>And the burner I use is never a smartphone -- I tend to pick up one of the $10 ones Why? What is your threat model? All phones have software that can be hack

>And the burner I use is never a smartphone -- I tend to pick up one of the $10 ones Why? What is your threat model? All phones have software that can be hacked, not just smartphones. But Apple and Google have vast teams aimed at protecting this code... random Chinese OEMs probably don't. And once you are in country, a smartphone can use Signal (over a foreign SIM or wifi) to have encrypted comms, while all your texts and calls will be intercepted in the clear.