What is the best and affordable VoIP provider for Germany?

Dan-cer

Inspired by contributions from Naomi Brockwell TV, I would now like to know whether VoIP is worthwhile for private use in Germany and, above all, which provider do you recommend, especially with regard to privacy?

N1b

Dan-cer unfortunately in Germany you are required to register with an identity for Numbers with German country code (+49), including VOIP numbers.

I made some good experiences with satellite and you can test it for free for 100 minutes to see whether it's sufficient for you. They don't work with short codes yet (to register Signal, WhatsApp etc.) and you can't make calls to Switzerland.

If you want to stay private though, the best option in my opinion is jmp.chat + cheogram if you are okay with US numbers.

r3tr0

N1b that is a great recommendation for a party, random stranger and or work number. I like that

Thanks for the hint!

Dan-cer

Thank you very much! That's a good start. I can even take my phone number with me to satellite. What does it cost after the 100 free minutes? Are the free minutes recurring monthly?

A US number is out of the question.

Another option is to have another 2 - 3 numbers for various registrations. I am already registered with Signal and Telegram with my main number. Does it make sense or is it possible to change it later for privacy reasons?

Aeon

Dan-cer

I just checked out satellite. Looks interesting.

from their faq:

Ja! Wir sponsern für jeden Kunden 100 Freiminuten im Monat. Das heißt, du kannst den Rest deines Lebens mit satellite telefonieren, ohne jemals Geld an uns zu überweisen – und natürlich verkaufen wir auch nicht deine Daten. Für alle, die mehr als hundert Minuten im Monat telefonieren wollen, gibt es Flatrate+ mit unbegrenzter Telefonie und Add-Ons für die kostenlosen Basisfeatures von satellite. Minutenpreise oder unterschiedliche Tarife gibt es nicht. Gar nicht. Du telefonierst in alle satellite Staaten zu den gleichen Konditionen, egal ob Festnetz oder Mobilfunk. Wer dich auf deiner satellite Nummer anruft, zahlt seinen normalen Tarif für deutsche Mobilfunknummern – bei Flatrate also gar nichts. Nicht nur wenn du in Deutschland bist, sondern weltweit.

translated by Deepl.com:

Yes, we sponsor 100 free minutes a month for every customer. That means you can make calls with satellite for the rest of your life without ever money to us - and of course we don't sell your data either. your data. For all those who want to make more than a hundred minutes a month minutes a month, there is Flatrate+ with unlimited telephony and add-ons for the free basic features of satellite. Prices per minute or different tariffs do not exist. Not at all. You call to all satellite countries at the same conditions, whether landline or mobile. Anyone who calls you on your satellite number pays normal rate for German mobile numbers - so with a flat rate you pay nothing at all. Not only when you are in Germany, but worldwide.

According to their faq you get a german mobile phone number with the "Area Code" 015679 or if you already have a german mobile phone number you can transfer it to them.

N1b

Dan-cer the answers are a bit hidden in the FAQs: The 100 free minutes reset every month. After that you can buy the Flatrate+ option for 5€ p.m. and get unlimited minutes.

If you need numbers for registering accounts, satellite won't work, you need VOIP numbers with short code support or regular SIMs.

The stupid thing with (e)SIMs is that they are insecure (SIM swapping attack) and not private (mobile network), at least for my threat model. But if you require German numbers for registering accounts, your best option is to just get the cheapest physical prepaid cards you can find in stores and use them.

I managed to get multiple anonymous eSIMs from silent.link with Netherlands country code that I use for various accounts, it's a more expensive solution but I'm in control without giving away identifiers. If it's just a one time thing or only for a few days, there are cheap solutions like smspool.net to receive the short code, but those numbers are given away to other customers quickly so it's not really usable for e.g. messenger accounts.

What accounts do you plan to open? We can help you better if we know more details...

Dan-cer

Aeon That sounds great! I'll give it a try.

Dan-cer

N1b What accounts do you plan to open?

Oh, there are no new accounts at the moment. The idea is to change the number in existing accounts. Although I don't know if that would be any good in terms of data protection. Maybe it's completely unnecessary, because the number is already in play.
But it's good to have some kind of number on hand in case I need it. So probably a cheap prepaid card is really the best option.

Dan-cer

Regarding Satellite: I have installed the appropriate, necessary app and realize: To have my contacts available, I would have to upload them to their cloud. Here is the (German) Exodus report for this app with 3 trackers and 39 permissions:
The contacts - writes satellite (sipgate) - would be anonymized.
I am now quite skeptical to use the service.
However, concerning privacy there might be no alternative with better privacy, right?

DeletedUser34

Dan-cer This is the only real VOIP for Android you can use for your Location. But I'm sceptical too. Yes, that's true, I guess. But they are definitely not private. They have absolutely no problem, with giving out User Data to the Government. They told me this before via Mail. And I never uploaded my Contacts there in the past and I would not recommend that to others. I told them about the Trackers in the past too. I think they removed 3 because of that, thankfully. And for the 2 at the moment, I will suggest them better Open Source Alternatives, instead of their Trackers, soon.

DeletedUser34

And they told me that they plan Unified Push and many other Features too, which I suggested them. But it will take time, they said.

missing-root

So... VOIP needs proprietary apps? Is there no standard?

DeletedUser34

missing-root I did not understand your Question really, could you explain?

AcidDemon

missing-root There are. SIP for example.

missing-root

AcidDemon found baresip+ to be nice, also supports videocalls