How I ditched smartphones
discuss.techlore.tech
discuss.techlore.tech
The problem is many services out there using SMS for authentication codes blacklist VOIP numbers and only accept real phone numbers tied to a SIM/eSIM. E.g. In USA, the Social Security website doesn't accept VOIP numbers to verify logins. Also, some software purchase validation schemes (i.e. using phones as a form of "DRM" restriction) reject VOIP numbers.
In the early 2000s when VOIP started being offered to consumers, nobody checked for "is it VOIP?" so didn't rejected them. It was as good as a real phone number. But that has changed and more and more places will not accept them. A lot of financial services (trading platforms and KYC reject VOIP numbers).
For the software-verify-phone#-with-SMS, there was no other option. If one theoretically didn't have a real mobile phone #, there was no way to buy that software.
https://www.reiner-sct.com/en/produkt/reiner-sct-authenticat...
… and then decide whether you really want to get into electronics development.
I'll eventually pick one up to play around with..
Could probably compile it in if discipline is a concern.
The simpler solution, I keep coming back to, get a "Faraday bag" and keep your phone in it. Pull the phone out only when you need it.
If you still want PhD levels of complexity then I suppose you can try to be very methodical about where/when you "unbag" your smart phone so as not to reveal too much information about your habits, locale.
- Your (mainstream, commercial, surveillance-capitalism-AI-feeding moloch) smartphone remains a massive privacy / surveillance / manipulation threat.
- Odds are strong that you'll be leaving a strong location and travel signal by where and when you choose to unbag your device. Or bag it, if that occurs only near specific locations you intend to make private, effectively circling the area with a large, red "don't look here" sign.
- Your contacts list, contact history, activity, and data remain on what is primarily a surveillance tool to be used against you.
The approach taken here, in isolating the cellular network point-of-contact to a modem/router, which can reidentify itself (BSSID) and swap SIMs (this ... should be sufficient to break chain-of-event tracking, though you might find yourself burning through SIMs rather quickly), and relying on other, more-trusted devices for actual communications (voice, SMS (ugh!), Signal (much better), etc., is one I've been exploring for similar reasons. Suggested in a recent HN comment here: <https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45604692>.
Yes, it's more than a slight PITA, but such is the experience of swimming upstream.
I wasn't able to make the switch, I find that having a good camera on a phone is too much of a convenience.
Unihertz makes smartphones, not flip phones. Some have keyboards but they don’t flip open (no moving parts). They also don’t provide regular software updates and their phones are easily damaged. Honestly if you’re thinking about buying one of these smartphones, the iPhone SE line is probably a better choice. I’m still using my 2016 iPhone SE without issue, supports 4G LTE but no 5G and gets security patches from Apple. Can run most apps without issue. Newer SE models have 5G but ditched the home button, headphone jack, and got bigger, all downgrades imo. Another phone in this area is the Pixel 4a 5G, which I’ve considered buying to replace my ageing 2016 SE but haven't yet. (I might just replace it with another 2016 iPhone SE).
Japanese flip phones (Keitai) are there own separate rabbit hole which includes texting a random Japanese man on WhatsApp and paying him to unlock the phone for you.[0] Also very difficult (if not impossible) to find a 5G phone, most are running 4G or 3G. But they can run Andriod
The bottom line is that there are no great phones in this space. Dumbphones are a slightly different concept than flip phones; many people who use dumbphones also have a smartphone for everyday tasks (maps, banking app, etc.). These people are drawn to dumbphones for help with screen addiction, minimalism, or just the aesthetic, which is different for me because I'm looking for a flip phone that is just as capable and well-supported as the mainline smartphones but that actually fits in my hands and my pockets and has a long battery life.
>Why 5G? Coverage and longevity. I've had my SE for nearly 10 years at this point and would like to be able to keep my next phone for just as long, even if 4G LTE becomes sparser/gets sunset. (I have already noticed that I get poorer coverage compared to 5G phones).
>Why Android? I need to be able to run my banking app and all other this-could-have-been-a-website apps packaged for the masses.
[0] https://old.reddit.com/r/dumbphones/comments/14qky1j/a_conso...
bla bla bla
these guys say they are going to be shipping dev boards soon, looks tasty
Nothing but cellular service - calling, text, and phone-based internet - is affected. I could easily set it up to receive texts and phone calls when connected to my house Wifi, anyway.
Ha. VoIP is de facto illegal. I tried to ditch phone numbers and tie a VoIP to email. Everyone blocks it. Banks, government, consumer websites…
I'd suggest a few further elements to this approach:
- Carry a small-form-factor laptop or palmtop (there are DIY/hobbyist options available, though no commercial products currently) for any substantive communications. Keyboards still beat touchscreens for input by a wide margin, and are usually preferable to speech. The device can of course be provided with a mic and camera should you choose (I'd prefer external and removable here as well). Hybrid devices (laptop/tablet) provide the capabilities of a modern tablet (Android / iOS) with the keyboard stowed, but are a full Real Computer with it exposed, without the crippling limitations of either Google or Apple's mobile OSes and app stores.
- Find or make a mobile Bluetooth / WiFi only voice device. If you're looking for the ability to make and take calls when on the road, a small-form-factor device that doesn't talk to the mobile network directly could be pretty slick. (This would also be useful at fixed locations such as a home, office, or business as a wireless phone.) Apparently setting up your own pre-G4 hotspot violates broadcast regulations in most jurisdictions, so popping up your own dedicated Starfish to serve an old flip / candy-bar phone is an unlikely option.
Another major annoyance of any PSTN voice comms is ever-increasing rates of phone spam. Unfortunately, lowering comms costs to nil makes highly-marginal antisocial behaviours all the more viable. This is a reason I'm looking for VOIP options (small / home office) in which:
- Inbound calls would be routed to the VOIP system, which would deny, challenge, take a message, or forward calls to my mobile platform based on identity / characteristics. This would preserve ability of high-value contacts to reach me directly, whilst denying others claims to my time and attention. A sufficiently robust message / forward system, with, e.g., visual voice mail or voice-to-text transcription would also address the frequently cited exceptional cases of being able to accept urgent or emergency calls from, e.g., healthcare providers, schools, etc.
- Outbound calls would also be routed through the VOIP system. Even with an otherwise bog-standard smart- or feature-phone, this would reduce the surveillance footprint and value of that device in that it would simply be making and taking calls from a single number. Your contacts and comms device are entirely segregated, and the comms device itself becomes disposable without sacrificing a stable point of contact (now the VOIP system).
SMS texts and some related phone-number-based ID validation procedures would remain an issue with this system, though TFA looks as if it's addressing these in at least part.