I’m looking into getting a flip phone with a separate number so that I can sign up for a few apps that without associating them with the complete identity profile in the data marketplace that is linked to my actual phone number.
To be clear, the apps will still be downloaded and utilized on my primary smartphone. But the phone number through which I receive verification codes during registration will be a separate device.
Has any one done this? Tips for selecting a cheapo phone and prepaid service?
Honestly, if you don’t want a separate device, I’d sign up for a VoIP number. I use voip.ms, it’s a dollar or two a month for the number, and you pay per minute and per text (about a penny each, IIRC). You can forward calls to your primary number, or set up a SIP app (I’m using one called ZoiPer). I usually load it up with $20 per year or so.
The problem I have with this is that it still links to my primary number through data profiling. Seems like a good option if I just want to keep my personal number separate from my work clients. But for data privacy, idk.
Through data profiling? Not sure what you mean.
Every person has a massive profile (table / database) built all about them. This isn’t conspiracy. This is big business. There are a few data brokerage companies focused on people:
-Acxiom (worlds biggest broker, pretty much every piece of junk mail you get drives from a company purchasing data from them)
-TransUnion (credit, such as if you pay the minimum bill or are late on payments)
-CoreLogic (all real estate purchase information)
-FourSquare Labs (location broker which i find to be particularly insidious)
There are also databases built specifically for business entities, such as Data Axle.
And companies will purchase packages from ALL of these data brokers when they want to target a specific audience.
Ah, gotcha. I kinda figured that was out there, but didn’t have names to associate with them.
I guess I’m wondering how a VoIP number would differ significantly from a burner phone. Obviously the burner is more private (assuming you pay cash, there’d be zero way to trace it anywhere). Signing up for a VoIP number with an alias seems almost as untraceable, assuming the VoIP company isn’t selling your data?
Why would we assume the VOIP company isn’t selling our data?
Yes, I do this plenty. I have some SIMs I continue to pay for in cash (pay as you go) so I keep having access to the phone number, and it’s not easily tieable to my identity (ie you’d figure out who it was probably through watching CCTV of me buying it which seems like quite a lot of effort, so good enough for people with lower threat models).
I don’t know where you are but in terms of selecting a service or phone, I would just walk into a local shop and see what they have on offer. I can’t imagine prices would vary that wildly between shops.
Edit: also no need to buy a whole new phone if you don’t have a state threat model and just want to make it harder to track you for eg data mining corpos. You can just swap out the sim in your normal phone to receive texts then put your regular sim back in afterwards. Or if you have a dual sim tray. You could also anonymously buy an esim so it doesn’t take up a physical sim slot.
i’ve been using prepaid for almost a decade now and i only buy $100 androids with the latest release and i use my voip number for everything.
i started doing the prepaid plan because i don’t always renew each month since i only need the data connection and i’m almost always at home. the $100 androids are a thing for me because i’m klutz with all personal electronics. so it’s more like i accidentally stumbled upon this form of privacy rather than seeking it out from the onset.
