We’re the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an independent non-profit working to protect online privacy for over thirty years. This is Surveillance Self-Defense: our expert guide to protecting you and your friends from online spying.
Read the BASICS to find out how online surveillance works. Dive into our TOOL GUIDES for instructions to installing our pick of the best, most secure applications. We have more detailed information in our FURTHER LEARNING sections. If you’d like a guided tour, look for our list of common SECURITY SCENARIOS.
Popular Guides
- Your Security Plan
- Attending a Protest
- Choosing a Password Manager
- Choosing the VPN That's Right for You
- How to: Use WhatsApp
- How to: Use Signal
Basics
- Animated Overview: How Strong Encryption Can Help Avoid Online Surveillance
- Animated Overview: How to Make a Super-Secure Password Using Dice
- Animated Overview: Protecting Your Device From Hackers
- Animated Overview: Using Password Managers to Stay Safe Online
- Choosing Your Tools
- Communicating with Others
- Creating Strong Passwords
- Keeping Your Data Safe
- Seven Steps To Digital Security
- What Should I Know About Encryption?
- Why Metadata Matters
- Your Security Plan
Tool Guides
- How to: Avoid Phishing Attacks
- How to: Delete Your Data Securely on Windows
- How to: Delete Your Data Securely on macOS
- How to: Delete your Data Securely on Linux
- How to: Enable Two-factor Authentication
- How to: Encrypt Your Windows, Mac, or Linux Computer
- How to: Encrypt Your iPhone
- How to: Understand and Circumvent Network Censorship
- How to: Use KeePassXC
- How to: Use Signal
- How to: Use Tor for Linux
- How to: Use Tor for Windows
- How to: Use Tor for macOS
- How to: Use Tor on Android and iPhone
- How to: Use WhatsApp
Further Learning
- A Deep Dive on End-to-End Encryption: How Do Public Key Encryption Systems Work?
- Attending a Protest
- Choosing a Password Manager
- Choosing the VPN That's Right for You
- Facebook Groups: Reducing Risks
- How Do I Protect Myself Against Malware?
- Key Concepts in Encryption
- Key Verification
- Privacy Breakdown of Mobile Phones
- Privacy for Students
- Protecting Yourself on Social Networks
- Things to Consider When Crossing the U.S. Border
- What Is Fingerprinting?