For a little while now, I’ve been looking at security and anonymity as they relate to mobile. Truthfully speaking, there’s no such thing as being completely hidden when you are using anything digital and connected, though there are ways of layering your use so that it is at least a little bit harder for someone to find you as the needle in their haystack. I’ve been particularly interested in services like Tor which not simply a browser, but a means of “bouncing your communications around a distributed network of relays run by volunteers all around the world: it prevents somebody watching your Internet connection from learning what sites you visit, and it prevents the sites you visit from learning your physical location.”

The other week on Mobile Active, I saw something going down this line with a guide to using Orbot and other anonymous browsing tools on mobile. This really is interesting, and for good reason, there isn’t just the case of governments looking at you, private companies do an even more impressive job of keeping your tabs.

There’s also the perspective of carriers, which was highlighted recently at MobileGroove. While there is this understanding that conumers of mobile are thinking a bit more critically about the implications of the data that passes through their mobile devices, this is also presented as an opportunity for carriers and other information agencies to unpack options for some who would like things to be a bit more secure.

Mobile browsing, and the challenges for consumers, carriers, governments, etc. was discussed during the Mobile Ministry Forum Mobile Security Webinar. Check out this audio for discussion.

So here’s the question: do you use anonymous browsing tools or methods on your mobile? If not, would you consider doing so, even if you were in a country that is more open about where and what you can do in digital spaces?