Your threat model doesn’t care if you’re busy. Neither does the camera across the street or the Bluetooth beacon in the coffee shop.
Privacy isn’t just digital. If your real world footprint leaks, your encrypted chat and hardened phone don’t mean shit.
So here’s the fix: a 10-minute physical OpSec audit.
Fast. Brutal. Tactical.
Why Physical Still Matters
We’ve been trained to obsess over VPNs, firewalls, and messaging apps.
Cool. Needed.
But ask yourself:
- Who saw you leave the house?
- Who can track your route?
- What’s sitting in plain sight in your car?
- What’s in your trash?
- What did your front door camera just capture?
You can’t encrypt body language. You can’t PGP a glance.
If you’re traceable in the real world, you’re not untraceable.
10 Minute Physical OpSec Audit
Set a timer. Walk through this like you’re casing yourself.
1. Outside Your Home
- Walk to the curb. Look at your house.
Can you see light? Screens? Movement?
If yes, someone else can too. - Is your Wi-Fi SSID broadcasting personal info?
Don’t put your family’s name on it. Turn off SSID broadcast or rename it to something neutral. - Got cameras? Good. But who else does?
Are you on your neighbor’s Ring feed?
That footage isn’t yours. It’s Amazon’s. - Trash visible?
Shred anything with identifiers.
Smash boxes before tossing. Don’t advertise what you buy.
2. Entry Points
- Your door: is it secured with more than a single lock?
Use deadbolts. Door jammers. Cameras that you control. - Can you see straight into your house through the windows?
Your house isn’t a fish bowl, get blinds and curtains. - Peephole covered or mirrored?
They shouldn’t be able to see in from the outside. - Packages sitting out?
That’s metadata on your purchases and patterns. - Do you use a camera doorbell?
Check what it logs, where it uploads, and who has access.
3. Inside the Walls
- Laptop on a desk facing a window? Flip it.
Your work isn’t for public viewing. - Smart devices listening? Disable or unplug.
If you can’t see what it’s logging, assume it’s leaking. - Any documents lying around? Photos? IDs?
Lock them up. Out of sight means out of scope. - Screens visible from the hallway or stairwell?
That’s exposure. Use blackout film or move the desk.
4. Phone Hygiene in Physical Space
- Is Bluetooth or Wi-Fi still on?
Kill both unless actively in use.
Beacons and passive scanners love lazy radios. - Lock screen preview showing messages?
Turn off previews. No one needs to see your chats light up in line at the store. - Your wallpaper: does it identify you?
Keep it neutral. If you drop your phone, don’t let it advertise your name or face. - Do you use biometric unlock?
That’s convenient for them, too. Use a long PIN.
5. Travel Audit (Backpack, Car, Transit)
- Anything in your bag that links identity?
Separate burner gear from real world IDs. - Does your car have Bluetooth always on?
Disable it. Especially if paired to a phone with your name. - Parking habits predictable?
Vary location and time. Predictability = pattern. - Ever glance at what’s visible through your car window?
Don’t leave receipts, mail, or packaging in view. Clean it.
Real Talk: I Used to Ignore Half of This
I hardened my devices before I hardened my space.
I thought if I used Tails and Signal, I was covered.
But my neighbor had a Ring. My light pattern told them when I was up.
I left packages on the porch like a catalog for anyone watching.
I wasn’t hacked. I was just obvious.
Now I treat physical space like a hostile network.
Because it is.
Layered Defense Isn’t Optional
Good OpSec isn’t about being perfect. It’s about forcing friction.
Making it harder. Slower. Riskier for anyone trying to track, trace, or profile you.
You want to be a pain in the ass to surveil.
Each physical tweak adds cost to the adversary.
- Blackout film hides patterns
- Changing routines scrambles predictability
- Locked down tech breaks passive tracking
- Intentional misdirection confuses assumptions
You don’t need a bunker.
You need awareness and action.
Final Words
Set your perimeter. Audit often. Move like someone’s always watching, because they probably are.
You won’t get it perfect. That’s fine.
Just get it better than default.
-GHOST
Written by GHOST, creator of the Untraceable Digital Dissident project.
This is part of the Untraceable Digital Dissident series — tactical privacy for creators and rebels.
Explore more privacy tactics at untraceabledigitaldissident.com.