According to an excerpt Glenn Greenwald's new book, Snowden made the claim when discussing concern about leaving the Mira hotel without being noticed by reporters:
I conveyed these concerns to the lawyers. "Does he have any ideas how to prevent that?" one of them asked.
I passed the question on to Snowden.
"I'm in the process of taking steps to change my appearance," he said, clearly having thought about this previously. "I can make myself unrecognisable."
It is unclear how Snowden would accomplish that feat, and Greenwald does not elaborate on Snowden's process of disguising himself.
Snowden had other old school spycraft on his mind in China. The 30-year-old claims that he used a soy sauce and glass of water system to protect his belongings when he temporarily left his room and that he ensured he would not give up documents even under torture.
Snowden, who is not a trained intelligence agent, snuck out of the hotel and began "the part of the plan where I ask the world for protection and justice."
Two days later, Snowden leaked information to the South China Morning Post. On June 23, he boarded a plane to Russia, where he lives in an undisclosed location.