Special Issues
Hacks for Phone and Cyber Security
Posted in Special Issues.
In an era of increased surveillance and risk for criminalized populations, it is increasingly essential for harm reduction organizations to think about electronic security and hygiene. Here are some tips from harm reduction leaders that are also supported by cyber civil liberties groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Access Now, and others:
- Use unique, strong passwords for every account (6+ digits or alphanumeric)
- Enable full disk encryption (FileVault, BitLocker, VeraCrypt)
- Keep devices and apps updated
- Install only trusted apps
- Use end-to-end encrypted apps (Signal, Element/Matrix)
- Avoid SMS, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram DMs
- Turn on disappearing messages in Signal
- Use a password manager (Bitwarden, KeePassXC, 1Password)
- Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) using an authenticator app
- Turn off location service and/or use Airplane Mode or disable GPS/Wi-Fi/Bluetooth while in the field
- Disable Google/Apple location history
- Use privacy-focused apps like OsmAnd or offline maps
- Think about using a burner phone with minimal apps and contacts
- Remove or log out of personal accounts before actions
- Back up your data in advance
- Think before posting or sharing pictures, pages and/ or videos and always remove metadata before doing so
- Do not rely on anonymity unless using anonymizing tools
- Compartmentalize work and personal digital life
Featured Hacks
These featured hacks highlight creative, practical solutions from harm reduction leaders on the ground. From DIY tools to clever workarounds, each one reflects the ingenuity, care, and real-world experience that keeps this movement alive.
Creating and Defining Community
Featured in: Featured, Hacks for Preventing Escalation
Over and over, harm reduction leaders interviewed for Space Hacks centered the creation of community as central to their efforts to create safe, humane harm reduction spaces services that are trauma-informed and minimize the potential for escalated situations.
Edie Springer’s Worker Stances for Clients Who Use Drugs & Harm Reduction Worker: Best Practices
Featured in: Featured, Hacks for Preventing Escalation
Harm reduction immediately resonated for Edie, who was herself a former drug user and methadone patient. Faced with the devastation of HIV’s impact on drug-using communities, Edie fully embraced harm reduction and trained hundreds of harm reduction workers who have carried her legacy with them. She developed these worker stances in 1996 and they have been shared among many of us in the harm reduction community for generations.