Proceeds from the sale of this shirt and sticker are going towards helping trans women be able to take low or no cost firearms training so that they might be better able to defend themselves and their loved ones.
I know that times, are tough, but if you can afford too, I hope you might consider helping out.
it’s trans day of visibility! i’ve seen posts circulating about the transphobic bills being passed in arkansas and alabama, but i haven’t seen much about how almost every other state has several transphobic bills up for discussion that can still be prevented.
you can go to this link: https://freedomforallamericans.org/legislative-tracker/anti-transgender-legislation/ to see which bills are before your state legislature, and then GO CONTACT YOUR STATE REPS!!!!! call, email, testify, protest, do whatever you’re comfortable with that will make your voice heard. we can still stop these bills from becoming law.
How do you protect yourself from being stalked online by your parents?
I often get messages from teens living with their abusive parents telling me about how terrifying it is for them to even look at my blog in case their parent finds out. I was a teenager before social networking on the internet. Honestly, when I was a teenager there was barely an internet yet. So, I don’t know how people protect themselves but I feel like probably there are ways. If you know please do share! A lot of people would find it helpful.
Advice for keeping your phone safe in toxic environments:
Keep things in google apps
Everything is saved to your account, ex. you can delete google photos when your phone is checked, and download it again afterwards and get all your photos back
Also because it’s on your account you can log into google on a friend’s computer or a library computer or something if you need to
I’m not sure about other apps but I know you can put a password on google docs
People are more likely to check notes but assume you have google docs for school assignments and not check that
A lot of people monitor texts/use programs that monitor texts, but who’s going to remember to check Google Hangouts?
Use the internet on apps that aren’t Safari
Download another browser and put it in a different folder, because most people can check your safari history but won’t find another app and then figure out how to check the search history of that app
Also use the internet when you click the link in social media ex. If you click a link on a Pinterest pin it can take you to that link on the internet but stay in Pinterest, so it won’t show up in search histories
Inform your friends and if you want to be really sneaky use code when texting
Sending messages as code helps. Ending sentences with certain letters can work. Need something? Definitely use code. Friends can help you. Or other family. Or teachers. Don’t hesitate to reach out. (the first letter of every sentence spelled out SEND FOOD)
Literally just google pigpen code or ceasarian cipher or whatever you want and you can find a way to talk that most people wouldn’t understand
Awesome info. Thank you!
There are more responses too that I can’t reblog. Check out the notes to see them.
I was in this situation a while ago, another thing to do is you can make second accounts on your social media and block your parents account so they don’t find it
For social media, I either go by a different name/photo w/e and block my family or I just make a second account and block them all again.
And I’ve always had a password on everything, so they can’t go through it and I won’t let them.
no one is coming after me but still reblogging because other people definitely need this info
Thank you! Yes. Please, everyone boost. So many need this info.
Fake/second accounts are great for this, as long as you still use your other accounts for safe messages and websites, etc so they don’t get suspicious when they check it. Also, only deleting the parts of your search history that your parents would object to is less suspect than deleting the whole thing.
If they’re being sneaky and checking things while you’re not around, make sure to log out of all social media after using it and try to have a slightly different password for each one.
Let your friends and other people know so that they don’t accidentally send unsafe messages to your main account.
(Stay safe,guys.Reblog to help each other out.)
If your parents look through the apps on your phone to make sure you aren’t using anything like tumblr or a messaging app, you can create a folder filled with boring stuff like settings, the notes app, general shit like that and give it a name like “utilities” or “general” or something like that. Fill up the first page with those apps, and then put the ones you’re trying to hide on the second or third pages. Your parents will see the app icons from the homescreen and ignore it as they can tell what’s inside, but only if they arent that tech savvy. Only do this if you know that they wouldn’t open the folder and click to other pages
Download duck duck go. It’s a search engine thats similar to google, but it has a much more thorough and easier way of deleting search history. Your parents might even think its a game, as the logo is literally just a happy duck, which would decrease the odds of them actually looking at the app properly
I just discovered Hide It Pro. It looks like an audio manager but it’s actually a secret vault where you can store apps your abusive parents will lose their minds over. Anyone ever use this?
I have like 5 active followers but in case anyone ever needs this
A search engine/ browser that my parents literally NEVER CHECK is called puffin- it seems like nobody knows about it but it’s pretty standard and similar to google chrome. It lets you use everything in desktop mode, only it no longer works for iOS devices. Android users, however, are in the clear.
Hide It Pro is AMAZING, if you’re on the fence about getting it please do.
First of all, sharing to save a life yo.
Secondly, this might seem counterproductive, but it seems like an appropriate time to raise awareness of Noonlight for more extreme cases of abusive parents. It’s an app that can alert a list of people of your choosing when you are in danger, or summon the police in an emergency. Works at home, school, work, or anywhere in-between.
I’ll always signal boost this stuff until it’s no longer needed.
thank you guys
also of you need to store things on notes you dont want your parents finding, search calculator diary into the appstore or google play and theres a tonne of secret diary things disguised as calculators which only open if a code is typed in, do even of they do check it they probably womt be able to do anything with it
Most of this is advice from someone who had an iPod and then an iPhone -
Be wary of the ones disguised as calculators cause when I was a teen (2015 or so) those came out in the news as being hidden apps and then my mom started checking my (real) calculator app
Ive been using private tumblr blogs (password locked, only restricted to people logged in on tumblr who have my blog password) to store photos, diary entries, important info. Google apps are fine but be extremely careful and be aware where/if they sync to anywhere else.
If you have an iPhone and share an iCloud backup with your family, turn off iCloud sync to avoid any accidental sharing of photos/other things you don’t want shared
Most text tracking software does not know how to work with free texting apps over WiFi - I used textfree as a teen but there’s plenty of others.
Make accounts your parents don’t know about. I have a second email where I take care of riskier things and a first email they used to check that has nothing suspicious. Email is a big one you’ll need esp as you get older.
Seconding the keep things in code - a friend of mine used to text a single period to indicate that I shouldn’t respond or acknowledge anything until she got back - this is good to prevent the accidental “I deleted my messages but then they responded”
When in doubt, go old fashioned and niche. Keep important things on flash drives and keep those flash drives hidden. Older versions of apps and iOS software are less easily restricted and tracked by software because most tracking software came in later versions and become more efficient with every version (ex my mom blocked tumblr.com on my phone but an older iOS would still allow me to visit some individual blogs whereas later versions blocked every blog). Use browsers and search engines that aren’t mainstream - I used to use Bing quite a bit. DuckDuckGo is pretty good but catching on in popularity, I used to use Ruby and IE. At my job last summer we had a niche version of Google Apps by another company (we weren’t allowed to use google since it owned the data - I can’t remember the name but hardly anyone would think to look there). Cisco Jabber was also a good IM app at the office but can be used for personal use as well.
As technology advances, people will be expecting you to keep trying to hide things using the latest and greatest tech. All tracking software will be updated to try and keep up. People forget about old versions and assume that no one wants to use them anymore. Use this to your advantage. People don’t know about the more niche versions of things, or don’t think you’ll use them, or just don’t think to check them. Use the tech that falls through the cracks.
Most importantly, be safe and careful. I lost years worth of things that were important to me when my parents went through my phone one day - if I’d been more careful about deleting things, I would’ve been in far less trouble. It‘s painful to lose memories, connections, any of these things you store privately. But the most important thing while you live with them is your safety. The things you cherish will never really be lost, no matter what your parents do to your phone or whatever steps you have to take (or things you have to delete) to protect yourself.
It does get better. I spent my teen years afraid for my life but now I’m in college and have privacy that I never dreamed of having. You will make it out. You can do it
For an encrypted free over Wifi texting app, try Signal. You can also set it to automatically delete messages after a certain period of time so that you don’t have to go through and remember to clear your text history.
IMPORTANT ADDITION: The Alabama House bill that will accompany this bill forces teachers and medical professionals to out trans youth to their parents.
THIS WILL KILL TRANS KIDS.
This combination of legislation is The most violent anti-trans legislation to date in the US. If you can do so safely, get out. Get out now. Get your children out. Please.
Apartment hunting has shown me that so many kids my age and younger openly broadcast that they are running away from abusive homes and that they are LGBT. I sympathize completely, but you do not under any circumstances need to be on a roommate finder website telling strangers on the internet that you are part of a vulnerable minority with no one back home who cares what happens to you… just say you are moving out, end of. Once you get to trust someone you live with then you can share the backstory. Internet safety is something that still matters.
If you’re trying to avoid ending up with a bigoted roommate, “Must be queer friendly.” That’s literally all you need to say until you’ve at least met the person.
