The Full Armor Package

UmbrellaElla

Hello around,
I need some advise from the pros here. Need hints, links, info and pros and cons for my plans for the defending of my digital life. I'm heading to the full armor package possible, step by step. I want to take myself out of this toxic-system, but being part of its non-toxic side again.

First: the Reason.
As an anticapitalist, I dont want to be part of the constant advertising-data-stream that comes from a stock-device, a phone number or anything.
As a citizen I dont want to be left behind vulnerable to the authorities, even if I'm not doing anything against the law.
As a user, I want to have peace of mind and the feeling, that I'm not being a needy and dumb product.

My plan is to reduce everything on everything, somekind of going "dark". The 100% variant is to get rid of all that stuff, i.e. ISP contract, Phone (SIM-Card), Bank-Account. But obvisually its not really possible without being soon the homeless guy at the next corner, begging for something to eat. I have a job, and need all that stuff, despite the fact that I dont want to.

The steps I can think of are:

1) Use a custom, non-stock Operating System for the phone
-> done. I'm using GOS on a Pixel 8.

2) Not using Windows for desktop
-> done. Using linux, sometimes tails from a stick.

3) Find a way to send anonymous money, i.g. prepaid-credit-card, digital-coin wallets.

4) Find a anonymous way to use a Sim Card for the phone, that is not linked in any way to a real bank-account, or anything?

What would you guys do, to achieve point 3?
And what, to achieve point 4?

What I've tried to achieve by myself:

Prepaid Credit Card (only for online transactions, e.g. buying eSim). There are some companies that give a virtual credit card, but all of them require a real telephone number to register, and real data, like adress and name. I dont want to do that. I remember I was using wirecard once where I had virtual card-details to use for online transactions and it was functioning. I could easily send money to it from my real bank-account. It was prepaid. Unfortunately I was not able to find any similar to this these days, where I can make an account with fake-data.

To get rid of my real physical Sim-Card and only using a eSim with data and voice-calls, I need a service where I can buy anonymous eSims, also as a prepaid-thing with 30 days of service which I could extend to another 30 days. But I couldnt find any and dont want to be trapped by some ass-companies and/or illegal providers with hidden agendas. Don't know at all.

At least I'm not very educated in this bit-coin thing. Would you prefer using etherna, bitcoin and which wallet would you use? And hows the environment set up for making transactions over it? What is important in a privacy environment? Going to an internet-cafe? From home? It is anonymous and not linked to my ISP or anything?

Any help would be highly appreciated!

Thanks in advance,
Uschi

Delaney

UmbrellaElla The steps I can think of are:

1) Use a custom, non-stock Operating System for the phone
-> done. I'm using GOS on a Pixel 8.

Good start

UmbrellaElla 2) Not using Windows for desktop
-> done. Using linux, sometimes tails from a stick.

Considering your goals, this is acceptable. I will advise that you avoid doing anything security sensitive on your desktop, like banking. Use your phone for that kind of stuff.

UmbrellaElla 3) Find a way to send anonymous money, i.g. prepaid-credit-card, digital-coin wallets.

If it's feasible for you, sure. But cash is still king.

UmbrellaElla 4) Find a anonymous way to use a Sim Card for the phone, that is not linked in any way to a real bank-account, or anything?

Not practical. Sims can't be anonymous and will always be associated with the devices you insert it into. You can achieve pseudonymity and avoid tying it to your identity, but all it takes is one slip up and all history of the sim is now tied to you. Better to just use airplane mode if this is a threat.

UmbrellaElla At least I'm not very educated in this bit-coin thing.

You won't achieve privacy by using Bitcoin

JollyRancher

UmbrellaElla

For 3, if you are in the US then you can walk into basically any gas station or grocery store and get a pre-paid Visa gift card (up to a $500 limit) for cash with no real issue or hassle. Wait a few months after purchase to use it and the ability of even a major law enforcement effort to directly trace that card to you is incredible small. Honestly, it beats everything short or Monero for anonymous payments (and is much more usable).

For 4, if you are in the US then you want Cape. You can pay with that pre-paid visa gift card, don't need to provide any information, and it has the best privacy setup of any wireless carrier in the world - by orders of magnitude. If you want a code to get $10 a month off, reach out via the SimpleX link in my profile.

UmbrellaElla

littlerack
Haha! You say my need "not to be part of this at all" makes me a paranoid sociopath someday? Would you say I want "too much"? Or "dont take it too serious?" Or would you say privacy is only for new Snowdens? I dont believe you. It's my right not to be selled, being anonymous and have privacy, and not to be under surveillance from any actor. And its my right to do technically everything not being part of this. If you think this is paranoid these days, you are wrong.

littlerack

littlerack if your new phone number is recorded in your less-conscious colleague's phonebook under "Jerry Lo, tinfoil-hat-weirdo". Entities linked, you're busted, time was wasted.

Do you understand this part? It's realy hard to keep balance between usability and measures to avoid linking of your "hidden peraonas" unless you're detached from society.

UmbrellaElla

littlerack
This doesn't give anything helpful to my questions, instead put some basic discussion that I don't want at this point. But thanks for your hint, that there is no 100% anonymity, I understand.

MineralWater

UmbrellaElla
Actually, this was very helpful.

You seem to not want to process that once your phone number is in anyone's phone contacts together with your real name, Google/Apple already know who you are when your number is sending someone a message or when you call someone.

Aside that, when you use this phone number with a doctor's office, it's very likely it will be connected to your person by the used office software. And specially on the medical field there are huge companies behind the office software who profile everything they get.

Credit cards also, it's legally impossible to get a credit card without providing ID nowadays. You either use one, or you use cash only (but even that can be tracked if authorities got an eye on you).

The thing is simple, if you don't want to be tracked, don't use smartphones at all. There is no magic workaround to become invisible, the tech went forward, and unfortunately the criminals too, so today surveillance is inevitable.

Not being tracked by advertisers and data miners is only possible if you don't carry a data collection with you. And a smartphone is just that.

Buy a paper calendar, write paper letters, use your landline phone only, print out your city map on paper and shopping only offline. Use cash money where still possible and watch TV via terrestrial antenna, or buy DVD.

People always want to have the cake without baking it. If you don't want to be observed, you have to make sacrifices.

Just toggle something in your OS won't do the job.

DeletedUser639

You already have your answer, but don't realise it.

Tails.
anything else in your pocket is just a homing beacon back to you.

UmbrellaElla

DeletedUser639
Hey,
you mean using tails as desktop with permanent storage and browsing? What is with the other "realities"? Where some need literally for everything a phone, app, or whatever. What if I have complex office tasks? Tails is ok for me so far for surfing and doing some stuff with libre. But cannot use other programs that didnt come with the image.

UmbrellaElla

MineralWater
Hey, thanks for explaining me this a little more detailed.
But what if I'm using two handies. One that is known for everyone else, friends, colleagues, doctors. This one will stay at home and is only for calls and is treatened like an old land-line phone. It will never see the internet and will never move arround. And one which I'm only using for mobile data.

With this second one (the private one) I will do surfing, gathering information and so on, but not use the internet for normal banking and stuff, or log on to my personal blog-website with imprint. Would this make any difference?

The private one would have a eSim which is not linked to my real identity and has no number. Not linked to identity means here, it was bought with a prepaid credit card or digital coins.

Whats about that?

DeletedUser622

MineralWater or you use cash only

I only use cash offline. Been doing so for many years, no issues so far. No loyalty cards either.

littlerack

wondering what's in "Remember that being anonymous is not only your job, all your preps make no practical sense if your new phone number is recorded in your less-conscious colleague's phonebook under "Jerry Lo, tinfoil-hat-weirdo". Entities linked, you're busted, time was wasted.
If you follow all your steps, unless you're mentally strong person and unless you're new Snowden, will just increase your chances to become more paranoid sociopat." breakes code of conduct so the post got deleted...

Novalissoide

littlerack breakes code of conduct so the post got deleted...

And your method of testing if this is the case is simply writing the same post again and see if it'll disappear as well? 🎯 😊

dhhdjbd

UmbrellaElla eSim

I just want to mention, that i dont think eSim is more private / better then a physical sim.

treequell eSIMs do provide protection against SIM swapping attacks, as you say. To install the eSIM you need to enable privileged eSIM management, which means Google will receive your IMEI. Either way, your mobile carrier knows your IMEI.

not sure if this changed tho.

If you can buy a simcard anonymously depends on your location

DeletedUser639

UmbrellaElla What is with the other "realities"? Where some need literally for everything a phone, app, or whatever.

No, I think need and want are the issue here. There is life without a phone...

UmbrellaElla What if I have complex office tasks? Tails is ok for me so far for surfing and doing some stuff with libre. But cannot use other programs that didnt come with the image.

You are not familiar with how Tails can be of use to you. You can load additional software into tails and have it start when tails starts if you are so inclined, or have it disappear when Tails is shut down.

Learn to use what you have before jumping down the security/privacy rabbit hole..

UmbrellaElla

DeletedUser639 I prefer learning while doing. :) Thanks.

UmbrellaElla

DeletedUser639 No, I mean need, because a phone number is mendatory for literally everything nowadays.

UmbrellaElla

DeletedUser622 yes, I do the same. I find it strange to see online what I bought 70 days ago for which I cant even remember. But occasionally I need/want to buy things in online-shops. For me its ok as long as the shop offers a payment method, preferably a bill which I can pay later by official bank transfer. But if you need something special or from us shops or from elsewhere international, there's sometimes only the possibility to pay with mastercard or visa.

For this reason, I would like to find a solution for buying things (pseudo)anonym like with a prepaid credit card. Especially for buying an eSIM that is not linked to my real identity (I understand what you guys sayin, littlerack, :) but see my answer to MineralWater) There are popular ones where you have a regular bank-account and they give a prepaid master-card, like bunq. But you can only use it by app, not by website. I tried to make an paypal account with fake data, but they want to link this profile with a real number for 2fa and the free fakemail providers I found wont let their service used for money-related things.

I don't understand, why it should be more safe to make money transactions by phone, as mentioned from Delaney, would you please give more info to that?

UmbrellaElla

Hey Jolly, thank you!

I just thought about the thing with: "attention, that you not gonna detach from society, or getting paranoid."

Its just simply the thing, if someone is arguing this way to someone who tries to find a way out of this toxicity, what is definitely necessary in my view nowadays - read the news - this reveals only his own thinking. This only exposes his own self-image that digital life is ultimate and uncompromising attached to society.

For those people attachment to society means to be part of the digital life. Attached to society by living a digital life and takes all the odds, that comes with it. So in other words: attached to technology which first makes me detached from others i.g by using antisocial networks and reducing step by step real connection to people, should now keeps me attached to society. This is weird. :)

And I just wanted to say, probably I'm going the way to detach me completely from the digital life, not from society. These are two different things. I try to find myself back in a society where the digital part don't play such a big role. and all this IN ORDER to not being detached from society suddenly one day. Think about that. This has NOTHING to do with being paranoid or something similar. Don't believe those people! Going the "full-armor"-avoidance-strategy means exact ONE thing: you care for yourself and for others and this is a definite sign of mental healthiness.

Ella

PS: thanks for all the answers to my question.

mmobder

UmbrellaElla to detach me completely from the digital life, not from society

If you're part of a group that is planning to go out for hiking, beer-ing or any other -ing and you are out of fb/Whatsapp/rcs.
How can you be part of such group not annoying others while agreeing with others on scheduling and preparations?

andrej567

mmobder semaphore signaling with flags.