OPSEC for the Rest of Us: A Practical Guide to Not Being Tracked
The Follow-Up
Earlier today I wrote about ICE's $28.7 billion panopticon - the warrantless surveillance system that tracks every phone in your neighborhood through commercial location data.
A few people asked: "Okay, but what do I actually DO about it?"
Here's the practical guide.
The Basics
Your phone is a tracking device that makes calls. Accept this. Plan around it.
The hierarchy of phone privacy:
- Phone off - Actually off, not sleep mode
- Airplane mode - Radio silent, but GPS chip may still log
- Faraday bag - Blocks all signals, phone thinks it's in a dead zone
- Leave it home - The only 100% solution
Faraday Bags: What Actually Works
I favor dry bag style faraday bags. Here's why:
| Style | Pros | Cons |
| Pouch/sleeve | Cheap, compact | Easy to forget to seal properly |
| Dry bag style | Roll-top seal, waterproof, harder to mess up | Bulkier |
| Faraday backpack | Fits laptop + phone | Expensive, overkill for most |
The dry bag advantage: You roll the top down 3+ times and clip it. There's no zipper to leave partially open, no velcro to wear out. It either works or it doesn't.
Test your bag: Put your phone inside, seal it, call it from another phone. If it rings, your bag is garbage.
Pro tip: Keep a charger in the bag. You WILL forget to charge before going dark, and a dead phone in a faraday bag is just a dead phone.
The Clothing Layer
Surveillance isn't just your phone. It's cameras, facial recognition, gait analysis.
My go-to:
- Black baggy sweatshirts - Obscures body shape, no distinctive logos, forgettable
- Buff neck gaiter - Can pull up as face covering, breathable, doesn't scream "I'm hiding"
- Plain baseball cap - Defeats overhead cameras, common enough to blend
Why Buff brand specifically: Comfort matters. If it's uncomfortable, you won't wear it. Buffs are designed for athletes - breathable, moisture-wicking, stays in place. You can wear one all day without thinking about it.
The principle: Look like everyone else. Distinctive clothing is a fingerprint. The gray man walks through the crowd and no one remembers seeing him.
The Routine
Going somewhere you don't want logged?
- Phone fully charged
- Phone powered OFF (not sleep, not airplane - OFF)
- Phone in faraday bag
- Smartwatch off and in the bag too - It's another radio, often with its own cellular/GPS
- Bag sealed properly
Why power off AND faraday? Belt and suspenders. Airplane mode has been shown to leak. Some phones log GPS even when "off." The faraday bag is your guarantee.
- Phone stays in bag
- If you need to use it, you've already been located
- Decide before you leave: is this a phone trip or a no-phone trip?
- Remove phone from bag
- Power on
- Your location history shows: home → home
- No gap to explain, no anomaly to flag
The Mindset Shift
This isn't paranoia. It's hygiene.
You lock your door. You don't leave your wallet on the dashboard. You don't post your SSN on Twitter.
Location privacy is the same category. It's not about having something to hide. It's about not volunteering information to systems that don't need it.
The question isn't: "What are you hiding?"
Microsoft pulls this feed daily. AT&T pulls this feed daily. Starlink pulls this feed daily. Get the DugganUSA STIX feed — $9/mo →
The question is: "Why does ICE need to know I went to church on Sunday?"
What This Protects Against
| Threat | Protection Level |
| Commercial location brokers | High - no signal = no data |
| Cell tower triangulation | High - faraday blocks |
| Stingray/IMSI catcher | High - no radio = no catch |
| Bluetooth/WiFi tracking | High - blocked by faraday |
| Facial recognition | Medium - depends on camera placement |
| License plate readers | None - different problem |
| Satellite imagery | None - different problem |
This guide addresses phone-based tracking. Vehicles are a different threat model.
What This Doesn't Fix
- Your car has its own tracking (OnStar, Tesla, insurance dongles)
- Your credit card transactions are logged
- Toll transponders track your route
- Your friends' phones can locate you (if you're with them)
- Smart home devices log patterns
Complete privacy requires complete lifestyle change. This guide is about reducing your footprint, not eliminating it.
The Gear List
Minimum viable OPSEC:
| Item | Price | Purpose |
| Dry bag faraday bag | $25-50 | Phone containment |
| USB charger + cable | $15 | Emergency power |
| Buff neck gaiter (black) | $25 | Face flexibility |
| Plain black hoodie | $30 | Blend in |
| Baseball cap (no logo) | $15 | Overhead camera defeat |
Total: ~$100-135
Less than your phone costs per month. One-time purchase. Works forever.
The Bottom Line
You can't opt out of the surveillance economy. But you can choose when to participate.
The tools exist. They're cheap. They're legal. They work.
The question is whether you'll use them before you need them, or wish you had after.
Your move.
"Privacy is not about hiding. Privacy is about choice."
Her name is Renee Nicole Good.
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