ICE Watch Digital Security

Most normal texts and calls can be observed by your cell phone provider and the government. Telegram is incredibly insecure. (See below for our thoughts on WhatsApp.)

Signal is the best option to keep your messages secure and to keep who you are talking to private.

When to use Signal

Some examples of when you would especially want to use Signal

• Discussing a protest/action that is not public

• Organizing a protest/action that is public, but the organizers want to protect their privacy

• Criticizing the government or other power-holders

What about WhatsApp? (Avoid it if you can, use it if you must)

WhatsApp messages are secured with the encryption method developed by Signal, so the contents of your messages are secure. However, Meta harvests a lot of information about who you are talking to, how often, and what groups you're in. In 2024 alone, they turned over data for 78% of government requests. Your messages are safe, but who you are communciating with is not. It is an option to consider if the community you're working with is unlikely to move to Signal. It is safer than normal texts, Telegram, etc. If you do use WhatsApp, make sure to use the new Strict Account Settings feature and lock down your privacy settings

The best upgrade everyone can make to their use of Signal is to make sure that disappearing messages are enabled by default. Most activists we talk to haven't enabled this by default. (And most people forget to enable it manually for each new thread.)

This keeps you safe and other people safe. We don't know who's phone will be seized by law enforcement. Even if we believe we're talking about perfectly legal things, the government can find ways to twist our words to attempt to make a case against us for our dissent

There are two things to track related to disappearing messages:

1. First, change your default so any thread you make has this feature enabled.

2. Second, make sure it is enabled for threads that other people start: if someone else starts the thread, it may not have disappearing messages enabled. You may need to enable it.

Choosing your disappearing message time: How long you set your disappearing times depends on the sensitivity of your messages. A question you might ask yourself is "if someone's device was confiscated or hacked, how important is it that these messages are not accessible?"

• For chatting about low-risk things with friends, you might choose 4 weeks.

• For standard political organizing, you might choose 1 week.

• For a direct action, you might set it to 1 day or 1 hour or 5 minutes, so the messages are gone before the action starts.

The steps below help protect you if your device is confiscated by the cops, or an adversary (cop or right-wing) in a Signal group is trying to incover your identity.

The list below captures the most important steps. For more detailed instructions and advanced stepsd, read our full Signal Security Checklist →

These apps might genuinely need location while in use:

• Navigation (Apple Maps, Magic Earth, CoMaps)

• Ride-sharing (but only while actively using)

Some apps might need temporary permission:

• Food delivery apps only need location when you're actually ordering

Apps that definitely do NOT need location access:

• Photo apps

• Social media apps

• Games

• Most shopping apps

• Banking apps

• News apps

• Most productivity apps

Remember: Every app with location access is a potential privacy leak. When in doubt, disable location and only re-enable if you find you actually need it.

The cops have tools that rely on weaknesses in your operating system that get fixed in the latest versions.

Every time a new update comes out, that usually means there are new public vulnerabilities on your device. Think of it as a ticking clock, where hackers now know a new way in to any out-of-date devices.

If your operating system is not up-to-date, many of the other recommendations in this guide will not protect your data.

How long does it take to crack a passcode?

Note: These times only apply to phones. Computers can be cracked much more quickly, and need much stronger passwords.

Sources: The estimates in the table above assume real-world observed attempts/second from police forensic hacking tools. If you need more security, use a 10-digit passcode, which will protect you even under the highest-possible cracking scenarios. See the sources linked in the passcode FAQ here.

Cops can try to force you to unlock your phone with your face/fingerprint (though this usually requires a warrant).

You have stronger legal standing with a passcode than with biometric unlock.

Caveat: Face/fingerprint unlock can make it easier to use a strong passcode without typing it every time. If you feel you have to choose between a long passcode and disabling biometrics, we recommend a longer passcode.

If your phone is confiscated while you are filming or photographing, the cops can get access to everything.

Your phone lets you take photos without unlocking first, so your data stays more secure.

By default, photos and videos from your phone include hidden data ("metadata") that reveals your exact GPS location, timestamp, and phone model.

If we post the photo online, this metadata can be used to track and identify you by law enforcement or right-wing adversaries.

Your location history reveals a lot about your interests, friends, and political activity. It can also be used against you in court.

Your phone is always revealing your approximate location to your cell provider because it knows what cell tower you are connected to. But any app you give your exact GPS location to has much more detail.

You can protect yourself by using a mapping app that is more privacy-preservating.

Apple Maps (iPhone only) offers privacy protections that are stronger than you might expect and is much more private than Google. However, as a big tech company, it's best for everyday use rather than sensitive organizing. We recommend it because it provides live traffic and public transportation features that privacy-focused alternatives lack.

Magic Earth (iPhone or Android; free) offers strong privacy. It is much easier to use than our other cross-platform suggestion (CoMaps). Some features are only available in the paid version, though.

CoMaps (iPhone or Android; free) is a less user-friendly than Magic Earth or Apple Maps, but has the strongest privacy promises. You can operate it entirely offline, which is especially helpful for activists doing sensitive work. That said, it doesn't have live traffic data or public transit routes, which makes it hard to use as your main navigation app.

Mercenary spyware is an extremely advanced attack, exploiting sophisticated vulnerabilities on our devices. In response, Apple and Google have introduced an advanced security mode that offers enhanced protection against spyware.

On iPhones, it's called Lockdown Mode and on Android, it's called Advanced Protection Program. (You can also enable Advanced Protection Program on just your Google Account even if you don't have an Android phone.)

We have no reports of anyone getting infected with spyware who had Apple's Lockdown Mode enabled. Android's Advanced Protection is more recent and its effectiveness has yet to be tested.

Usability trade-offs

For anyone worried about targeted attacks, these usability trade-offs will likely be worth the big increase in security.

iPhone Lockdown Mode: Features that will be harder to use

• No clickable links in messages (mainly within iMessage) - Links show as raw URLs and don't work (i.e. are not instantly clickable). You have to copy-paste them manually to a browser. This encourages you to make sure they are safe before doing so, since spyware often arrives via a text message containing a custom-designed link that is impossible to ignore for you in particular.

• Most message attachments blocked (also mainly within iMessage) - When receiving PDFs, documents, Office files, contacts, location over iMessage, you might not be able to view them normally and iMessage will indicate "1 attachment." This is because some spyware can be delivered through malicious attachments.

• FaceTime calls from unknown contacts blocked - Lockdown Mode will block call attempts from unknown contacts or people you have not been in touch with in the last 30 days. You will be notified if this user attempts to FaceTime you and you can decide to call back if the call attempt is genuine.

• Web fonts don't load - Websites appear with system fonts only, often looks weird.

• Images may not display - Some images show as missing image icons.

• Interactive webpage elements fail - Complex web features, animations, dynamic content often broken.

• Location sharing is disabled in Find My. You can see other people's locations but they can't see yours.

• iCloud Shared Albums don't work as expected - When you share photos in a shared album, location information is excluded. Shared Album invitations might be blocked too.

• Device won't connect to any WiFi automatically - On Lockdown Mode your phone won't connect to insecure WiFi's automatically and you will need to manually connect to the chosen network and accept the security risk.

• 2G or 3G support is turned off - If you find yourself in a location with 2G or 3G cellular network with Lockdown Mode, your phone will simply not connect (as 2G / 3G is more insecure than 4G / 5G).

Learn more about Apple's Lockdown Mode.

Google/Android Advanced Protection Program:

• Security key required - Must use security key/passkey for every new device sign-in to Google Account, which can take some getting used to.

• JavaScript optimizer disabled (Chrome) - Some complex websites may not work properly.

• No sideloading - Can't install apps from outside Play Store or verified stores.

• USB locked when device locked - Must unlock device before connecting USB accessories.

• Insecure Wi-Fi blocked - Won't auto-connect to open/WEP Wi-Fi networks.

• Enhanced Safe Browsing warnings - More download warnings and potential blocked websites.

• Fast charging might not work as expected - You might need to unlock the phone in order to activate fast charging.

Learn more about Android Advanced Protection Program.

"People search" sites (also known as "data brokers") collect information from public and private records to form a "profile" for basically everyone. If you've ever had a phone number, used a credit card, or voted, you're probably on one of these sites.

Try it out: Search this site for your name or phone number. Most people are surprised how much information is readily available.

Why pay for automatic removal services: You can do this "opt out" process manually, but it takes an incredible amount of time, and you have to re-do it every few months when the data broker sites change. It's ridiculous that we have to pay to protect our privacy, but it saves a lot of time for us to focus on our organizing.

Which automatic removal tool should I use?

• EasyOptOuts (recommended) - $20/year - It is among the most effective and the cheapest.

• Optery Ultimate - $250/year - Slightly more effective if you can afford the additional investment. They can take a copy of your ID (with ID number removed) and opt you out from sites that require an ID.

• What about DeleteMe? - It's the most well-known option, but it was only 27% effective at removing profiles compared to EasyOptOuts (65%) and Optery Ultimate (68%). (Source).

EasyOptOuts Privacy: Some people are concerned about entering all their information into a site like this. While no site is immune to data breaches, we trust this site based on their history and reputation. And the information is necessary to do removals.

Alternate tool: Kanary is a free app that searches Google for your personal info and walks you through manually removing it. It is still very time intensive and people are likely to abandon it before they finish all the removals.

ICE is using Clearview AI to target people protestors and observers. Many law enforcement agencies also use this platform to do warrantless surveillance.

You can protect yourself by opting out Clearview AI. (FYI - ICE is investing in other facial recognition tools that you can't opt-out of.)

Anytime you connect to the internet (phone or computer), your internet provider is revealing your approximate location to every site/app you use.

We know that law enforcement agencies are using tools that to track your location using data gathered from apps you have and ads you see. Using a VPN with ad-blocking features enabled makes it much harder for them to track you. Also, police can get a subpoena for your internet traffic from your internet provider.

A VPN (Virtual Private Network) helps mask your location and makes you slightly harder to identify.

A VPN with ad-blocking enabled is especially important on your phone.

Options: All of these are very trustworthy options.

• Mullvad VPN (top recommendation) -Better privacy since payment info isn't stored, but you need to manually pay each cycle.

• IVPN can be easier because it automatically renews.

• Proton VPN has a solid free plan, but it is only for 1 device. To get ad-blocking, you need a paid plan. (See our note regarding concerns about the Proton CEO and why we still offer Proton options.)

Downsides to using a VPN

• You will encounter more CAPTCHAs on websites

• Some websites may block VPN access, and you'll have to disable it and remember to re-enable it later

• Some streaming services might not work

If you experience odd behavior on websites, always try turning off the VPN temporarily to see if it will load.

Note: You must use a trusted VPN that doesn't keep logs of your internet traffic and will push back on government requests. We've vetted our top recommendations.

Tech companies (like Google) often receive government demands to turn over all the account data for an activist. This often includes a "gag order" which means the company can't tell the user until months or years later.

Encrypted cloud tools like Proton Mail, Drive, Docs, and Sheets ensure the company doesn't hold readable copies of your data to hand over. If the government wants it, they'd need to demand it from you—giving you notice and the opportunity to challenge it with legal support.

CryptPad is another popular encrypted doc option, but it very difficult to use. If it has features you need, it accomplishes the same result.

You can protect yourself by opting out of "reverse photo search" sites. This makes it harder for someone to use your profile picture online to find out your legal name, which can lead to them finding you on the people search sites mentioned above.

Apple, Google, and other services offer additional security features to protect against targeted attacks on your accounts and data. These protect your online accounts with each company, not your device itself.

Apple's Advanced Data Protection enabled end-to-end encryption for most of your content.

Even though your phone number isn't visible on Signal by default, people can still type in your phone number and find you. If you're at risk of harassment, you may want to only share your Signal username with folks instead.

A 50-person chat means 50 phones that could be seized, lost, or breached—any one of them exposes the whole conversation. While we sometimes need big Signal groups, don't run all your organizing through one big group chat. When coordinating something specific—an action, a project, a sensitive decision—spin up a small group with only the people who need to be there, and set messages to disappear quickly.

If your phone is confiscated by law enforcement, one of the biggest risks is exposing your entire network. Even if people aren't using their real name on their Signal account, there is still a unique ID behind every Signal username. And the cops can use this to correlate someone's identity across many seized devices.

You need to both leave AND delete the group:

• If you only leave the group, old messages stay on your phone as well as the history of who was in the group.

• If you only delete the group, new messages will still come through and the thread re-appears.

Security hygiene tips:

• Set a recurring remind to clean up your Signal thread every 3 months.

• Make sure you take note of which groups you are leaving and who you can ask to re-add you after the action.

Note: If you find this process very annoying and cumbersome (because it is!), that's another good reason to use a secondary phone for actions. That phone would only ever be in the one or two groups needed to pull of the action that day.

The government uses social media tracking tools to surveil activists without a warrant. Right-wing adversaries use "people search" sites and social media to attempt to scare us into not organizing.

You can scrub your personal information to make it harder to be a target for these attacks.

When your phone is fully powered off, it's more secure against data extraction by the cops. The data is encrypted until after you enter your passcode for the first time.

Therefore, the number one thing you can do to protect your data is turn your phone off as soon as you think your risk of arrest is going up.

Trade-offs: We recognize there are trade-offs in turning off your phone. Sometimes it is more important to film the police or coordinate with our allies. Think through what is the priority for you. If you need to film, consider bringing a secondary phone so you have less sensitive data on it.

As dissent is becoming increasingly criminalized, it is useful for us to prepare for the possibility of arrest or feeling threatened at home by adversaries.