“If you’re trying to not be tracked, not having a phone is often the easiest,” Sandvik says. “Leave it at home.”
For most people most of the time, though, this solution isn’t practical. You can put your devices in airplane mode or turn them off completely to limit connectivity. But to be totally certain that everything is off the grid, you can put your devices in special pouches or cases known as Faraday bags that block all electromagnetic signals going to or coming from a device. Faraday bags allow you to carry your devices while keeping them from exposing your location; for example, concealing your whereabouts on a given afternoon or the route you took to get to a destination. The downside of Faraday bags is the device must stay in the bag to protect your privacy, so it takes planning to use them effectively. Removing your phone means that the (location) cat is out of…
