Curated by FPF

Secure communication

Our digital security team gathered you a list of resources we've written to help you keep your online conversations more safe and private.

Curated by FPF

Online account security

You have countless online accounts, but how do you protect the information you store there? Our digital security team gathered a list of resources for keeping your online accounts more secure, written by our team and others.

Curated by FPF

Preparing for online harassment

While online harassment creates acute anxiety in journalistic work, developing a mitigation strategy and support network can be empowering, letting you focus on your work. Our digital security team gathered a list of external resources for building out your anti-harassment strategy.

Curated by FPF

Reporting in the field

We know that you don’t do all of your work from behind a desk. Whether you’re covering a protest, traveling to meet with a source, or flying across borders to pursue a big story, we have bespoke guides that will give you the resources to stay safe while on the go.

Curated by FPF

Beyond the basics

You’ve gone through the basics, you’re feeling pretty secure, and you want more. These guides are meant for you if you want to dig deeper and really boost your understanding of these topics.

Curated by FPF

Source protection

Are you a journalist working on sensitive subjects? The effort to protect your sources needs to start before they contact you. These guides will help you create the processes that you need to make sure that both you and your sources stay safe from unwante

An FPF Series

U.S. J-school digital security curriculum

A resource to help journalism programs develop their own semester-long digital security curriculum, complete with lesson plans, slides, and more.

Curated by FPF

Guías en Español / Spanish language guides

Entre nuestras guías sobre diversos temas relacionados con la seguridad digital en inglés, hemos traducido una selección de manuales al español y adaptado su alcance en ambos idiomas. / We have translated a selection of our English language security guides into Spanish and adapted them in both languages for a broader audience.

Start protecting your digital security and help advocate for the rights of others in the age of mass surveillance with how-to guides and resources.

Want to learn more? Reach out to set up a training workshop with our digital security experts.

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From FPF

Passkeys: Passwordless logins for beginners

A beginner-friendly guide for learning about and setting up passkeys for secure logins.

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From FPF

Security considerations for newsrooms using TikTok

Let's talk about maximizing organizational security settings within TikTok.

Photo of a man in a Guy Fawkes mask, with a fishing reel in hand.

From FPF

Phishing prevention and email hygiene

Journalists and newsrooms are increasingly being targeted through their email. Virtually every "sophisticated" hack of an individual reporter or entire news organization starts with a relatively simple attack: phishing and spear phishing. Prepare yourself for this eventuality with our email hygiene guide.

Photo of a "UFED Touch," a forensic device for pulling data off of popular mobile phones.

From FPF

What to do if your phone is seized by police

So, you’ve been arrested at an event. You’re taken to the police station and your phone is confiscated. When you’re let out, you realize someone has gone through your digital belongings. What now?

A photo of a man looking at the details of his camera's digital screen.

From FPF

Everything you wanted to know about media metadata, but were afraid to ask

Take a crash course in some of the tools you can use to analyze, manipulate, and scrub media metadata.

Diceware at CryptoParty Red Hook

From FPF

Three types of passphrases

From song lyrics to rolling dice, here's a quick reference guide for making it easier to choose a safe passphrase based on the devices and applications you're using.

Dimly lit tunnel under a Titan-1 missile silo at Toorcamp 2009

From FPF

An in-depth guide to choosing a VPN

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is an essential tool for protecting your online activity. Figuring out which VPN to use and finding security among the snake oil can be a challenge. This guide will show you what to look for.

Header image: A woman using a smartphone.

From FPF

Your smartphone and you: A handbook to modern mobile maintenance

If there’s one item in your possession housing the most information about you, it’s probably your phone. Keeping your information safe depends on learning a little more about how to choose your small computer, and how to care for it long term.

MobilePrevention

An FPF Graphic

Mobile security tips: Nine steps to prepare your phone before an action

Need to bring your phone to a protest, but worried it may be confiscated? Our infographic lists nine steps you can take to secure your mobile phone before you walk out the door.

MobileSeized

An FPF Graphic

Mobile security tips: How to respond to confiscation and compromise

While attending an organized action, your mobile device is at risk of being tampered with by authorities. You can minimize the consequences of a mobile phone confiscation by following the steps in our visual guide.

A crowd in a protest wearing Guy Fawkes masks.

From FPF

Redacting photos on the go: A field guide

Photos and how we share them can present risks to the people and sensitive information that’s been captured in the process. In this guide, we discuss how to safely redact photos on the go.

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From FPF

OnionShare for beginners

Learn how to get started using OnionShare to anonymously chat with sources, transfer files, and even host a website.

Header image reading "Signal for beginners".

From FPF

Signal, the secure messaging app: A guide for beginners

Learn how to get started using Signal, the encrypted messaging app, for secure voice, video, and text chat.

Header image titled, "Locking down Signal."

From FPF

Locking down Signal

Concerned about the privacy and security of your communications? Follow our guide to locking down Signal.

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From FPF

Upgrading WhatsApp security

If you use WhatsApp, you can take a few steps to make it much more safe and secure.

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From FPF

Keybase for beginners

How to get started using Keybase, a tool for secure chat and file sharing.

Media encryption toolkit banner

An FPF Series

Encryption toolkit for media makers

This collection features an intro to encryption with pro tips and a technical glossary, as well as step-by-step guides for Disk Utility, VeraCrypt, and Bitlocker To Go.

Header image of someone sharing a photo within Signal

From FPF

Taking private photos with Signal

Normally when you take a photo on your smartphone, the photo is copied to the camera roll, making it available to other apps and backup services. By sending photos within Signal you can ensure your most sensitive photos are only visible to the person you send them to.

Header image with two icons for the Signal encrypted messaging app.

From FPF

So you want a second Signal account

Let's say you want to talk to someone on Signal, but you don't want to give them your real Signal number. Wouldn't it be great to have a second Signal number to give them?

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From FPF

Verifying open source software

In this guide, we walk you through verifying the legitimacy of an open source software package before installation. As the old adage goes, "Check yo sigs before you wreck yo gigs."

A title card reading "two-factor authentication," with an image of a login form, two-factor authentication codes on a phone, and a "sign in" button.

From FPF

Two-factor authentication for beginners

One of the best ways to secure your accounts during login is to require a second factor — a second piece of information — beyond the password.

Two climbers on the Swiss Alps

From FPF

ProtonMail like a pro

ProtonMail is a Switzerland-based email client that offers end-to-end encryption between its users by default. We cover some of its more advanced uses and configurations, and tackle some of its main issues head-on.

mailvelope2.0

From FPF

Encrypting email with Mailvelope: A beginner's guide

The browser extension Mailvelope provides users with a simple and accessible means to encrypt the content of their emails. This guide features the essentials you need to get started with your own Mailvelope setup.

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From FPF

An in-depth guide to choosing a web browser

Prioritize privacy and security when surfing the web. Most of your internet usage happens through a web browser, so it's important to pick one that defends you online. In this guide, we'll go over different browser features, and which ones you should look for.

Printed visualization of the most popular (and bad) passwords

From FPF

Responding to a password breach while preparing for the next one

If you've ever been notified of a data breach involving your credentials for a website or app, you may already know that you need to change your password for that account. In this guide, we'll dive into why your password needs to change and what to change it to in order to prepare for the next breach.

YubiKey plugged into a laptop with a Swedish keyboard layout

From FPF

Pretty great privacy with PGP smartcards

Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) is an open standard for encrypting and signing data, including email, between two PGP users. In this guide, we’ll go through the process of securely generating, storing, and using a PGP key pair in a hardware token.

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From FPF

Choosing a password manager

So you've heard you should use a password manager to make and safely store strong passwords. But there are so many, you say, how do you choose? This guide shows you how.

Request Training Information

We offer in-person training on various privacy and security tools for media organizations and individual journalists. If you're interested in getting some help, please put in a request through this form.

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Security Blog

Understanding every one of Signal’s identifiers

We often talk to journalists in the field about how to use Signal, the encrypted messaging app. Along the way we’ve heard some confusion about Signal’s recent addition of usernames …

Advice column: Why trust Signal?

Welcome to “Ask a security trainer,” the column where the Digital Security Training team at Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) answers your burning questions at the intersection of journalism …

Setting up a secure tipline on a budget

Whether you are an independent journalist or a newsroom manager, there may come a time when you need to set up a dedicated tipline. Which platform you choose may help …