We all depend on the instant modes of communication the Internet provides us today. As missionaries, we can quickly connect with new donors, send updates, and collaborate on projects. We can even share our faith online. Is this safe?

After you have been on the field a while, you start to see that the hyper-connected world can be a double-edged sword. If you’re not careful online, it could mean the end of your mission in the country that you serve in.

As rapid changes occur in the online world, we, as missionaries, need to be quick to learn and adapt.

Changes Are Happening

Last year I wrote two articles on security for Missionary Life. 2 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR EMAIL AND INTERNET SECURE ON THE FIELD and Social Media Tweaks and Tips. Those are both good articles and the principles found in them are worth paying attention to. Over the past year, some things have changed. The information in those articles needed an update, so C. Anderson asked me to write a new article on this.

Before we begin looking at the issue of online security in-depth, let’s take a step back. We need to ask the question, “What has changed?”

2 Major Changes

1) Greater Understanding of How Social Media Uses Our Information

Companies profit from selling our personal data. They use this information to encourage (manipulate) us into buying products as well as changing our beliefs. These platforms are even used to influence who we vote for.

2) Increasing Restrictions on Missionary Activity Worldwide

Countries formerly closed to the gospel are becoming even more so. These nations actively use technology to track down missionaries. Technology is being used in an attempt to put an end to the underground church. Those doing this are getting more and more skilled.

These two changes combined could lead to much greater hardship for the modern missionary.

Social Media Firms like Facebook and Instagram sell information to governments. Some are required to give access to do business there. GPS technologies on phones track the location of underground churches. They discover several people meeting together in the same location. Your entire social media history is scanned when you apply for a visa to go into that closed country.

Ways to Be More Secure

What can we do? Can we even do anything? Here are a few suggestions to tune up your online security.

1) Get Rid of Google

The very idea of this seems impossible. Our lives are so reliant on Google’s services, and most of them are free. Google is one of the world’s wealthiest companies. Have you ever wondered how this is possible? If a company is making money selling a product but you don’t know what it is, it’s very likely that you are the product.

Google poses threats to missionaries on the field in restricted-access countries. They may be required to release your sensitive data to the government of that country. It’s time to de-googlefy your life. Where can you start?

• · Change your search engine – Use DuckDuck Go.

• · Get off of Gmail. It’s a security risk not only for you but for everyone you write to. Pay for Fastmail or use ProtonMail behind a VPN.

• · Don’t use Google Maps or at the very least turn off location tracking.

• · Don’t store your images on Google Photos. They use advanced facial recognition software to find out who is in your photos and where they were taken.

2) Use Jumbo

Jumbo is an app that can help you become more secure online. It’s safe and highly rated.

You start by downloading the app and signing into Facebook, Google, and Other Social media platforms through the app. It will guide you through making your settings on these sites more secure. It can even archive old Facebook posts, block targeted adds and delete all your search history on Google. This is a good intermediate step if you are not ready to leave Google and Facebook entirely.

3) Signal not WhatsApp

Though in my previous article I recommended WhatsApp as a secure messaging app I now recommend Signal. WhatsApp is now owned by Facebook which has a poor record of protecting its user’s data.

The messages passed from user to user may still be secure and encrypted. It is likely that the metadata associated with those messages is available to companies and governments.

This metadata includes information about who is messaging who and how frequently. It includes information about who is in what groups together. That information alone can be a security risk. (Think back to the underground church being compromised by GPS location information).

Signal protects your metadata – in fact it doesn’t even have access to it. Signal also has a great feature – it allows you to set a timer to autodelete messages in a chat. This is extremely helpful in case anyone gets access to your phone.

4) Its time to delete Facebook

Consider completely deleting Facebook, if you are working in a restricted access nation! At the very least, you must be completely aware of what it means for you to use it. Note: As missionarylife.org and dmmsfrontiermissions.com (my two blogs) we are seriously considering a change to a different platform for our insider groups. Watch for this in the next few months!

Facebook as a company has one of the worst track records. Information is gathered about your interests, your likes and your friends. Then, it is sold to third parties to create ads that target you directly. Facebook has been used to spread lies, hate and fear – manipulating national elections worldwide.

Facebook Messenger IS NOT SECURE. Messages sent by messenger ARE NOT END TO END ENCRYPTED.

I recommend you leave Facebook unless you are using it to have a business presence online. Do not use it for communications regarding missions or communicating with supporters.

5) Consider an iPhone

For years I badmouthed iPhones. Now I have an iPhone. Yes, I know they are more expensive! But the value of the information that we leak to Google and other companies is much more. (You can also usually pick up an older or used iPhone fairly easily.)

Apple primarily makes its money by selling devices. They don’t make money selling your personal data. Apple has a strong data privacy policy. In fact, they refuse to unlock iPhones even for the FBI.

They are much more likely to protect your personal information from the governments of closed countries you may be working in.

Switching to an iPhone may be the only convenient way to totally disconnect from Google services.

6) The Border Crossing Wipe

Wipe phones and devices when you travel across international borders!

Yes, this is very inconvenient. It is worth the trouble. More and more closed countries are requiring people to unlock their phones when entering or leaving.

They may ask you to unlock it and they may even take it away for some time, possibly downloading the entire contents of your device. In this day and age, the best option is to wipe your phone.

• Remove all sensitive conversations.
• Delete Signal.
• Delete your email app.
• Remove any app that could compromise your security.

You can re-download and sign in to your apps and services when you are safely in the next country you are traveling to. This may be the single most important thing you do. The potential for your security to be compromised by a direct search of your phone may be much higher than by any other means.

Don’t Give in to Fear

Navigating the online security risks that face today’s modern missionary is challenging.

Here’s my final bit of advice. Do everything you can to be wise and secure your online presence, but don’t give in to fear! Fear will stop you from being effective more swiftly than your online exposure ever will. Be wise, be smart, and trust that God will allow you to serve in the nation for as long as He has called you to be there.

Note: If you work in a secure access nation, be sure to use the form below and indicate that to us. We will be careful not to send you our normal course promotions and will remove anything sensitive in the titles of emails to you. If you are in a super-sensitive situation, however, it may be best to only access these blogs online and then delete your history or use a VPN.