Staying safe
We believe in free speech. It's why Demotix was originally set up. And there isn't much free speech when street journalists risked getting hurt or locked up. The privacy and safety of our users is our foremost priority, and always will be.
Meta-data
Every image you take with your digital camera or phone is full of meta-data - information about the photo or video you've taken. That includes not only the type of camera or video or phone that you used, but its actual barcode. And when you upload those images to the web, the metadata comes too.
Demotix uses industry standard practices to remove metadata from the images and videos uploaded before posting on the site.
IP tracking and Tor
The Tor Project essentially runs a series of open proxies that allow people to connect to end websites via 'obfuscation'. So you're in country which has issues with free speech, trying to post sensitive information to Demotix. You log in to Tor and will immediately borrow the IP address of whoever else happens to be there too at the time. And on and on in a chain that's very long and almost impossible to trace.
We should all be using Tor all the time. It's one way you really can help dissidents and journalists access and relay information all over the world, and it means you can go about your daily business on the web without being pried on. Demotix is committed to online privacy and safety and have a team working to improve software such as TOR of JAP, which are open source and unencumbered by patents.
Install TOR on Windows.
Install TOR on Mac.
Install TOR on Linux.
Physical safety
Professionals get full emergency situation training before they're sent off to Iraq or elsewhere. Street journalists don't. And it makes a difference. Remember - nothing is worth you getting hurt.
Reporters Without Borders (with UNESCO) has compiled a Practical Guide for Journalists for those going to dangerous parts of the world, listing international norms protecting them and containing practical advice on how to stay alive and safe.
