Digital hygiene
Keep identity, access, evidence, and trusted communication available when devices and accounts become vulnerable.
Reduce single points of failure
A phone is useful but fragile: it can be lost, confiscated, drained, damaged, tracked, or disconnected. Build a small paper fallback for the information that keeps people safe.
- Print key phone numbers, addresses, medical notes, and meeting places.
- Keep recovery codes and important documents in a protected offline location.
- Use a device lock, automatic updates, and unique passwords for important accounts.
- Carry charging options that match your devices and test them before an emergency.
Protect sensitive information
During a crisis, rumors and personal data can cause harm. Share only what a person needs to do their job, and confirm urgent claims through more than one trusted channel.
- Separate public updates from private case information.
- Do not publish names, medical details, shelter locations, or movement plans without consent.
- Assume public networks and unknown USB devices may be unsafe.
- Save important material in open formats that can be read without one specific app.
Keep instructions usable without their author
A saved manual is useful only if someone can find, understand, and safely apply it. Preserve essential procedures alongside the tools they describe.
- Keep a dated paper index with equipment model numbers, maintenance records, verified instructions, required materials, and stop conditions.
- Have a second person try a low-risk task from the instructions while the experienced person observes. Fix missing steps and unclear wording.
- Keep a spare copy in a separate protected place and teach a backup person. For hazardous work, written instructions do not replace training or qualified supervision.
Offline fallback
When the network fails, switch to the paper plan, local radio, direct contact, and scheduled check-ins. Record what was last known and the time it was known.