One guy said he likes Google Fi.
Which one is the least privacy invasive for GoS phones?
T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T, Patriot Mobile, etc...
One guy said he likes Google Fi.
Which one is the least privacy invasive for GoS phones?
T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T, Patriot Mobile, etc...
can't say this with a huge amount of confidence, but my understanding is that the base things required to connect your device to the network compromise privacy equally across carriers, to the point that carrier is not a significant variable in the conversation.
however, when peeking at patriot mobile's website i see they are advertising the unpl*gged phone, which is pretty much a privacy scam. that would make me hesitant about using their services.
GeorgeSoros
Maybe Mint mobile? I use them as a burner when traveling. No real name, use a VPN when signing up, they only know my zip code and not my actual address and paid for the Sim card/service in cash. I also believe if you want to renew the service you can do so with a prepaid card that you can buy with cash.
There are services (intended for travelers I think) that sell pre-paid SIMs and maybe even ESIMs, which might be non-kyc or circumventably kyc (aka buy a visa prepaid with cash, use it to buy the esim, provide fake name and address, etc etc etc)
There is also jmp.chat. They provide a non-kyc ESIM or SIM (no idea how they deliver it non-kyc, I don't use physical SIMs) with something like 6 or 7 USD per Gb, which sounds steep. However, I've had good customer service support with them via their Cheogram (their app) chatroom.
... There is also silent.link... Which can be paid for with BTC, Lightning, or Monero. Their rates in the US are usually far cheaper (except in Alaska holy crap), but you'll have to check their rates in your country on their website. However, I personally had a singularly atrocious experience with them, and personally do not recommend giving them more than the absolute minimum money you need to give them to top off your ESIM, and never more money than you can afford to lose.
There's another one that I can't remember, but it had some cons of its own, and it was also a bit pricy
JMP and silent.link both work by giving you an ESIM (or SIM, maybe, if JMP) that can use each carrier's roaming towers/networks, just not the main local ones, to provide data.
This still means you can be triangulated and your location correlated with addresses and other stuff
But it definitely takes a significant bite out of the level of privacy invasion going in when using mobile carriers. How big is that significant bite? No clue. I'm not that smart or educated or experienced. But it's definitely something, not nothing.
Conjure6589 if you want to renew the service you can do so with a prepaid card that you can buy with cash
But you have to activate the prepaid card with a credit card, correct? At least that's what I had to do with the ones I bought...
Otherwise which don't require that?
I think they suck equally. You need a vpn.
GeorgeSoros Michael Bazzell recommends mint mobile in his book: “ I choose them because they are very affordable,
do not require user verification, and allow prepayment up to a year.”
But he is not using the number tied with that SIM card, uses VOIP when needed, puts his phone in airplane mode X miles from his house (I forget how many miles).
So unless you are that diligent, I think any cellular company is likely fine, where you can potentially use a masked name and payment.
FYI: Patriot Mobile uses all three (AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon) major U.S. networks and, so, they're neither better nor worse than those three in terms of privacy.
ErnestThornhill FYI: Patriot Mobile uses all three (AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon) major U.S. networks and, so, they're neither better nor worse than those three in terms of privacy
Unless they don't just volunteer handing over all their customer's data to invalid requests, but demand rigorous justification.
Bootlace1170 “ I choose them because they are very affordable,
do not require user verification,
Yet again, a valid credit card is needed to validate the prepaid card, correct? (Even the ones at Walmart req this). If aware of some that don't require please share/DM.
Thus verification is done and anonymity compromised.
GeorgeSoros but there's no reason to believe that this is the case. it's quite unlikely they treat such inquiries differently than the major telecoms. and since it's not their towers, the point may be somewhat moot.
GeorgeSoros you could try simple mobile. i believe i was able to buy one of their wireless plans without a credit card, though it was 5 years ago so my memory may be failing me. it was from target.
Side of burritos posted about us mobile .
https://sideofburritos.social/@josh/112196357050259471
GeorgeSoros Yes, I haven’t purchased a mint mobile sim in over a year so I don’t recall the process. But you can used a masked payment via privacy.com, which is obviously not anonymous but certainly private. I suppose it depends what you are after.
Bootlace1170 privacy dot com doesn't seem to come up. Sure that's the correct addy? What's the site do?