Read the manifesto
Understand the public, offline and independent nature of the project before choosing a site.
OFF THE RECORDField guide
Make your
own drop.
A careful installation balances public access, physical durability, legality and digital safety.
Choose a drive
Use a USB flash drive of any capacity and format it for broad compatibility.
Prepare the hardware
Remove unnecessary vendor software. Keep or remove the outer shell according to the mounting method.
Seal the body
Protect the non-connector portion against moisture with suitable sealing tape or another durable enclosure.
Load the project note
Add a readme with the project name, maker credit, installation date, safe-use warning and local context.
Choose a lawful public site
Get permission where required. Never damage protected, historic or private property, and do not create a hazard.
Mount it securely
Fix the drive or extension in place with a method appropriate to the surface and local conditions.
Check laptop clearance
Test the angle and surrounding space so ports on both sides of different devices can reach it without strain.
Orient the connector
Keep the exposed USB contacts clean and position the connector so visitors can identify the correct orientation.
Finish the surface
Remove sharp edges, loose material and residue. The installation should be discreet, stable and safe to approach.
Document and submit
Take an overview, a medium-distance view and a close-up, then add the location and story to the database.
Safety baseline
Treat public USB hardware as untrusted.
Use isolated equipment, disable autorun, avoid unknown executables and never connect public hardware to a computer holding valuable accounts or files. Physical inspection and antivirus scanning reduce risk but do not make an unknown device trustworthy.
Three photographs ready?