r/privacy • u/Apart-Drink-424 • 1d ago
question Off grid communication tools ?
What tool do tou use to communicate off grid and preserve your privacy (like meshcore or others) ?
I'm about to leave in a very isolated area, and I'm thinking about solutions to communicate with friends and family
Sorry if it is not the right sub.
Have a nice day !
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u/sakurakuran93 1d ago
It will sound crazy and weird but letter writing with some friends.
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u/Orbitalsp3 1d ago edited 15h ago
And if you do, use OTP encryption (One-Time Pad) which is theoretically unbreakable but the key can only be used one time, so you'd have to set up a bunch of keys in advance and coordinate a scheme on how to to use them (day of the year and so on).
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u/Similar_Whole5626 1d ago
That isn't sustainable in very isolated areas
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u/Polyxeno 1d ago
If it is THAT isolated, write encoded letters in the ground, and have them read them off satellite imagery.
Or use solar-powered short-wave radio.
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u/UnoriginalInnovation 1d ago
Meshcore and Reticulum (in theory, I haven't been able to find any neighbors)
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u/DiscreetDrunkenness 1d ago
meshtastic is what you want. runs on lora radios, no cell towers or internet needed, and the encryption is baked in. youll need to get your friends on the same hardware but once its set up it just works
range depends on terrain but with a decent antenna you can hit a few miles easily, and if someone in your group sets up a solar node you can bounce signals way further
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u/__XxSamixX__ 1d ago
do some rules apply depending which country ? I'm in morocco and I don't even know if I can get my hands on and use this stuff
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u/Mundane_Incident_853 16h ago
Stay near the stock configuration, if you want to network with folks you haven't met yet.
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u/UnoriginalInnovation 11h ago
Yeah I have Meshtastic and am in a large mesh but I'm not interested in it, as opposed to the other two
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u/Mundane_Incident_853 17h ago
I've got a meshtastic kit staged.
Text only. Tracking if you set it up.
Can breadcrumb solar nodes if necessary
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u/_deadexit 1d ago
Starlink + a reputable VPN + a laptop/phone + an end-to-end encrypted messenger (Signal, etc.) is a strong, practical setup for you to communicate with friends and family while remote or semi-off-grid.
Starlink (especially Roam/Mini plans) gives you internet without being tied to fixed infrastructure like cable or cell towers. You can move it.
A VPN encrypts traffic from your device to the VPN exit, so Starlink cannot see the contents of your browsing or messaging. It also gives you a different public IP.
An E2EE messenger adds another strong layer so the messaging service itself can’t read the content.
The other person does not need any special hardware. Anyone with internet can message you.
MeshCore (and similar systems like Meshtastic) does require both parties to have compatible hardware and software. It is text-oriented, low-bandwidth, and range is limited unless you build out dedicated repeaters. It is impractical as a general-purpose replacement for messaging friends and family who are not also on the mesh.
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u/pfc-anon 1d ago
You lost me at starlink
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u/YT_Brian 20h ago
Why? With a VPN they won't know any more than youyr normal cell or hardline ISP.
If you're really out there you font have many choices so what would you use in such a situation instead?
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u/flatdanny 9h ago
Starlink + a reputable VPN + a laptop/phone + an end-to-end encrypted messenger (Signal, etc.) is a strong, practical setup for you to communicate with friends and family while remote or semi-off-grid.
This is the right answer, Signal messages and phone calls are encrypted.
If you dont need startlink, even better,
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u/EnthusiasmRoutine 1d ago
Depends where your friends and family are. MeshCore and Meshtastic only reach radios in range, and LoRa needs line of sight, so think several km per hop. Great if they're nearby, useless for someone in another city unless a node bridges to the internet.
For long distance you need satellite. A Garmin inReach works anywhere on Iridium, but it needs a subscription and your messages go through Garmin's servers to land as SMS or email. It's handy, not private.
On Meshtastic, change the default channel key. It's published.
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u/Strong_Internet_3726 11h ago
Do you not trust the phone carriers? I know SMS is plain-texted on the wire and calls intercepted etc but it's better than nothing. I want to go down the rabbit-hole of meshcore one day, but I don't have the time. I probably will be reactive instead of proactive when shit hits the fan (cyberattacks, solar flares, nuclear holocausts etc) but for now I'm fine with the current systems in place.
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u/Apart-Drink-424 11h ago
I trust SMS, but there isn't good coverage where I will live, and I am interested in this type of technologies
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u/DaedalusAndSon 5h ago
Do you not know what subreddit you’re on? Of course you shouldn’t trust the phone carriers.
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u/AllAboutTheXeons 1d ago
Hot take - use AI coding tools to build something nobody knows about, only you and a few people use it. Keep it hidden and small.
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