# 🔒 Data Security Tips for Data Center Organizers

# Lock down your social media accounts.

* Set active accounts to private.
* Clean up friend lists.
* Delete old accounts.
* In 2026, AI is always [watching](https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2025/04/ai-is-getting-creepy-good-at-geo-guessing) [you](https://pimeyes.com/en).


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# Sign up for a data removal service, if you can afford it.

* They cost about $100/year.
* At Fight for the Future, we use [DeleteMe](https://joindeleteme.com/).
* There are [many good options](https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-data-removal-services/) in this space.
* [Deleting your personal info from Google](https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/12719076?hl=en) is most important and free. 
* If you have a lot of time on your hands, check out [the BADBOOL list](https://github.com/yaelwrites/big-ass-data-broker-opt-out-list).


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# Don’t re-use passwords.

* Data breaches happen all the time. When your password is stolen from one website, all accounts using that password can be hacked.
* Check out [haveibeenpwned.com](https://haveibeenpwned.com/) to see how many (known) data breaches you’ve been a part of.
* Use a [password manager](https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-password-managers/) and [multi-factor authentication](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-factor_authentication) (2FA) and/or [passkeys](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebAuthn).
* At Fight for the Future, we use [1Password](https://1password.com/).
* [Bitwarden](https://bitwarden.com) is also good, and it has a free tier.
* If you’re all in on Apple, [Apple Passwords](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/passwords/id6473799789) will do the job.


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# Install software updates.

* This is the number one way to not get hacked.


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# Treat email as semi-public.

* Our policy: don’t email anything you wouldn’t want to see on the front page of a newspaper.


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# Use Signal for private conversations.

* [Signal](https://signal.org/) is the current gold standard for cross-platform private communication.
* It’s [end-to-end encrypted](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/End-to-end_encryption), which means even Signal can’t see your messages.
* You can even use it for meetings!


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# Encrypt your devices.

* Disk encryption prevents your device from being accessed if it’s stolen or seized.
* iPhones, Macs, and Android phones are encrypted by default these days.
* On Windows, you need to [jump through some hoops](https://www.elevenforum.com/t/turn-on-or-off-device-encryption-in-windows-11.1424/).
* iCloud has a feature called [Advanced Device Encryption](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108756) that will also encrypt backups so Apple can’t access them.


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# Resources

* [EFF’s Surveillance Self-Defense Guide](https://ssd.eff.org/)
* [Doxxing Defense Checklist](https://activistchecklist.org/doxxing/)
* [Security in a Box](https://securityinabox.org/en/)
* Interested in getting yourself or your org off Big Tech? [Sign up for Fight for the Future’s next de-googling webinar.](https://www.fightforthefuture.org/actions/degoogling-webinar)