Almost all countries require official authentication to activate a SIM card. This seems to me as a huge privacy problem, if the country can track sim cards across cell towers and connect them to a person. It seems like a dystopian system, that we litterely can not hide from our governments without turning off our smartphones. It seems incredibly unnecessary to me and just sets up the system to be abused.
Or do I understand something wrong?
What can we do against this? There are some sim cards that can be bought second hand, but they will not be a long term solution.
Counter point: I don’t want an untraceable phone used as a detonator. There’s a reason that these things are linked to real-world identities.
This. It’s about crime. You couldn’t sign up for landline service without providing the same info as any other utility, and it was tied to an address. I’m fine with cell service being traceable, with a warrant or court order (and not a secret rubber-stamp FISA court, a real one).
Payphones have existed for decades. They would still exist if not for cell phones.
I don’t have this much trust in the system anymore to be honest. If the data is available, it can be misused or leaked or hacked. Maybe I am paranoid ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
With wireless systems like LoRa, you can send totally legally, basically untraceable data across over 50 km.
This is not a real problem.
I live in the Czech Republic and I can buy a SIM card in any supermarket. Put on some hat so I can’t be recognized on a camera, wait some time so they delete their camera recordings, and I’m good to go. Not that I do that, though.
What payment methods can be used that can’t be tracked?
cash
Confirming, you can use cash with no problem.
I doubt most of the companies tracking people with their phone even bother trying to get at that data since finding your identity is so easy when there is some tracking in almost every app.
Totally, but the government does not really have access to this data, they would have to know what apps to look for first
The thing is, even if you would not need to link your identity to your sim card, it would still be trivial to identify who you are if you use your phone like a normal human. Thanks to cell towers.
But yes this is just an excuse and does not stop much crime. If you want to break into a bank or hurt someone just leave your phone at home and you already circumvented this measure.
It’s even simpler than that; you probably pay for your SIM credit online / with a card, which is much easier to tie to a person than using cell towers for tracking.
If you buy an anonymous simcard, don’t put it into a phone where was your (e)sim. The carrier can see all IMEIs of the phone.
Also carrying them together is sus when they connect to same towers at the same time
Use a phone with no Sim card and just connect to a WiFi hotspot when you need internet?
Almost all countries require official authentication to activate a SIM card.
Fortunately not in the Netherlands. I don’t think that’s the case in the rest of the EU. I can use free sim cards as much as I want!
When communicating with cell towers, a phone will also broadcast its unique IMEI identifier. So, even if you swap the SIM card every day, your IMEI is still being broadcast the same.
Changing the IMEI of a phone in the EU is illegal, unless the manufacturer consents: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2002/31/section/1
So… I have a Chinese 4G mobile router, and the manufacturer gives me the permission to change the IMEI as it is an integrated feature of the device. I use that for my data. The data codes I purchase small quantities in bulk with cash, and I can access the router via its ip from my phone’s browser to send the SMS messages to activate the data codes as needed. Since WiFi connections are abundant around here I keep these codes for emergencies. I can go a few months some time without activating data codes. I mostly use them when traveling internationally.
Brand of the 4g router?
I have the Tianje MF903 (https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/32719535459.html), which I bought early 2022.
But just now I have done a search and I see many more pocket wifi routers now. Unfortunately I can’t tell you if they work well, or if it is also possible to change their IMEI easily. The one I have is functional, but it doesn’t have a very long battery life.