Hi all!
Newbie here on a privacy journey. My current objective is to create a cute little phone that limits tracking by surveillance capitalists, law enforcement, & the state.
That said, the stakes are not particularly high here. I just miss the world I grew up in & find the call of freedom enticing. So this is more of a hobby project for me to be able to put my main phone down and experience a world without tracking again.
So far I have installed GrapheneOS on my old phone. I’m absolutely in love with it and I’m 100% sold on one day even migrating my main phone to it. But thats not my main concern today.
For now, I have some questions related to SIM cards.
I understand that in order to avoid device number leaks (if that’s something one cares about) it’s important to not have a SIM card in the device and keep it on airplane mode.
However, years before privacy ever mattered to me I already had a SIM card and two eSIMs in this phone. And all of the advice I read talks about NEVER putting a SIM card in, but I have a hard time thinking critically about what that really means for those of us who ALREADY had one in.
If I remove that SIM card and eSIM and carry on using the phone, what are the privacy implications of such a choice?
Likewise, if I leave the SIM cards in but keep the phone on airplane mode is it really all that bad?
I assume at minimum this means that the IMEI number is stored somewhere in some cell tower logs. If the state were to seize my phone they could I suppose link the phone to things I did with my phone or accounts I used back before privacy mattered to me.
But are there other implications as well? Is this phone forever going to leak a connection to my old activity even if I remove the SIM cards, leave it on airplane mode, use a VPN and ensure it never falls into bad hands?
Thanks!
If you want no cellular tracking: remove SIM, disable eSIM, switch on airplane mode and disable WiFi-calling if not disabled already.
Yes unfortunately your device has already been “fingerprinted”, but with MAC randomization and GrapheneOS’ work on preventing apps from checking software and hardware identifiers, I think you’ll be fine unless you’re going against the NSA. You shouldn’t be using a phone if you’re up against multiple 3-letter agencies
That makes sense, thank you! I’m not expecting any issues with LEO so I’m fine. But out of principle and interest I like to still understand what I’m giving up and minimize how much privacy they take from me.
As you noted in another comment, your IMEI number is out and it has already been mapped to your current location. Which means if you travel with this device and security is tight enough, in theory they will be able to find out where you live. They will then probe for associated metadata from there.
Other than that, there’s not much risk as far as I can tell. Clear your list of WiFi networks before you travel and hope Google’s firmware for their modem isn’t spyware (it likely is though, Qualcomm made it).
IMEI number is out there and associated with home.
But if I remove the SIM, put it on airplane mode, and then travel, how can they detect my IMEI in a new location? Only by seizing the phone physically or perhaps if the emergency services settings leak it without a SIM right?
Interesting stuff tbh. At the end of the day I don’t have strong reasons for hiding except simply not liking the invasion of privacy. So I’m fine. But it does make me want to ditch my phone entirely sometimes.
Yes, by tight security I meant confiscation of your devices. This has been a regular thing in many middles eastern countries, some European countries and now the US, so it’s no longer a joke to the average Joe.
I wish I could survive without a SIM but a realistic look at my life makes it obvious that I cannot. Unfortunate
Yeah totally fair thanks for clarifying! I would love to minimize the use of SIM cards in my life. Maybe using a faraday bag. But I also won’t be travelling to the US or ME…
If you’re going to travel to Germany then you might face similar treatment. Take care
Thanks! There really isn’t any reason for me to be targeted so I think I’m fine personally. Privacy is a collective value though, so I wish to maximize it as an expression of my values.