Always On, Never Alone: A Digital Nomad’s Guide to Staying Free and Safe
The Nomag Pulse #29
The real story behind your “location permissions,” why going completely off-grid is a fantasy, and the practical steps to protect your data, privacy, money, and peace of mind while living globally.
There’s a particular aesthetic attached to digital nomadism in 2025.
We all know it: sunlit laptop shots, hammock calls, morning ocean dips before a Zoom with HQ in Berlin or Toronto.
And somewhere in that image there’s always a subtle message: freedom.
But here’s the paradox almost no one talks about:
The more you move, the more trace you leave.
The more “free” you feel geographically, the more observable you become digitally.
If you work remotely today, you’re not just connected.
You’re entangled.
Across apps, clouds, devices, networks, sensors, platforms—everywhere.
This doesn’t mean you need to panic.
It means you need to understand the terrain you actually operate in, not the romanticised version of it.
Let’s dismantle the myths, understand the real risks, and—most importantly—lay out a clear, practical plan to protect yourself without giving up your lifestyle.
1. The Comforting Myth That Needs to Die: “I Have Nothing to Hide”
Digital nomads repeat this line like a mantra—especially those who haven’t yet been scammed, hacked, cloned, impersonated, SIM-swapped, or “digitally profiled” into creepy accuracy.
It’s a myth rooted in the wrong mental model.
Privacy is not about hiding wrongdoing.
It’s about controlling exposure.
You protect your data for the same reasons you lock your front door:
Not because you’re doing anything illegal
But because you don’t want random people walking in
Three crucial truths:
✅ 1. Your location tells your story
Daily routines reveal income levels, habits, relationships, religion, vulnerability, and behavioural patterns.
Data brokers refer to this as your geo-signal.
And it’s worth real money.
✅ 2. Metadata > Messages
Hackers don’t need your conversations.
They need your:
login timestamps
device IDs
travel patterns
IP history
sync logs
These are enough to impersonate you, guess your passwords, or social-engineer your accounts.
✅ 3. Your digital identity is a commodity
If your online identity can be monetised, manipulated, stolen, or profiled, someone somewhere is already doing it.
Not understanding this doesn’t make you safe.
It makes you vulnerable.
2. Location Sharing: The Silent Leak You Didn’t Notice
Location tracking is the invisible tax of modern mobility.
Your phone broadcasts signals even when you think it’s quiet.
Apps “listen” even when they claim they don’t.
Here’s the part few people know:
🛰️ Even with GPS off, you can still be located.
Via:
Wi-Fi networks
Bluetooth beacons
Cell tower triangulation
IP address behaviour
Gyroscope + accelerometer fingerprints
Nearby devices
Researchers have demonstrated that your walking pattern is unique enough to identify you.
And apps do use this.
📦 Many apps sell your location history
Not explicitly, of course.
They sell “anonymized datasets” rich enough to pinpoint:
where you sleep
where you work
who you meet
which gym you go to
what nightlife you attend
when you travel
which country you’ll move to next
Data brokers then bundle these signals and resell them to:
hedge funds
insurance companies
advertisers
political operations
“market intelligence” firms
security contractors
anyone with a corporate credit card
This is not speculation.
This is documented industry practice.
🔓 De-anonymisation is trivial
If someone knows:
your Airbnb
your coworking
your daily coffee place
…they know it’s you.
Privacy researchers estimate that 4 points of location are enough to uniquely identify 95% of people.
This is why location data is often described as “the closest thing to real-time surveillance capitalism.”
As a nomad, this means your movements are not just visible—they’re interpretable.
3. The Real Risk Matrix for Nomads
Nomads operate in an environment where exposure is amplified:
new countries
new networks
new devices
new laws
new accommodation
new providers
new border crossings
Each factor increases risk.
Let’s classify the threats clearly.
🔒 1. Financial Theft
The biggest risk for remote workers.
Why?
Because:
you manage finances across apps
you bank across borders
you switch SIMs
you depend on 2FA
you store everything on your phone
Risks include:
SIM swap attacks
OTP interception
fraudulent transfers
phishing while travelling
compromised Wi-Fi
“fake” banking apps
card cloning
virtual card leaks
🧬 2. Identity Exposure
Nomads share more documentation than any other work category:
Airbnb uploads
passport scans for KYC
visa applications
insurance onboarding
public Wi-Fi logins
border forms
And these live in clouds you don’t control.
🔍 3. Personal Safety
Real risk for solo travellers.
Predictable patterns expose habits
Real-time posting exposes locations
Visible valuables attract attention
Location metadata in photos reveals where you sleep
Booking platforms log every stay
Foreign SIM registrations expose your ID
Digital visibility can translate into physical vulnerability.
📂 4. Data Leakage
Digital nomads handle company documents on:
airport Wi-Fi
cafés
shared coworking
personal laptops
cloud folders with questionable settings
One sloppy upload and you compromise a client.
4. The Practical Playbook: Hard Truths + Easy Wins
Let’s make this actionable without getting paranoid.
These are high-impact steps, ranked by importance.
✅ A. Lock Down Your Devices
Your phone is your passport, wallet, office, and identity.
Minimum baseline:
Strong alphanumeric passcode
Biometrics plus passcode
Full-device encryption
Auto-lock at 30 seconds
Disable lock-screen previews for email & messaging
Keep OS updated weekly
Most hacks succeed because someone didn’t bother to update their device.
✅ B. Audit Your App Permissions
Do this once a month:
Location → While Using
Camera → only when essential
Microphone → ruthlessly limited
Contacts → almost no app needs this
Photos → “Selected photos only”
You’ll be shocked how many apps request permissions they don’t need.
✅ C. Stop Using Public Wi-Fi Like It’s 2014
Public Wi-Fi is the digital equivalent of brushing your teeth with someone else’s toothbrush.
Use:
Personal hotspot
VPN with no logs
Browser isolation
Private DNS
Don’t log into:
banking
crypto
government accounts
employer dashboards
medical portals
from airport Wi-Fi. Ever.
✅ D. Clean Your Digital Photos
EXIF metadata reveals:
exact GPS coordinates
camera model
timestamps
serial numbers
Disable location tagging for photos system-wide.
This one setting can save you from a lot of unwanted visibility.
✅ E. Separate Identities
Operational hygiene:
One browser for work
One for personal
One email for logins
One for travel bookings
One password vault for high-value accounts
Another for everything else
If one gets compromised, you don’t lose everything.
✅ F. Remove Your Phone Number
Phone numbers are no longer identifiers.
They are attack vectors.
Replace SMS 2FA with:
hardware security keys
authenticator apps
This is one of the strongest upgrades you can make.
✅ G. Monitor Your Digital Footprint
Set alerts for:
data breaches
credit score changes
new accounts in your name
password leaks
Awareness is part of security.
5. Debunking Popular Myths (and Why They’re Dangerous)
❌ Myth 1: “VPN = anonymity”
A VPN hides your IP.
It doesn’t hide:
your device
your pattern
your behaviour
your accounts
your location (not fully)
It’s a layer, not a shield.
❌ Myth 2: “Apple/Google protect me”
They protect you… until it hurts their business model.
Apple protects you from hackers, not ad networks
Google protects your account, not your behavioural data
Both allow thousands of trackers through third-party apps
Trust them, but don’t depend on them.
❌ Myth 3: “I’ll just go off the grid”
No remote worker can.
Clients, banks, platforms, and border controls require digital proof of life.
You can reduce your footprint.
You cannot delete it.
✅ The Nomad Security Checklist (Extended Version)
🔐 Device & Account Security
Hardware encryption
Long unique passwords
2FA via authenticator app
Hardware key for banking & email
Auto-lock at 30 sec
Disable lock-screen previews
Update OS + apps weekly
📍 Location & Tracking Control
All apps → “While Using”
Disable location for non-essential apps
Turn off Bluetooth discovery
Disable ad-personalisation
Randomise MAC address
Use privacy-respecting browsers
🌐 Network Safety
Avoid public Wi-Fi for sensitive tasks
Hotspot whenever possible
VPN with no logs (Proton, Mullvad, IVPN)
Reject public QR codes
Disable auto-join for open networks
📁 Data Hygiene
Store documents in encrypted containers
Use secure clouds (Proton/Tresorit)
Clean EXIF metadata from photos
Keep work & personal data separate
Backup monthly to encrypted drive
💸 Financial Safety
Virtual cards for online payments
Disable overseas ATM withdrawals
Real-time spending alerts
Banks with fraud monitoring
Emergency funds split across accounts
🧭 Personal Safety
Avoid real-time posting
Use privacy screen filters
Rotate coworking spaces
Don’t reveal accommodation details publicly
Neutral labels on AirTags / trackers
8. Final Thought: Your Freedom Depends on Your Discipline
Being a digital nomad in 2025 is incredible:
the mobility, the opportunities, the access, the creativity.
But it comes with a responsibility:
understanding that your freedom relies not on being unnoticed, but on being prepared.
You don’t need to disappear.
You just need to stop leaking.
Stay free.
Stay curious.
Stay secure.
And choose which parts of your life you want the world to see—instead of letting the world decide for you.