Protecting Yourself From Potential Trump Surveillance

I hate to bring it up, but I have to bring it up. Now is the time to prepare.

The Digital Drumbeat will continue to be a source for digital resistance during the Trump Administration. Be sure to subscribe.

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Whether you’re an activist, a journalist or a member of another community likely to be targeted by the Trump Administration, we all need to think about how we keep ourselves safe.

After all, during his more hemmed-in first term, his Justice Department spied on journalists he saw as detractors.

In this digital age, we need to prevent a nanny state from monitoring our communications and using our data to silence us.

Here are some things you might think about doing:

Delete Your Digital Footprint

Our information is out there on the internet and in the cloud.

• Go back to any old social media profiles that you don’t use anymore and delete those accounts.

• Delete/erase old email accounts/inboxes that are defunct.

• Strip any information about your family or where you live from blogs or company websites.

• Use a service like Delete Me or Aura to systematically go through the internet and remove personally identifiable information.

Use a Password Manager

Y’all - you have GOT to stop using the same two passwords for every site or device you log into. This isn’t just for surveillance purposes, but to prevent identity theft.

• Password managers like 1Password or Bitwarden make it easy and secure to create long, unique, complex passwords for every site/login. It takes a few hours to set up and go through and change all of your existing passwords, but once it’s setup, it’s actually really easy to use.

Use Signal, Not Texts

Text messages can be subpoenaed/surveilled. Records of all your texts are held by your phone company.

• The Signal App is used by people who want to keep their private conversations private. The messaging app is end-to-end encrypted, meaning only the sender and recipient can see what gets transmitted. Signal also allows you to set messages to disappear after a day, week or month - and once they’re gone, they’re gone. If you’re planning a demonstration or strategizing about political resistance, don’t text.

Think About Device Encryption, Cloud Encryption & More

The good folks at WIRED add a ton more advice about personal security that is worth looking through and considering if you’re concerned about personal security moving forward (I am). Instead of regurgitating their analysis, I suggest just visiting the link and taking it all in.

Deepak Puri from Democracy Labs also offers advice here.

I wish we didn’t have to worry about these things, but here we are.

Love you guys. Let’s keep sharing ideas and resources about staying safe in the new Trump era.

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