In some situations, filming may compromise your safety. Here are some steps you can take:
- Preserve your anonymity – use a pre-paid, not a contract phone, and an unregistered SIM card and top-up cards. Supporters can buy top-up cards on behalf of the phone user.
- Supporters should send the phone user the top-up access code by voice or text.
- Protect your personal information – if the phone may be seized, do not store personal information such as contacts, photos, call records or outgoing text messages. It may be sensible to have two phones and use one of them just for filming.
- Delete backed up videos – once the video clips have been transferred to a computer or another phone, delete them from your own phone or swap the memory card.
- Hide your location – a mobile phone has functions other than recording video. When it is switched on it connects to the mobile network provider’s base station and reveals its location. The phone may have a GPS application. Keep the phone turned off with its battery removed when not in use, and don’t enable the GPS application.