Activism today relies on the digital sphere. For activists to be heard and have a voice, they have to be online. From Black Lives Matter to the Me Too movement, we can see that online presence plays a vital role in creating change, spreading awareness, and of course allowing people to come together and unite.

Unfortunately with this reliance on the digital world, comes a lot of risk even more so when most of the services people use are owned by the big five tech companies. These tech giants profit off our data, have links to government and political regimes which are far too close for comfort, and know far too much about us through invasive tracking.

While the digital world can be dangerous for the average person, it is even more so for freedom fighters, minority groups, and activists fighting for change. Associated risks are more prevalent in the form of government surveillance, threats from opposing groups, and malicious actors.

As a company that is the end-to-end encrypted email of choice for activists and NGOs, Tuta’s team of privacy experts share their insights into how activists can improve their digital security and why digital privacy is so important in 2025 for everyone, but even more so for activists.

Before we go more into detail it’s important to remember that one’s digital presence can never be 100% secure and private. Unfortunately, security and privacy online are extremely complex and forever changing – and now at speeds difficult to keep up with. But we can take active steps to improve our digital security by making some changes. The aim of this article is to educate and inform activists on how they can improve their digital security.

Different movements - All online

Activism efforts are increasingly moving online for many reasons. Without online presence, a lot of activists wouldn’t have their voices heard, and movements would not gain as much traction. The digital space is evidently needed for spreading awareness, allowing minorities to speak up, and activists to unite. So while all movements are different, one thing connecting them is that today they need an online presence.

Social media platforms allow like-minded people to connect and form groups and allow activists to spread awareness. Platforms like email or messenger allow for groups to unite, organize, and share resources.

The importance of digital privacy and security for activists

Digital security and privacy is necessary not only for activists but for everyone in order to limit government surveillance, reduce the threat of malicious act, and help ensure freedom of speech.

We know that digital presence is vital for activists, organizations, and minority groups, but unfortunately, the digital world presents a double-edged sword, especially for activists who are at higher risk of surveillance and having their privacy infringed.

Services we heavily rely on are often owned by big tech companies like Meta (Facebook, WhatApp), Alphabet (Google), or Microsoft (Outlook). These companies practice online surveillance by tracking our every move, selling our data, and often having extremely close ties to political organizations. Additionally, tech giants can easily implement new (surveillance) technologies, and anytime update their terms of use or privacy policies in their favor. A perfect example of this is LinkedIn quietly opting its users into having their data used for AI training without asking the users to give explicit consent. Another example is Apple removing its cloud encryption for UK users due to pressure from the UK government. Since big tech providers usually do not publish their code as open source, it is even easier for them to change the code or introduce surveillance backdoors.

For these reasons having robust digital privacy measures in place and using the reliable services online is important to:

1. Limit government surveillance
2. Reduce the threat of malicious acts
3. Ensure freedom of speech and reduce censorship

Government surveillance is the norm

For activists who are present on social media, in the public eye, fighting against political regimes, or outright opposing government positions, there’s a higher risk of becoming a target of government surveillance. The degree of surveillance is also dependent on your geographical location. For activists in countries known to oppressing citizens and keeping them quiet, having their online information collected can have dangerous consequences.

It’s not only Russia or China who oppress freedom of speech and practice heavy surveillance. Government surveillance is now the norm. From the FBI buying user information to the FISA bill: In the US, surveillance seems to have no limits.

In the US, it’s known that data brokers sell citizens’ information to the highest bidders – which is the NSA and FBI. Additionally, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act FISA allows for warrantless surveillance. Section 702 of the FISA Act not only affects US citizens but everyone globally as it gives US authority a pass to spy on foreigners. These examples both reiterate that with power and money, your online data can fall into the hands of anyone.

Surveillance still prevails in countries known to protect user privacy!

The European Union is known to protect citizen’s data with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This regulation helps ensure ones data is protected – especially from tech giants like Google and Microsoft. But the GDPR is not enough. In the EU, some countries are trying to push for Chat Control, while others like Germany oppose this bill. If passed, chat and email providers would have to scan every message for materials of child sexual abuse (CSAM) including encrypted messages. This would undermine the privacy guaranteed by encryption, and could lead to a form of mass surveillance.

Within the EU, end-to-end encryption is respected and upheld at the time of writing this article because everyone knows it’s needed to protect one’s data. But what we learn from the push for Chat Control is that with shifts in political agendas nothing is a given and things can change fast. That’s why we need to keep fighting for everyone’s right to privacy. And we at Tuta are committed to doing so!

What is legal now might change in the future

Mass surveillance of those in power is nothing new – and history shows its devastating consequences on society. This can be seen over and over again if we look to the past. As a German-based company, Germany’s complex history is a perfect example. In the 1920s, homosexuality was not accepted in Germany as it is today, but it was tolerated and people would not have to fear for their lives if they were outed as homosexuals. Unfortunately, this all changed for the worse. With Hitler’s rise in power, a new era of mass surveillance started in Germany, and a person’s sexual orientation could suddenly be a reason for getting sent to a concentration camp. Remember this all happened pre-internet, so what’s scary is that now spying, tracking, and profiling you is much easier and faster for those in power and it’s happening without many people even noticing.

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6 ways activists can improve digital security

Follow these steps to improve your digital security.

Threat 1: Your internet service provider (ISP)

Internet Service Providers can spy on your online activity. They can see the information you fill out on websites, the domains, and specific pages you visit. Because of this, if you’re an activists it’s important to have protections against ISPs spying.

Solution?

To avoid any threats posed by ISP spying, we’d recommend using a VPN. But remember: Using a VPN only shifts who can spy on you: It’s no longer the ISP, but the VPN provider. Thus, for activists we would recommend using a VPN that is not based in your country as it is then more difficult for your government to get hold of the data. A VPN encrypts your internet traffic and hides your IP address from your ISP.

Threat 2: Your browser & search engine

The browser and search engine you choose greatly affect your privacy. Google Chrome and Search are the worst to use for privacy because they make huge profits off your personal data, and they are not committed to protecting your privacy in the face of data requests from the government. The tech giant currently owns the market and is the default search engine on most devices - but this is only because Google pays billions per year to be the default. Even though Google already tracks scary amounts of data through cookies, Google has now gone a step further and introduced digital fingerprinting – a much more invasive tracking method that takes place silently in the background.

Solution?

Activists should completely ditch Google, and avoid its Chrome Browser and search engine. Luckily there are many privacy-focused browsers and alternative search engines that do not track you, block annoying ads by default, and ensure your privacy is better respected.

You can find the Tuta team’s ultimate guide to the best privacy-focused browsers here!

Threat 3: Email & messenger with no end-to-end encryption

Without end-to-end encryption, your emails and messages can be read and accessed by third parties. Activists, activist groups, or anyone sending sensitive information must communicate over channels that end-to-end encrypt all data by default. When considering which platforms to use, always consider where the platform is based, and who owns it. For example, WhatsApp is end-to-end encrypted but it’s owned by Meta which is notorious for collecting user data. Gmail for example, is the most popular email platform but it doesn’t offer end-to-end encryption and in the past was even found to scan mailbox contents for targeted advertising. Both these big tech services are also based in the US so if US law enforcement wanted your data, it could be easily ceased.

Solution?

Only use open source, end-to-end encrypted platforms for email and messenger communications. In addition to ensuring they are open source and end-to-end encrypted, choose services that are based within the EU or countries with strict data protection laws.

Tuta Mail is an excellent choice for activists and organizations with its default quantum-proof encryption. It’s also open source, and based in Germany. Before opting for an encrypted email provider, review this in-depth guide of the best private mail providers.

When it comes to messenger platforms, there are many great WhatsApp alternatives that give you all the great features but with end-to-end encryption and better privacy. Our personal favorite is Signal, but there are a few more great platforms that you can choose when it comes to end-to-end encrypted messengers.

Threat 4: Social media

Social platforms play a huge role in activism. They are a place to connect, unite, spread awareness, and allow for movements to gain traction. For you as an activist being present on social platforms is necessary, but you should also be aware of the privacy risks of social profiles. All activist activity on social platforms must be done cautiously.

Solution?

There are many big tech social platforms like Facebook and X, but today there are also better social platforms emerging like Mastodon or Bluesky, so moving away from big tech owned platforms is possible.

Regardless of the platforms you’re active on, we would recommend always using an alias name, and never posting any identifiable information about yourself or people you know. Always be cautious about what you post, comment, and share not just publicly, but also via direct messages – some social platforms have access to the messages you send to each other in the app, so if you’d like to message always opt for an end-to-end encrypted messenger service.

Threat 5: Your mobile device

Your mobile device is like a portable tracker. Everything we do on our phones is collected, analyzed, and tracked – and this increases each time we install new apps. One might say that the best option is to then ditch your mobile device entirely. Unfortunately, this solution is not practical and virtually impossible. For this reason, we can never be truly private while we have mobile devices with us just like when we have an online presence. But again we can take some easy steps to improve our security and privacy while using our mobile devices.

Solution

As an activist, there are a few options you have to improve the privacy while using your mobile device. They all vary depending on the type of mobile device you have, the operating system you use, and how much time and effort you’re willing to put into creating a more private device.

If you’re an iOS user, you can check out this guide on essential iPhone security tips to better protect your data.

For Android users, there are a few options – the best option would be to install a custom ROM and ditch Google’s Android OS completely. If this is too technical and complex for you, there are a lot of settings you need to change to stop Google’s tracking and snooping. Do check out the guide we wrote on what Android settings to change for more privacy.

Like social media platforms, mobile operating systems are constantly updating and changing their terms of use and privacy policies. Always keep your phone updated with the latest software, try to stay informed about new settings or apps they introduce with the update, and changes in policy that negatively affect your privacy. For example, if you’re an Android user you must deinstall the Android System Safety Core which Google claims is to increase your privacy, but is really just a predecessor to client-side scanning.

Threat 6: Jurisdiction

Before choosing the apps and services you use, you should consider where the service is based. As discussed earlier, in the US the FBI and NSA buy user information. So if the company is based in the US and keeps its servers there – or in any member of the Five Eyes Alliance, there may be privacy protections in place, but these can be quickly overridden by authority.

Solution?

Opt for services based within the European Union as they have to adhere to the GDPR. In the EU, your information is also better protected as there are more stringent measures in place for authorities to access it.

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Digital security is forever changing & complex

In this guide, we’ve covered some of the basics to improve your digital security as an activist, and if you’ve read until now, you’ve probably realized that digital security and privacy is a complex topic that changes at the drop of a hat. Activists, activist groups, and freedom fighters all have different needs and requirements so there is not one perfect solution or service that fits all.

Our recommendations will greatly improve your digital security, but you will still need to stay up to date with the services you use. Always remember that apps are always being sold, changing their terms of service, and implementing new technologies like AI. So keeping up to date with the apps and services you use to ensure they are still a good fit and protect your privacy is worth it.

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End-to-end encrypted email, calendar & drive with Tuta

If you’re an activist, NGO, freedom fighter, or someone looking to improve your security and privacy online, you’ve come to the right place.

Tuta is an end-to-end encrypted provider of Email, Calendar, Contacts, and Drive (coming soon) focused on giving the best secure and private services which ensure that people can communicate, plan, and organize in privacy without the threat of surveillance.

Tuta is based in Germany, a country with some of the strictest data privacy protection laws in place. It’s fully open source and built by a diverse group of privacy experts from all around the world who all share a common belief – having privacy is a human right that must be protected with end-to-end encryption.

We place strong value on our ethics, who we are as a company, and what change we want to see in the world. We are in favor of diversity and do not discriminate. We also strongly believe in being responsible for our actions which is why we are a green email provider and take our environmental responsibility seriously. Our ethics and beliefs are at our core which is why we at Tuta do not cut corners by undermining security, encryption, or putting profits first.

At Tuta we actively fight against surveillance and authoritarian control by offering quantum-proof encrypted solutions to everyone.

Tuta says no to surveillance & yes to freedom

Meet Tuta’s co-founders, Arne and Matthias.

Privacy is in our DNA and we are on a mission to spread privacy around the world. We do this by offering free and paid Tuta plans to everyone. In addition, we support non-profit organizations, schools, and open source projects by donating our Tuta Business plans, ensuring their good work is done so privately.

Learn how and why The Committee for Justice uses Tuta to ensure their sensitive communications remain confidential and secure.