How to protect yourself on your devices and protect allies, women, LGBTQIA+ people, immigrants, environmentalists
Even if you only mind your own business, unthinkable things could keep happening
Updated June 14, 2025
If you have fear, imagine merging any drops of fear into an ocean of caution. That's a tip from one of my qigong teachers. Another way to be cautious is to protect yourself and people you know on all your phones, computers, tablets, and other devices before you communicate in-person or online. Taking 10 minutes to try tips below now could change your life forever. They’re from KQED and links below.
Why care
In case you missed it, social media and the Trump administration are erasing information on women, people of color, LGBTQIA+ people, climate change, and more. And, they’re criminalizing pregnant people. Nebraska police demanded Facebook hand over chats about a 17-year-old’s illegal abortion in 2022, then brought criminal charges against her and her mother. Meanwhile, the Trump Administration issued pardons for offenders of the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.
Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram) suspended fact-checking and also now allows hate speech against people for their race or if they’re LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual). Also, in 2025, the Trump administration:
Covered plaques that celebrate women and people of color who had served the National Security Agency.
Removed info from federal websites on DEI, supportive school environments for transgender and non-binary kids, National Transgender HIV Testing Day, contraception, climate change, historic sites related to the internment of Japanese Americans, and more.
Stopped some federal agencies from observing DEI:
Months: Women’s History, Pride, Black History, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage, National Hispanic Heritage, National Disability Employment Awareness, National American Indian Heritage
Days: Holocaust Days of Remembrance, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and Women’s Equality Day
Required federal employees to remove their pronouns from email signatures.
Directed staff to investigate teachers calling a student by their transgender name.
Repealed environmental protections put in place by Joe Biden.
Is DEI necessary at work?
Bigger changes are needed than just DEI at work. But DEI could still help address issues like the following. A 2024 study analyzed performance reviews for more than 25,000 people at 253 organizations. It found that 56% of women received feedback labeling them as “unlikeable,” a criticism faced by only 16% of men. Also, 67% of men were described as intelligent, while only 32% of women were. And white people were more than twice as likely to recall being called “likeable” compared to almost every other group.
Only about a third of all people in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) jobs were women in the USA in 2021. And at the USDA Forest Service, which works on sustainability, climate and engineering, when nonwhite women entered the workforce at a higher grade, they advanced more slowly and ended up spending fewer years at the agency. Also, nonwhite men there were “more likely to be terminated than any other group.” That’s all according to a 2023 study.
Do we need clean air and water, or to reduce climate change?
Yes, duh! Everyone is affected when anyone is exposed to pollution, such as from fossil fuel drilling that causes climate change. Air and water knows no bounds.
Basic tips to protect yourself and people you know on your devices
Be a real ally:
In good times and bad, for everyone’s safety, don’t disclose information about someone without their consent, such as their sexual orientation or immigration status. And don’t give out personal information of people that are LGBTQIA+, could be targeted because of their immigration status, or are environmentalists. Also, avoid asking personal questions, such as if someone has a partner. That can lead to more questions that people don’t want to answer. You might make more friends if you let people disclose what they want in their own time.
Call, text, or meet online via the free Signal app:
See why Signal is safer than WhatsApp and how to use WhatsApp and Signal.
Whether you use WhatsApp or Signal, check to make sure:
Maybe use Protonmail (free) to email:
Word on the street is that Protonmail might not be as safe as Signal though. But here’s why it’s safer than other email providers.
All devices:
Use a safer password manager and a two-factor authenticator. And delete passwords on other password managers, such as Apple passwords on your Mac and your iPhone.
Set your devices, apps, and operating systems (Windows, MacOS, etc.) to automatically update.
Don’t give your companion animal’s real name when creating answers to security questions. Use these tips instead.
Secure your social media. And don’t let Facebook and Instagram collect and monetize your personal data.
Your cell phone:
Buy a modern burner phone with cash. Don’t turn it on in your home. Only add the Signal App, not other accounts (social media, financial, etc). Or keep your phone off or on airplane mode when you don’t need it. Also, turn off Bluetooth, Wifi, and Airdrop.
Make sure your notification details are only visible when your device is unlocked. On an iPhone: Open Settings. Press Notifications, then Show Previews, then Never.
Turn off biometric opening of your phone (face or fingerprint ID, etc.). Use a long, complicated alphanumeric password.
Backup your phone regularly. On iPhones, enable Advanced Data Protection on your iCloud account.
Clear your location history. Here’s how on iPhones.
Turn off new app requests to access your phone’s ad identifier. On the iPhone’s Privacy & Security setting, under the Tracking tab, there’s a toggle to Allow Apps to Request to Track.
Check your phone’s storage so you have room for new videos and photos.
If someone asks you to open your phone, only do it with your lawyer present, such as one from the National Lawyers Guild. Write their phone number on your arm in case you get arrested.
Photos or videos:
Document as secretly as you can. A U.S. citizen was detained by ICE for filming. Turn off photo flash and shutter sounds. (Here’s how on iPhones.)
Before you share photos or videos:
Don’t post ones of people’s faces without their consent. Obscure the faces of people only using the shape/rectangle tool. Don’t use drawing or blurring tools because they can be reversed by others.
Photos have hidden information, or metadata, embedded in them which include the type of phone/camera you used, the photo's location, and other potentially sensitive data. So use a metadata removal tool. If you send a photo to someone using Signal, that app removes this metadata automatically.
Let people know your photos or videos are real with the ProofMode app.
Your computer:
Be careful what you attach to your computer (DVDs, CDs, USB, or Thunderbolt connectors).
If you go to protests:
If you’re in custody:
If cops ask, you only need to give your name, birthday, and these magic words. Avoid saying much to anyone else in custody or if you’re on a call.
Prevent people from finding your personal info online:
Join email lists of people and nonprofits creating a more equitable, green world
You never know exactly how social media platforms censor or shadowban users. Often users don’t even know they’ve been shadowbanned.
Advanced tips that you need to know
See guides by: