Need to Know

Check out the Digital Defense Fund’s Abortion Privacy page and the if when how internet safety page for a variety of up-to-date resources.

Digital Privacy Basics: Here are some basic best practices to avoid leaving a digital trail, according to The Washington Post:

• Limit Who You Tell – Your biggest risk factor is other people. Many cases against people who had abortions start with people they’ve told who report them to law enforcement.

• Be Judicious About What Information You Share with an ER or Dr’s Office – A miscarriage and a self-managed abortion using pills will look identical to most healthcare providers and require the same treatment.

• Chat on Secure, Encrypted Messaging Apps – When you do discuss your situation, use private messaging apps that use encryption: IMessage, WhatsApp, Signal are all end-to-end encrypted by default which means messages are obscured from everyone except the sender and receiver.

• Protect Your Devices – Someone with access to your physical device can view your messages whether or not they’re encrypted. Don’t turn your phone or laptop over to law enforcement without a warrant and turn off biometric logins (Face ID/ fingerprint).

• Browse the Internet Securely – There are two ways your browsing activity could put you at risk: someone seeing it on your device and someone obtaining it from tech or ad-tech companies. Always use incognito or private browsing mode on your browser. When choosing a browser, go with Safari, Firefox or Brave.

• Turn Off Location Sharing or Leave Your Phone Behind – Some apps collect your location throughout the day and night and share it with third parties, including data brokers who sell that data to whoever wants to pay. To truly obscure your location, the best thing to do is leave your phone at home or turn it off completely.

• Maximize Your Privacy Settings – To make sure your phone or social media signs are collecting as little data as possible, lock down your privacy settings.

• Avoid Period Tracking Apps – Trusting any app with sensitive medical information is a risk. Especially if it’s not covered by HIPAA requirements. Each period tracking app has different privacy practices and understanding the nuances can be tricky. A password protected spreadsheet or paper calendar will serve you better.

• Limit Where You Share Health Information – Your dentist or even your workout instructor may hand out forms asking whether you’re pregnant. If you’re not comfortable sharing, say so, and save that conversation for a doctor you trust.