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Huh. I thought he had a free-libre cell phone at some point. Anyway, one can buy a throwaway cell phone in cash, and power it down when not in use, I thought.
by gohrt 13y ago
Huh. I thought he had a free-libre cell phone at some point.
Anyway, one can buy a throwaway cell phone in cash, and power it down when not in use, I thought. Like drug dealers do.
Still surveillable, but no more than any borrowed phone.
- GhotiFish 13y agohis priorities are more to do with freedom then they are to do with tracking. I don't think he would use those phones because those phones do not have their source available.
- dbrian 13y ago"I refuse to have a cell phone because they are tracking and surveillance devices." - RMS
- pmarin 13y agoAnyway, one can buy a throwaway cell phone in cash you can not do it in many countries like Spain where you have to provide your ID (because of terrorism).
- thejosh 13y agoSame as Australia.
- claudius 13y agoHm, curious. In Germany (and Austria, wherefrom I got my N9), it is perfectly fine to buy a phone. What you cannot do (legally) is buy a SIM card without ID – however, most shops just require you to fill in some form and don’t bother checking any form of ID.
- soult 13y agoIn Germany there is a "swapping" service[1] for SIM cards where you can send your prepaid SIM and will get a random SIM that another person sent in. And in Austria you can purchase both phones and (prepaid) SIMs without any ID or form to fill out. 1: http://www.daten-speicherung.de/index.php/kartentausch/ http://www.daten-speicherung.de/index.php/kartentausch/
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- jrabone 13y agoI discovered a couple of years ago (when my phone, er, met with a nasty firmware accident) that you cannot buy a phone in the UK over the counter without also buying a Pay-As-You-Go SIM with a traceable means of payment (ie. card). They simply refused to sell the phone to me unless I forked over £10 for a SIM I didn't want. Apparently the French are to blame for this little piece of legislation. I politely told them that the only reason I was in their shop was because it was an emergency, and I hoped that they enjoyed their future career packing boxes for internet retail, at least until they were replaced by robots. Harsh, but I never said I was a nice person.
- sigzero 13y ago> but I never said I was a nice person No, apparently you're a dick.
- quasque 13y agoThis is not the case in all situations, I think you were just unlucky with the policy of that company. Last phone I bought was paid for in cash, no questions asked. It wasn't from one of the large phone retailers, but not from anywhere dodgy, either [edit: it was from the Internet café here http://goo.gl/maps/DkMa2 http://goo.gl/maps/DkMa2]. The SIM card was also purchased in cash from a newsagent without having to provide any identifying details. I wasn't even going out of my way to avoid being traced - like you, I just needed a phone in an emergency, as my screen had broken on the old one.
- glaze 13y agoSome cellphones can be wiretapped even when powered off. http://news.cnet.com/2100-1029_3-6140191.html http://news.cnet.com/2100-1029_3-6140191.html
- gohrt 13y agoFair enough. > Some handsets can't be fully powered down without removing the battery; Someone like RMS would be comfortable pulling out a battery, I expect.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]