Digital Security
Bet you didn't expect to see this chapter here huh? But digital security is a really important thing to consider right now, as your digital footprint can be used against you if you live in a place where abortion is illegal.
One thing that has gotten a lot of attention since the end of Roe v. Wade has been period tracking apps. Many of these companies do collect and sell your data, so it isn't a bad idea to delete your app if you have one downloaded. If you must use a period tracker, consider downloading Euki (https://eukiapp.com/) which is a pro-choice app that is committed to the privacy of its users.
That being said, your browser history is actually much more likely to be used against you if you are prosecuted for seeking an abortion. Many companies collect data about what you search, which may be sold to external parties, including the police. Additionally, sharing your location data with the apps on your phone can allow your movements to be tracked, including to an abortion clinic.
Some simple steps to keep your searches and movements private:
- Turn off location sharing
- To do this on an iPhone, go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services. You can toggle Location Services on/off entirely or manage permissions for each app individually.
- To do this on an Android, go to Settings > Biometrics and security > App permissions >Location. You can choose whether to share location information with each app.
Disable your mobile ad ID
- To do this on an iPhone, go to Settings > Privacy > Tracking and you can toggle off Allow Apps to Request to Track. Then go to Settings > Privacy > Apple Advertising and turn off Personalized Ads.
- To do this on an Android, go to Settings > Google > Ads and then turn on Opt out of Ads Personalization.
Use DuckDuckGo (https://duckduckgo.com/) instead of Google to search. DuckDuckGo does not save your search data or collect any information about you.
Use Firefox Focus (https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/browsers/mobile/focus/) instead of your default browser. Firefox Focus automatically deletes your browser history and blocks third party trackers.
If you did use a regular browser/search engine, clear your history manually. You can clear your entire history or select specific sites to delete. You can also go to myactivity.google.com to request deletion of data associated with their account that was collected from across their devices (including stuff like a Google nest hub). You can select what data to delete. This is the ONLY way for a user to ensure the data is actually, permanently deleted off Google servers, such that there is no data that can be handed over because of a warrant.
Browsing in an incognito window doesn't do much to protect you, nor does logging out of your Google account. Please use the above steps instead.
These are great steps to keep a digital trail off of your device and less visible to third parties. Unfortunately, even if you follow the above steps, your internet service provider may still log the websites that you visit (though not what you do on those websites) which, if they have probable cause, can be subpoenaed by the police. To keep your search history completely private, consider using Tor browser (https://www.torproject.org/download/) or a no-logs VPN (free options include certain tiers of Proton VPN https://account.protonvpn.com/signup/account or TunnelBear https://www.tunnelbear.com/pricing). You can also manually change your IP address (find instructions here: https://www.netspotapp.com/blog/ip-addresses/how-to-change-ip-address.html). Doing this frequently can make it harder to identify you using your IP address.
Your private messages can also be used against you. Consider deleting messages that contain sensitive information in advance, especially if you're crossing a border or worried about your phone being confiscated by law enforcement. Also consider using Signal (https://signal.org/en/), which is an end-to-end encrypted messaging app which keeps your communication private from your phone company; you can set message threads to automatically delete after a set period of time (important!). For communication with a clinic about payment and scheduling, make an email account just for this purpose and delete it after. Protonmail (https://proton.me/mail?) and Tutanota (https://tutanota.com/) offer free and secure email services that are good options for this.
If you are calling abortion funds or clinics, consider getting a secondary phone number for this purpose. Google Voice (https://voice.google.com/u/0/about) is free, while Hushed (https://hushed.com/) and Burner (https://www.burnerapp.com/ are paid services (though with significantly better privacy policies.)
Use cash or pre-paid gift cards for abortion-related expenses (including travel and pregnancy tests) instead of credit cards or payment apps where possible.
If you are visiting a clinic in person, consider leaving your phone with a friend or in your hotel room to avoid being tracked to that location.
Finally, set a 6-digit pin to access your phone. Do NOT use Face ID or Touch ID to secure your device. The police can force you to unlock your phone with your face or finger without first getting a warrant, but a password is protected under the Fifth Amendment. https://www.wired.com/story/police-unlock-iphone-face-id-legal-rights/
This is not an exhaustive list of information. If you would like to know more, https://digitaldefensefund.org/ddf-guides/abortion-privacy and https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/06/security-and-privacy-tips-people-seeking-abortion are good places to start. Pay no attention to my blatant plagiarism.
Thanks for bearing with me, onto the next chapter!
Last edited March 20, 2023.