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meshtastic should not be used for protest communications
(hexbear.net)
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this post was submitted on 13 Aug 2025
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If you use a radio, the police will know everything that's being said. We know from the right-wing Oregon militia occupation that the police are monitoring, they are recording, and they can defeat even most encrypted radios (P25, DMR, etc.).
I think I'd prefer e2ee lock-screened apps, even if you have to do it with Signal over cellular. Phones (unfortunately) provide an unmatched balance of usability and security.
Yes they will thats true. That doesnt really matter for a lot of stuff. For example you use it to update everyone on what's going around in different areas. The police already know this information. Them hearing it doesnt change anything.
Phones are a liability in ways radios are not. Unless your using a phone that is used only for this protest and then discarded the IMEI can be tracked and it is forever linked to that protest. If its ever used in a way that identifies it as yours afterwards then you are now also linked to that protest. Also if your phone is taken it could potentially be a treasure trove of information on you and anyone you know. Which they can use to bring criminal charges in many cases over pointless bs. A radio doesnt have internal storage of anything sensetive.
Phones can also be highjacked by stingray devices remotely and all traffic monitored. e2ee helps but they can still track your device, sim card, etc.
As for how to communicate without the police knowing what your saying in a radio. Designate meeting areas, and landmarks prior to the protest with code names.
Mcdonalds can be Katy Perrys House for example. On the radio say "Guys lets meet up at Katy Perrys house." The police have no idea what that means.
There is no need for fancy encrypted radio. Coded language like this works just fine, and cant be deciphered easily.
Heres an example. You are out at a protest when you see a big line of riot troops coming toward you. You get out your radio and say "Cops incoming lets all head back to the eggplant factory."
Someone gets hurt and needs help. "I sprained my ankle im 500 feet south of Hillarys emails can someone cone get me?"
cops will hear that, but its gonna mean absolutely nothing to them. All they know is your leaving, or someone got hurt. In a crowd of thousands thats close to useless.
its quite a bit of effort to come up with such coded language ahead of time and get everyone to remember it in a high stress situation without it also being decipherable, IMO. But I agree it has its uses.
but if you're forgoing security anyhow, you could do the same with meshtastic and instead of a person on a roof it could just be a node on the roof, or in a tree, or routed via existing mesh infrastructure (many cities have quite a few nodes already). And that would have significantly more security than a walkie, even if its still vastly insufficient. especially with standalone lora mesh devices, which often dont have persistent storage of messages, or with some firmware modifications to make them more secure, it could be halfway decent.
I have mixed feelings about the practicality of either option really but I think radios stick out more in a crowd, and so does a person on a roof
So for the person on a roof this would depend entirely on the roof your on. If you find a rooftop resturant and simply order lunch there your good to go for example. Looks totally normal. The radios would need to be concealed yes, but theyre not that big. You could fit them in a backpack, or inside pocket of a jacket.
I think it's best used for like a small group of well organized people who manage comms. Like get 5-6 people spread them around the area evenly, and let them be peoples go to for communicating with the rest of the group. Rather than everyone having one. Then you rely on just word of mouth when in the local group. Or you could combine the radios with the briar setup. You send a message over the radio, it gets to all the other radio holders with 1-2 miles, then you use briar to disperse it locally among the crowds.
Hiding a few radios in a big crowd is easy, and having only 5-6 people who need to know the coded language makes it easier too.