Does Anyone Use their Phone without a SIM Card?
This is something I've been thinking about for a while. I've decided to get a Pixel with GrapheneOS as my next phone and I'm trying to decide the pros and cons of putting a SIM card in it. Convenience vs privacy, public wifi with a VPN vs using phone data, etc.
I can't get a SIM card where I live without ID and I'm looking to reduce being tracked as much as possible. Does anyone else do the same thing?
solrize
in reply to freedickpics • • •phanto
in reply to freedickpics • • •Em Adespoton
in reply to freedickpics • • •adarza
in reply to freedickpics • • •gtr
in reply to freedickpics • • •obamakitten
in reply to freedickpics • • •jmp.chat/sim
Extremely useful if you are in North America regularly but not enough to justify a data plan. Still competitive with every single other pay-as-you-go plan in the states by at least 30% I have checked lol. The phone number service combined with it is useful because you get data-based phone calls from North America and Canada when you're abroad (you can hook it up to a bunch of other different services too check the site but I'm assuming based on the user base of this site) and it's super cheap, can maintain different numbers and track down who is getting you spam callers etc. Pay-as-you-go looks expensive but you'd be surprised how many services can be squeezed into a text-only minimal data kind of workflow. I can give you a list of apps that work well with under 1GB/month mobile data usage. You do kind of need either a model w a SD card slot or a chunky 512GB+ future ebrick Pixel model because using minimal data ends up using a lot of storage. Works best if you are usually on WiFi or ha
... Show more...jmp.chat/sim
Extremely useful if you are in North America regularly but not enough to justify a data plan. Still competitive with every single other pay-as-you-go plan in the states by at least 30% I have checked lol. The phone number service combined with it is useful because you get data-based phone calls from North America and Canada when you're abroad (you can hook it up to a bunch of other different services too check the site but I'm assuming based on the user base of this site) and it's super cheap, can maintain different numbers and track down who is getting you spam callers etc. Pay-as-you-go looks expensive but you'd be surprised how many services can be squeezed into a text-only minimal data kind of workflow. I can give you a list of apps that work well with under 1GB/month mobile data usage. You do kind of need either a model w a SD card slot or a chunky 512GB+ future ebrick Pixel model because using minimal data ends up using a lot of storage. Works best if you are usually on WiFi or have a hotspot (not sure if Calyx institute still exists but I used that a few years ago and it was very funny).
Anyways that's how you operate without a real data plan but both jmp and calyx are secretly T-Mobile but shhhhhh don't say it loudly
JMP Data Plan
jmp.chatbananabread
in reply to freedickpics • • •colournoun
in reply to bananabread • • •realitaetsverlust
in reply to colournoun • • •That isn't entirely true. While a phone without a SIM can still listen to broadcasts, it never registers as a subscriber because It's missing a IMSI. So no, without a SIM you are indeed invisible to carriers. It's a bit like screaming into the woods - someone might hear you if you do that, but if he doesn't scream back, you have no idea he's there.
The only exception to this if you're actively calling emergency services - in that case, your phone will attempt an emergency attach to any network it can find, which is the point where the carrier of that network could see your IMEI. However, apart from that, you are indeed completely invisible without a SIM card.
RodgeGrabTheCat 🇨🇦🏴☠️
in reply to freedickpics • • •eleitl
in reply to freedickpics • • •I only use the old phone for cellular telephony.
utopiah
in reply to freedickpics • • •That's a strange argument, why do you and lots of people replying here believe they are NOT tracked over WiFi which are themselves relying on ISPs?
If you don't trust your ISP why would you trust random ISPs more?
WhyJiffie
in reply to utopiah • • •agile_squirrel
in reply to utopiah • • •Auli
in reply to freedickpics • • •monovergent
in reply to freedickpics • • •If I had to go WiFi-only, there would probably be hours-long gaps when I am unreachable. So my compromise is to use a non-KYC data-only SIM. Even if VPN is left off, it routes traffic first to a datacenter far from my actual location, and there is no longer a route for unencrypted calls and SMS and the associated spam. I don't have a habit of streaming media on the go, so the data lasts quite a while and there isn't much of an urge to use public WiFi.
Doesn't fully eliminate the problem as IMEI is still sent and the cellular modem is still a rogue black box, but a step in the right direction. Knowing that the cellular modem can run whatever code with deep privileges as it wishes, I try to keep as little of my business on my phone as I can, with the bulk of my workflow centered around my laptop. Don't get me wrong, I don't think this automatically makes me immune, but I do think it's a neat little exercise. Perhaps one could abstract the problem of the modem by getting a separate wireless hotspot.
My friends and family have accepted that they either need to get Signal,
... Show more...If I had to go WiFi-only, there would probably be hours-long gaps when I am unreachable. So my compromise is to use a non-KYC data-only SIM. Even if VPN is left off, it routes traffic first to a datacenter far from my actual location, and there is no longer a route for unencrypted calls and SMS and the associated spam. I don't have a habit of streaming media on the go, so the data lasts quite a while and there isn't much of an urge to use public WiFi.
Doesn't fully eliminate the problem as IMEI is still sent and the cellular modem is still a rogue black box, but a step in the right direction. Knowing that the cellular modem can run whatever code with deep privileges as it wishes, I try to keep as little of my business on my phone as I can, with the bulk of my workflow centered around my laptop. Don't get me wrong, I don't think this automatically makes me immune, but I do think it's a neat little exercise. Perhaps one could abstract the problem of the modem by getting a separate wireless hotspot.
My friends and family have accepted that they either need to get Signal, XMPP, or Matrix or I will be largely unreachable. The only remaining need for SMS and GSM voice calls stems from work, which is all handled by my work phone that is powered down, or at least disconnected, once I leave for the day. It sucks that this is not the norm, but it looks like I am quite fortunate that my friends, family, and employer all tolerate this workflow.
Take a look at "IoT" SIM cards, they're a bit expensive and data-only, but might not be subject to the same KYC regulations.
HubertManne
in reply to freedickpics • • •agile_squirrel
in reply to freedickpics • • •sneaky
in reply to freedickpics • • •realitaetsverlust
in reply to freedickpics • • •Not having a SIM-Card in your phone is like having a tank without a main gun - it drives, but it can't really do what it's supposed to do. I don't think that it's a good idea. Also, not having a SIM-Card doesn't make you invisible - only airplane mode really does that. Without some kind of network connectivity, you have an expensive, glorified brick that can make photos, play games and lets you listen to offline music.
Also, I'm wondering what exactly you're trying to achive. Get a private OS like graphene, don't install any google services, have anti-tracking protection installed into the browser (or use a safe and sane browser by default) and you're good.
Not having a SIM doesn't do anything for you except hiding from your carrier, however, if your threat model involves you being worried by being tracked by your carrier (and by extension, the feds), you're in really hot water already and you're probably better off with detaching yourself from the modern world.
basic daydreams
in reply to freedickpics • • •swelter_spark
in reply to freedickpics • • •