Protest is a handy way of registering your grievances and voice against something which should not be happening, such as racism, inequality, injustice, and more. If you are someone who wants to join a protest, beware that your smartphone can be used against you, and we are here to guide you so that it doesn’t happen. In this guide, you will learn how to secure your iPhone before attending a protest. Let’s get started.
What are the Risks of Carrying your iPhone to a Protest?
When you take your iPhone, which carries a lot of your personal information, you open yourself to a wide range of risks. For example, a lot of people often lose their iPhones in the protests because thieves are often present there.
On top of that, if your protest gets violent, you can be arrested by the Police, and they can use your smartphone’s data and location history against you. It can also provide information on protest organizers, and a lot of people can get into trouble. So, if you want to avoid these troubles, we recommend that you follow the methods listed in this guide to secure your iPhone.
Use Conventional Unlock Methods
iPhones these days come with Touch ID and Face ID, which may seem very convenient, but in reality, they are not as reliable as the conventional methods such as PIN or Password. There are ways that can be used to bypass these methods and get into your iPhone. However, unless you are using a simple PIN like 1234 or a Password like JohnDoe, it’s very difficult to break conventional methods.
On top of that, the Fifth Amendment also protects the devices which are protected by a PIN or Password. However, Fifth Amendment doesn’t protect Facial or Fingerprint recognition. So, if you are apprehended by Police, you can always plead the fifth, and your device will be protected under the Fifth Amendment if it’s protected by a password or PIN.
Therefore, it’s important to only use the conventional unlock methods such as Password or PIN to lock your iPhone when you are attending a Protest. Also, make sure that your device stays locked when you are not using it so that if it’s dropped somewhere, the device stays protected.
Encrypt your iPhone
Encryption is by far the best way to ensure that your data is protected. When you encrypt your data, no one can read it because it’s in encrypted form. Just to give you an understanding, here’s an example of encrypted data.
Text Form: Welcome to Vodytech. Keep Supporting us!
Encrypted Text: D3m6sWrg99vwapBpKXG3gPiYjLXWD+pBXVmy5inJpQGaazERoVpjXxPH8+xi+/iNT8Rgv7kieMZNNHLNzj8OTA==
As you can see from the above example, it’s impossible to read the text in encrypted form. Similarly, when you encrypt your iPhone, your data is saved in encrypted form, which makes it impossible for anyone to know what data is saved in your device. In this way, your phone can’t be able used against you.
When it comes to iPhones if you have enabled Passcode for your device and you are seeing the text “Data Protection is enabled”, your device is secure. iPhones are known for their security, and they enable encryption by default to ensure that your data is safe. If you lose your iPhone during a protest, you can also remove your data from the device through iCloud.
Minimize your Digital Footprint
So far, we discussed how you can protect your iPhone, but now we will explain how you can minimize your digital footprint. During the protest, authorities use various ways to track down the attendees, and if your digital footprint is not minimized, you can get into trouble, especially if a protest has turned violent.
So, the best way to minimize your digital footprint is to turn on the Airplane mode, which will turn off the Cellular connection and Internet connection resulting in minimizing your digital footprint. Also, make sure that the features such as GPS, WiFi, and Bluetooth are also turned off in your iPhone.
Use Guided Access
Guided Access is a great feature on the iPhone that basically allows you to access only a single app while locking the rest of the iPhone. This feature comes in handy in protests because you can keep your data secure while using an App. For example, if you want to keep updating other members online, you can enable Twitter or another social media app while the rest of your apps will stay locked.
Here’s how you can enable Guided Access on your iPhone,
- Unlock your iPhone.
- Go to Settings of your device.
- Now go to Accessibility and find Guided Access.
- Toggle it to turn it on
- That’s it.
Once Guided Access is turned on, go to the app which you want to use. Let’s say that you want to use Twitter. Open your Twitter app and press the home button three times, and Guided Access will turn on. Now you can use your chosen app. Once you are done, press the home button three times, enter your Passcode, and then tap End to disable Guided Access.
Use a VPN
If you are using the internet in a Protest, Authorities can track the traffic and know what you are doing online. However, you can simply stop them from tracking you by routing your traffic through a VPN Server. VPN is a great privacy tool that encrypts your traffic and makes sure that no one tracks your activities. If you are interested, you can find the Best VPNs for iPhones on our website.
Conclusion
That’s all, folks. In this guide, you learned how to secure your iPhone Before Attending a Protest. Also, remember that if you are arrested, you can always plead the fifth, and your device is also protected under the Fifth Amendment. If you have any questions, please let us know in the comments. Also, check this guide where we have shared the 6 Ways to secure your iPhone.
