] Redredme@lemmy.world 12 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

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.

[–] GreenKnight23@lemmy.world 3 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

doesn't have to be powered on.

unless you can remove the battery, it should stay at home.

[–] bigpEE@lemmy.world 2 points 48 minutes ago (1 children)

Source? EFF says airplane mode is sufficient per the article

[–] GreenKnight23@lemmy.world 2 points 20 minutes ago (1 children)

so you're going yo trust the government funded org to tell you how to not be tracked by the government?

better yet, you're going to trust the company that actively works with the government under national defense that wants to track you to protect national defense?

no thanks. I'd rather be safe than detained.

[–] bigpEE@lemmy.world 1 points 8 minutes ago

Until I see a shred of evidence that airplane mode doesn't disable the radios, yes, I'm going to trust the manufacturers, the EFF, and my background in EE

[–] blockheadjt@sh.itjust.works 15 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Set your phone on top of a Roomba that has scheduled cleaning throughout the day.

[–] viking@infosec.pub 2 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Pointless, unless you leave the roomba running outdoors. Indoors you don't have GPS coverage, and your phone is logged onto the same cell tower anyway. Might just leave it stationary at home, same outcome.

[–] RisingSwell@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 4 hours ago

You definitely can get GPS coverage inside. It's entirely building dependant but I'm inside right now and if I open GPS it'll just work.

[–] Buske@lemmy.world 17 points 10 hours ago

YOU DONT BRING IT.

[–] Deflated0ne@lemmy.world 12 points 10 hours ago

By leaving it at home.

[–] finitebanjo@lemmy.world 4 points 8 hours ago

Buy a Burner.

[–] SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world 39 points 15 hours ago (3 children)

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.

[–] bigpEE@lemmy.world 1 points 47 minutes ago

Source? EFF says airplane mode is sufficient per the article

[–] HappyRedditRefugee@lemm.ee 1 points 2 hours ago

Could you not wrap it in thin foil to make a faraday cage? If done well it should prevent any signals for going in or out.

puts on thin foil hat

[–] throwawayacc0430@sh.itjust.works 4 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (2 children)

Even with a libre OS and all radios turned off? (So to use the phone as a camera and offline navigation)

[–] GreenKnight23@lemmy.world 3 points 2 hours ago

yes, even with all the foss software and radios turned off.

it will still ping radio towers. the only exclusion are phones with physical switches for disabling hardware.

[–] finitebanjo@lemmy.world 3 points 8 hours ago

I feel like it could still get damaged or used as evidence in court if you get caught up in a crackdown.

[–] wanderwisley@lemm.ee 55 points 22 hours ago (4 children)

Turn it off and leave it at home.

[–] NikkiDimes@lemmy.world 37 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago) (3 children)

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...

[–] biggerbogboy@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 hours ago

Even better, have your tv on the whole time, so if the tv sends telemetry data that's also linked to the phone, it'll show you were at home the whole time.

[–] ChairmanMeow@programming.dev 3 points 14 hours ago (2 children)

They likely have the data to show it didn't move at all. Eg it wasn't on your person.

[–] weariedfae@sh.itjust.works 8 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

You underestimate how much of a couch potato I am. Not moving is normal lol.

[–] ChairmanMeow@programming.dev 3 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Even sitting on a couch moves your phone more than simply laying on a table. They can use accelerometer data to determine how, if at all, it moved.

[–] Zentron@sh.itjust.works 3 points 4 hours ago

For that , someone mentioned a roomba or straping it to a dogs collar..

[–] JayDee@lemmy.sdf.org 6 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (1 children)

Put a harness on your pet and put it on the harness. Boom, instant spoofing.

[–] MangoCats@feddit.it 4 points 12 hours ago

Movement data shows that you scratch your fleas a lot, you should do something about that.

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[–] angelmountain@feddit.nl 18 points 23 hours ago

... Goes to a protest to support gaza, get's phone unlocked because police is using Israeli cellebrite software...

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