• Off Topic

  • EU-related: Anonym SIM cards and experiences

Hey, I seek advise from fellow European Users, especially those with laws that make an anonym SIM card impossible:
-Which countries still have anonym SMS?
-Do you have experience with ordering?
-Did the SMS receiving work fine?
-- Are there problems with registering with a "Non-national" number?
-how about re-charging the SIM so the number doesn't get de-activated?

My issue is that i live in a certain country in the middle of the EU that forces by law an identification with ID for buying any kind of SIM.
Which i don't like out of principal and don't want to for practical reasons.

I want to use it for register to platforms that "require" a number for "security"-reasons - but I can't fathom why, don't trust to keep it actually private or even state in TOS it might will be given to advertiser.

So far my plan is buying an European SIM from a neighboring country via Amazon or eBay e.g. (around some corners of course) but I don't want to buy something that I can't use in the end. (Or get's deactivated after a month)

    N1b thanks and appreciated but there is a reason I tried to narrow it to EU/Europe.

    "silent" is unfortunately not feasible for me (Many platforms here don't allow US or UK numbers to register)
    I also would prefer a non-eSim solution, but that is most likely just the Boomer in me.
    (It's just not the same when you can't remove a card by yourself. )

    The Phone Tarvel Wiz table is a bit... overbearing since it's world wide - i might copy & re-order it :)

    • N1b replied to this.
    • fxnn likes this.

        ILIKETRAINS they (silent.link) sometimes have numbers from the Netherlands as well, but that's currently not available. Your best bet is probably to travel to the closest non KYC countryand buy a physical card anonymously with cash.

        There's also https://simsup.net/shop/anonymous-sim-card/ which offer physical SIM cards. I have not tested them.

        A great website for non KYC services is https://kycnot.me (it's where I go first for research), there are more offers when it comes to anonymous numbers and renting SIM numbers.

        If you go ahead with your Amazon strategy, you'd need to make sure to set up an anonymous Amazon account remotely (without VPN at a public WiFi), pay with vouchers bought at a remote location with cash and deliver to Amazon lockers. You'll have to escape all their mechanisms to identify you (e.g. never give a phone number), it's not easy but possible. In the end Amazon wants to do business and will sell you stuff even if they can't monetize your data.

            ILIKETRAINS

            The Netherlands has prepaid sims which you can buy anywhere without showing ID and without registering. Receiving calls and sms work out of the box without topping up.

            *Mind you that, depending on which carrier, you either have to top up once every 6 months or use the sim for outgoing calls at least once every 6 months to prevent deactivation. Topping up can be done with a top up voucher which can be bought anonymously.

                DeletedUser131
                And the same goes for Germany and Czech. You buy for certain amount your SIM card and it would include the credit for the amount you paid for the SIM card. If you do not intend to charge it with another credit, it would work for circa a year since you first used it, or till you used the credit. The calls, SMS and data are usually considerably pricier than you would get with the data plan. It depends on the carrier.

                    Moisture
                    If you do not intend to use the SIM in the country where you bought your SIM, it would switch to so called Roaming. So SMS and calls would be fine, but the data speed might be limited to LTE, this also depends on your location in EU. But mostly it depends on your carrier.

                      Out of the topic food for thought:
                      In nearby future we would not believe that people actually paid for the data.

                      What would happen if enough people would suddenly decided not to pay for internet?

                      In most cases we pay for the chance to be used (or in other words our data to be used or exploited) and to be offered commercials and things to purchase.

                      Most people - me sadly in most cases included - use internet in this way:
                      You can have three wishes. You can wish for any knowledge, wisdom, secrets etc. You can travel the galaxies. You can wish for anything.
                      Answer: Wow, really ? I want the new phone but in some cool color. I saw a woman eating tasty looking sandwich the other day - where did she bought it? Aaaaand finally will it rain tomorrow 'cause I want to go shopping.
                      With this what would really changed without internet:-)

                        Moisture What would happen if enough people would suddenly decided not to pay for internet?

                        Everything would run really freaking fast for the people who hadn't been disconnected?

                          N1b There's also https://simsup.net/shop/anonymous-sim-card/ which offer physical SIM cards. I have not tested them.

                          A great website for non KYC services is https://kycnot.me (it's where I go first for research), there are more offers when it comes to anonymous numbers and renting SIM numbers.

                          N1b this might be of interest for your case: https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/15471-guide-on-how-to-anonymously-use-any-network-provider-using-disposable-esims

                          Definitely thanks for those links. (Yeah I'm aware amazon needing to be out-smarted but it is still more convenient then to travel ;) )

                          DeletedUser131 The Netherlands has prepaid sims which you can buy anywhere without showing ID and without registering. Receiving calls and sms work out of the box without topping up.

                          yes, the NL cards are the first I did stumble upon. But I also read that they actually have now an ID law?

                          Moisture And the same goes for Germany and Czech.

                          regarding duration of use, yes but at in Germany you are required to show your ID. Therefore not feasible.

                          Data plan etc. are not important. It has to receive SMS. Full stop.

                          Moisture Out of the topic food for thought:

                          cool, cool cool, cool... so... where do I get now a SIM as described?

                                      ILIKETRAINS
                                      Disclaimer: I’m not a legal adviser.

                                      If the ‘certain country in the middle of the EU’ is the one I think of, then, paying someone to buy you the SIM card in their name is an idea that has been thrown about quite a few times, with some people telling they did this.

                                      The specific law requires telecommunication service providers to give the customer’s info to the state, but as far as I know, there’s nothing explicitly written against a citizen circumventing it.

                                        In the UK no ID is required to buy a sim.
                                        You can currently have a monthly 50gb sim that would allow 30gb for roaming in the majority of the EU, for the significant expense of £1.25 per month for 7 months. This obviously includes unlimited texts and calls.
                                        However, as with most services, if you intend to use it in its roaming capacity, then they operate a rolling 90 out of 180 days service before they increase the charges. If you only receive on it then all should remain at normal rate.
                                        The sim would need activation and a postal address in the UK, and is paid for using a continual charge to a debit/credit card.
                                        Which country are we talking about?