Using Publicly Safe Data for Privacy Protection
Political activists in particular need to think and act strategically when it comes to online activity
“Deception is a developed art of civilization and the most potent weapon in the game of power” - Robert Greene
Politically active individuals face the constant challenge of protecting their privacy while remaining engaged in public discourse and activism. Many decline to get involved in politics due to the privacy invasion, which the internet has facilitated with easy access to personal information. This is even more true in the middle of an election season when passions are running high, which is the situation we find ourselves in right now in the United States.
Welcome to another issue of Secrets of Privacy where we discuss personal privacy related topics and provide practical tips to immediately shield your personal privacy.
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One innovative approach to this dilemma is the strategic dissemination of publicly safe data—secondary addresses, phone numbers, and email accounts that are not tied to your primary residence or identity. This can also include using fake names and other info when legally permissible, such as a fake name (John Doe), date of birth, etc. on a petition or newsletter. This can serve as a privacy buffer, protecting your core personal information while still allowing you to communicate, organize, and participate in political activities.
This post explores how to use publicly safe data to safeguard your privacy in the context of political activity, though the strategies and suggestions discussed here apply more broadly.
The Concept of Publicly Safe Data
Publicly safe data refers to information that you deliberately make available to the public but which does not compromise your security or privacy. This could include:
A secondary email address used exclusively for activism-related correspondence.
A secondary mobile or VOIP phone number that isn't directly linked to your personal or professional identity.
A postal address, such as a P.O. Box or a mail forwarding service, that isn't your home address.
Benefits of Using Publicly Safe Data
Enhanced Privacy and Security: By using alternative contact information, you can significantly reduce the risk of unwanted contact, surveillance, and doxing. It also reduces your risk from the inevitable data breach.
Control Over Personal Information: This strategy allows you to control which pieces of your personal information are publicly accessible, making it easier to manage your digital footprint.
Separation of Personal and Activist Identities: Keeping your activist work separate from your personal life helps protect you, your family, and your colleagues from potential backlash or harassment.
Implementing Publicly Safe Data
Create Secondary Email Accounts: Use these accounts for signing up for newsletters, petitions, forums, and social media related to your activism. You can create unique emails for each matter, newsletter, etc. That way, if one account is compromised, you can delete it and move on. We use SimpleLogin.
Why You Want to Use Disposable Email Addresses (Part 1)
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Temporary email addresses are also a significant blow to Big Data and Big Tech because temporary emails make it almost impossible for them to build a consumer profile on you without a single, identifiable email address tied to a unique user. They're also make it harder for scammers and doxers to get to you.
Use a Secondary Phone Number: Purchase a prepaid phone or SIM card for activism-related communications. You can also get VOIP numbers, including free ones through Google Voice (not recommending Google, just an FYI). This number can be used for calls, texts, and even as a verification number for online accounts. Note that some services are able to identify VOIP numbers and block usage of those. OpenAI is one such company.
Rent a P.O. Box or Use a Mail Forwarding Service: This keeps your home address private while still allowing you to receive mail related to your activism work. We recommend grabbing a virtual address via PostScan Mail (affiliate link).
Use a VPN. VPNs can add an extra layer of confusion for would be political opponents. If your IP address is leaked or hacked as part of your political activity (which happens - see the Canadian Trucker article excerpt below), your real location will be harder, if not impossible to determine. That makes it harder to positively identify you.
Develop a Pseudonym for Public Activism: If appropriate, use a pseudonym for online activism and public engagements. This can help protect your true identity from being easily connected to your activism work.
Developing a pseudonym online is becoming increasingly challenging. For one, major social media platforms are prohibiting anonymity by implementing identification verification. It can also be fleeting. If you’re fortunate/unfortunate enough to gain attention, then opponents will try to dox you. If the Washington Post or New York Times decide to find out who is behind an annon account, you won’t be able to hide.
Best Practices and Considerations
Consistency: Use your publicly safe data consistently across all platforms and communications related to your activism to avoid cross-contamination with your personal data. This is difficult to pull off in the long run and easy to slip up. One mistake can unwind all of your previous efforts.
Security: Apply the same security measures to your publicly safe data as you would to your personal data, such as strong passwords and two-factor authentication.
Legality and Ethical Considerations: Ensure that the use of publicly safe data complies with all legal requirements considerations, particularly in contexts where identification is necessary.
Regular Review: Periodically review and, if necessary, update your publicly safe data to ensure it remains secure and effective.
Avoid Cross-Contamination: This issue was in the news recently when Proton Mail provided Spanish authorities with the recovery email address for a Proton Mail account pursuant to a subpoena (which they are obligated to do). The recovery address was a Gmail account. Google then provided Spanish authorities with the real name and other personal information of the recovery account holder. He turned out to be a political activist, who was subsequently arrested for his political activity. The activist made a mistake by using a Gmail account as his recovery email address, which was linked to his real identity. He could of avoided this by not providing a recovery email address at all, or at a minimum, not using a Big Tech email provider for his recovery email.
Removing your personal information from Google and data broker sites is critical to protecting you and your family from Bad Actors, including political opponents. Start removing your personal information today. Set up an account, pay a monthly/annual fee and forget about it - super easy, and an enormous time saver. Get started right away with DeleteMe here or PrivacyBee here. For a deeper dive on the topic, check out our prior post here.
Common Use Cases
Online Petitions. Online petitions have become a popular tool for activists seeking to drive change on political or controversial issues. While signing a petition can be a feel-good way to show support for a cause, it's important to be aware of the potential privacy risks involved. If you must sign a petition, be sure to use as much fake or de-identified data as possible.
Newsletter signups. This is an easy one. Always use an email alias. And don’t provide your real name.
Donating to causes. As the Canadian Trucker donation campaign showed, never use your real email address when donating to politically or controversial causes. Act as if your info will be revealed and plan accordingly. Disposable email addresses lower the risks of a hack. Sometimes your ability to use fake or anonymous data here is difficult because you’re providing payment information. Factor that into your decision to donate or not.
Wrap Up
Strategically using publicly safe data is a powerful tactic for maintaining privacy and security, especially for those involved in political activism. By carefully managing which pieces of information are made public, and even deploying fake data where possible, activists can protect their personal privacy without sacrificing their ability to participate in public discourse and action. This approach requires careful planning and management but offers a pragmatic solution to the challenges of balancing privacy with active engagement in increasingly surveilled and interconnected environments.
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Disclaimer: None of the above is to be deemed legal advice of any kind. These are *opinions* written by a privacy attorney with 15+ years of working for, with and against Big Tech and Big Data. And this post is for informational purposes only and is not intended for use in furtherance of any unlawful activity.
Check out our Personal Privacy Stack here.
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If you’re reading this but haven’t yet signed up, join the growing Secrets of Privacy community for free and get our newsletter delivered to your inbox by subscribing here 👇