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If saving money is the reason, go for a prepaid card. German/Dutch prepaid cards have far long credit life. I travel full-time nowadays and I can use my KPN num

by Ayesh 7y ago

If saving money is the reason, go for a prepaid card. German/Dutch prepaid cards have far long credit life. I travel full-time nowadays and I can use my KPN number for less than €1 per year. German Alditalk credit lasts 24 months IIRC, and topping up extends the credit shelf life. Pretty much every SIM card has free incoming SMS when roaming. USSD are also free with some carriers. Losing SIM card is less of a hassle with eSIMs. Perhaps other than tracking concerns, I'm totally not convinced with the reasoning.

testis321 7y ago
> Perhaps other than tracking concerns, I'm totally not convinced with the reasoning. Tracking is not an issue, if you keep your phone in airplane mode (wifi and bluetooth can be enabled on most phones, but mobile network stays disabled), or if you just remove the sim card, and put it back, on those rare occasion when you need it (so you don't have to bother other people)
- paublyrne 7y ago
  If you have wifi turned on then what's to stop you being tracked. I imagine Google Maps can track you using a combination of GPS and WiFi, as well as working out your likely route between locations for periods you're out of contact.
  - csydas 7y ago
    Precisely. With any outgoing connection, your phone is constantly looking, reporting, and talking. IIRC, didn't Google (or maybe even some Open Initiative) do a huge mapping of routers based just on the MAC and overlays with GoogleMaps or OpenStreet? A connection exposes you to surveillance, and yes, it's worse with SIMs, but having WiFi on just adds a little latency to the same thing. Public Routers that you're discovering do the same thing. I had thought this was the entire point of iOS devices randomizing their MACs when scanning available networks (no idea if this ever got shipped with Android devices). I am probably in the "nutty" quadrant when it comes to concerns about tracking, surveillance concerns, and online privacy, but I also don't really like needlessly inconveniencing myself just to undermine the entire purpose of why the inconvenience is necessary in the first place. Your phone is always talking -- SIM card or not. I'm not even sure modern non-smart phones (flip revivals and such) are wifi free. Such protections are a good ideal, but a lot of people have an unrealistic idea of the threat actors they're trying to protect against.
ferzul 7y ago
A German/Dutch sim card doesn't help someone living in Indonesia/Malaysia. Also, the fact that the credit lasts 24 months before they steal it for not using it is meaningless, since life with a sim that has no data and makes no outgoing calls or sms is almost identical to life without a sim, except for the tracking and the ability to be found by others. So i think it completely misses the message.
- Ayesh 7y ago
  You can receive unlimited amount of SMSs for free.

by Ayesh 7y ago

testis321 7y ago

> Perhaps other than tracking concerns, I'm totally not convinced with the reasoning. Tracking is not an issue, if you keep your phone in airplane mode (wifi and bluetooth can be enabled on most phones, but mobile network stays disabled), or if you just remove the sim card, and put it back, on those rare occasion when you need it (so you don't have to bother other people)

paublyrne 7y ago
If you have wifi turned on then what's to stop you being tracked. I imagine Google Maps can track you using a combination of GPS and WiFi, as well as working out your likely route between locations for periods you're out of contact.
- csydas 7y ago
  Precisely. With any outgoing connection, your phone is constantly looking, reporting, and talking. IIRC, didn't Google (or maybe even some Open Initiative) do a huge mapping of routers based just on the MAC and overlays with GoogleMaps or OpenStreet? A connection exposes you to surveillance, and yes, it's worse with SIMs, but having WiFi on just adds a little latency to the same thing. Public Routers that you're discovering do the same thing. I had thought this was the entire point of iOS devices randomizing their MACs when scanning available networks (no idea if this ever got shipped with Android devices). I am probably in the "nutty" quadrant when it comes to concerns about tracking, surveillance concerns, and online privacy, but I also don't really like needlessly inconveniencing myself just to undermine the entire purpose of why the inconvenience is necessary in the first place. Your phone is always talking -- SIM card or not. I'm not even sure modern non-smart phones (flip revivals and such) are wifi free. Such protections are a good ideal, but a lot of people have an unrealistic idea of the threat actors they're trying to protect against.

ferzul 7y ago

A German/Dutch sim card doesn't help someone living in Indonesia/Malaysia. Also, the fact that the credit lasts 24 months before they steal it for not using it is meaningless, since life with a sim that has no data and makes no outgoing calls or sms is almost identical to life without a sim, except for the tracking and the ability to be found by others. So i think it completely misses the message.

Ayesh 7y ago
You can receive unlimited amount of SMSs for free.