GoDark Bags FAQs

Many of our customers live and or work in places or situations where they don't feel safe and turning their phone off is not something they want to do (GoDark is sold globally, not just the US). Turning your phone off will likely prevent phone tracking (though no certainty... see next question), but it also takes much longer to power up your phone or take photographs in an emergency than it does to simply pull the phone out of the bag and wait 2 seconds for it to reconnect to the network. These are rather niche situations that apply to specific groups more than others. Journalists, activists, stalking victims etc. are just a few groups that fit this situation and there are many others.

However, the way most people typically use the bag is for selective privacy. If they are going somewhere that they would prefer not to be another data point in their location tracking history (ie. clinic, divorce lawyer, church, political rally, weed store etc...) it's easier and faster to simply put the phone in the bag while you go in the store and take it out when you're sufficiently far from the store, or church, or your AA meeting.

People who really want more control over their privacy and are using our GoDark Bag tell us the biggest benefit is that they actually use it more often than they are willing to reboot their phones. Phones don't take long to reboot, but most people looking for more privacy eventually give up on turning their phone off and on 10 times a day and consider it a pain in the ass. Because it's far easier to simply drop the phone in the bag and take it out when you want it, they tend to actually do it more often and thus increase their privacy in the process.

We feel privacy matters which is why we made the bag. For some it matters more than others depending on their situation. The GoDark Bag is a niche product that reduces the inconvenience of taking the privacy action enough so that people actually take action and do it rather than give up on constantly rebooting their phone. Unfortunately when it comes to privacy, people need things to be easy and convenient or they won't do it. It doesn't get any easier than taking your phone in and out of a bag. No apps or software to install or deal with. No need for wizard level IT security skills. It's just a bag that anyone can understand and use. People leave them in the glove box of their car, hand bag or laptop case for when they want to use it.

Journalists, activists, stalking victims, military, law enforcement and privacy conscious consumers from all over the world buy the GoDark Bag and their reasons for doing so vary quite a bit. It would be even more long winded if I were to try to cover all the use cases we've come across, but I hope this gives an idea of how and why some people use GoDark Bags.

The simple answer is yes! Modern smartphones are made up of several systems and subsystems. One of these subsystems, often referred to as the base band, controls and operates the radio transmitter and receiver and is capable of operating quite interdependently from your phone's main operating system. This allows your phone to appear to be "turned off" while the radio subsystem remains powered and operational.

When you turn your phone off it is quite possible that it is simply in a low power state with full receiving and transmitting capability and you would never know it. The screen will be off and there will be no detectable heat giving you the false impression that your phone is fully off and you are safe from tracking. A good example of this being used is Apple's "Find My " app...

According to Apple "Find My helps you locate this iPhone when it is lost or stolen, even when it is in power reserve mode or when powered off".

The simple fact is, it's becoming more and more difficult to know for sure what our phones, tablets, laptops and other mobile devices are really doing, and for those with a very high need for privacy, the GoDark Faraday Bag provides significant additional peace of mind.

Unfortunately many phones and apps have repeatedly been caught disregarding location services and recording location data anyways. In addition to this, regardless of locations services settings, your phone is connecting to cell towers and your location recorded by your carrier. In the past several years these carriers have been caught selling this location data. They promised to stop. Then they got caught again. There is little trust they will not keep doing it.

No, airplane mode will not protect you from location tracking. Setting your phone to airplane mode only prevents your phone from transmitting, not receiving. Your location history is still recorded by your phone and transmitted later when you reconnect. The GoDark Faraday Bag prevents this by blocking incoming GPS, Cell, Wifi and Bluetooth signals used by your phone to record your location. With nothing being recorded, there is nothing to later share or transmit.

Yes, we believe GoDark® Faraday Bags offer strong protection from an EMP.  

The GoDark® RF shielding fabric used in each GoDark® Faraday Bag has been independently lab tested to exceed 100 dB of EMF signal attenuation and has passed the MIL-STD-188-125-2 standardized military test for High Altitude EMP shielding. 

This hasn't really been a problem with any newer smartphones made in the past 2-3 years. Old phones were, well, less smart. They would just continuously try to recapture the signal while boosting strength and in turn draining the battery faster. Newer phones are smarter in how they check for signals and use much less battery. We tested several iPhones, Samsung and even a OnePlus, by putting them in the bag when they were 80% charged for an 8 hour period and none of them drained more than 9% over an 8 hour period. Older phones from 5 years ago probably had this problem, but our customers have not reported issues with overly excessive battery drain from using our GoDark Faraday Bag.

The GoDark Faraday Bag is designed to block ALL incoming and ourgoing signals so no, your phone should not ring while it's in the bag. The bag was designed first and foremost to protect your privacy from location tracking. This is why the signal blocking is much stronger than what is typically found in cheaper cases where people still want the phone to ring, but are concerned about potential health issues and simply want to reduce their EMF exposure a little. Our bag reduces EMF exposure significantly!

When you place your phone in the GoDark Bag it will cut off any incoming and outgoing signals to your phone. This means you will not receive any calls, text messages or app notifications. However, when you decide you want to reconnect and you remove the phone from the bag it will reconnect to the network and begin to receive all your notifications and messages you missed while it was in the bag. Any calls or voice messages should also come through.

When your phone is in the bag your phone carrier can't find the phone so it treats it as though it is simply off or out of range. When the phone is removed and reconnects to the network it will have the same behavior as if the phone was in fact off or out of network range.

Yes! GoDark Faraday Bags supports military, law enforcement and government with volume discounts. Please see our Military Inquiries page for more information, or contact wholesale@godarkbags.com for a quote.

Yes! In recognition of your unparalleled service, we've forged a partnership with GovX, a platform dedicated to those who serve, so we could offer exclusive discounts in our store to individual service members. Please see our Gov X discounts page for more information.

After your order has been shipped, we'll send the tracking information directly to your email, usually within 24 hours of dispatch. If you haven't received an email from us with your tracking details, please check your spam or junk mail folder. Should the tracking information not arrive within 48 hours of your order being shipped, don't hesitate to reach out to our customer service team for support. We're committed to helping you track your purchase every step of the way!

RFID bags are designed to block signals specifically from RFID chips to protect personal information on items like passports and credit cards from unauthorized scans. Faraday bags offer a broader level of protection by blocking all incoming and outgoing signals, including RFID, GPS, and cellular. This ensures complete electronic privacy by preventing tracking and hacking of any device placed inside, making Faraday bags ideal for securing a wider range of electronic devices.

Videos that have been pre-loaded or buffered on your device may continue to play while inside the GoDark Faraday bag because they don't require a live internet connection to finish. Our bags are designed to block all incoming and outgoing signals to protect your privacy and security. This ensures no new data can be transmitted to or from your device, but already loaded content can be accessed until it ends or requires further data.

One common reason for a credit card being declined is that it may not be authorized for international transactions. As we are a Canadian-based company, purchases made from outside Canada might be flagged by your bank or credit card company. To resolve this, please contact your bank or credit card provider to authorize international purchases or try using a different payment method.

Foreign transaction fees are determined by your bank or credit card issuer, not by us. These fees are typically charged for transactions processed outside of your home country, or in a currency different from your own. Since we are a Canadian-based company, customers outside Canada might see these fees applied to their purchases. We recommend contacting your bank or credit card provider for more details about these fees and any potential waivers

After selecting your items and proceeding to checkout, you'll find an option to enter your coupon code on the payment page. Simply type or paste your code into the designated field and click 'Apply'. The discount should then be reflected in your order summary. If you encounter any issues applying your coupon, please contact our customer support for assistance.

Orders are occasionally flagged as "high risk" by our security system to prevent fraud, ensuring the safety of our customers' information. This can happen for a variety of reasons, including discrepancies in payment information or high-value orders. If your order is labeled as such, our team will review it promptly. You may be contacted for additional verification to confirm the order's legitimacy and protect against unauthorized use of payment details.