Port Harcourt, Nigeria — Conversations around online safety, privacy, and digital accountability took centre stage in Port Harcourt as TechHer hosted its second Coffee & Circumvention (C&C) event of the year, under the Internet Freedom Festival initiative.

Supported by Luminate, the event — themed “The Illusion of Online Trust and Safety” — examined how digital users often mistake familiarity for security, and how this misplaced trust fuels privacy breaches, misinformation, and online harm.

In her opening remarks, Jemimah Inyangudo, Communications Officer at TechHer, highlighted how the internet creates a false sense of intimacy and safety.

“The internet gives us the illusion of closeness,” she said. “It makes it easy to overshare, to assume safety, and to trust what feels familiar. But behind that comfort often lies manipulation and social engineering that prey on trust.”

She added that TechHer uses platforms like Coffee & Circumvention to foster reflection, learning, and accountability in digital engagement.

One of the event’s key activities, Permission Bingo, revealed how everyday online habits expose users to data tracking and profiling. As participants checked off actions such as accepting app permissions or signing up with social accounts, many realised how much personal information they unknowingly give away.

Nneyen, a student at the Nigerian Law School’s Port Harcourt campus, raised the day’s central question:

“When does the digital violence end? Can there really be trust online?”

Responding, Ugochi Ihe, TechHer’s Digital Literacy and Education Lead, explained that online trust is not static but constantly evolving.

“As the internet changes, our understanding of safety must change with it,” she said. “Users must stay aware, platforms must stay accountable, and communities must keep learning.”

Ihe also introduced Kuram 2.0, TechHer’s upgraded platform for reporting and responding to online gender-based violence (OGBV). She noted that the platform includes self-assessment tools that encourage users to reflect on their digital behaviour.

“Kuram 2.0 helps people see themselves not only as victims or witnesses, but as participants in digital spaces,” she explained. “Accountability begins with self-awareness.”

Encouraging young legal professionals to get involved, Ihe also highlighted TechHer’s Volunteer Lawyers Network (VLN), which connects survivors of OGBV with pro bono legal assistance.

“Safety needs more than awareness; it needs justice,” she said. “As future lawyers, you are essential to building an internet where rights are respected and harm is addressed with integrity.”

Representing the Port Harcourt Board of Education, one participant commended TechHer’s outreach efforts and asked how the initiative reaches schools. Peter Akinnusi, TechHer’s Head of Programmes, explained that the organisation has extended its digital literacy programmes to secondary and tertiary institutions nationwide.

“We’ve taken these conversations into secondary schools, especially in peri-urban communities around Abuja,” Akinnusi said. “We’ve also trained students across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones. Our goal is to build a digitally aware generation that questions what it clicks, shares, and believes.”

As the event drew to a close, participants reflected on how misplaced trust shapes digital behaviour. Grace Nyaka, a law student, observed:

“Online safety isn’t just about passwords or privacy settings. It’s about understanding power — who benefits from what we share, and who pays the price when we don’t think twice.”

In her closing remarks, Inyangudo reminded attendees that digital awareness must translate into conscious practice.

“The illusion of online trust is powerful because it feels real,” she said. “But we can unlearn it. We can build a culture of conscious trust rooted in empathy, consent, and accountability.”

With continued support from Luminate, TechHer is advancing national conversations on digital literacy, safety, and justice. Through inclusive platforms like Coffee & Circumvention, the organisation continues to equip communities across Nigeria to navigate the internet with awareness and transform digital trust from illusion into informed, collective responsibility.