4 ms·

Yes, this is a good idea. But it's an extension of "stop relying so much on a non-free, proprietary 9-digit number as your id only to be at the mercy of your p

Yes, this is a good idea. But it's an extension of "stop relying so much on a non-free, proprietary 9-digit number as your id only to be at the mercy of your phone carrier". Personally, I use a data-only plan and feel much better than when I had a carrier-provided phone number.

sneak 13y ago
A data-only plan still has a carrier-provided phone number, and it will still default to that phone number when sending iMessages, happily ignorant of the fact that it can't call or text or MMS.
- shurcooL 13y ago
  You're talking about invisible implementation details. My iMessage/FaceTime are set to use an email as the only ID. No one else knows or uses my data-only phone number. Just like they don't know or use my IMEI number.
  - sneak 13y ago
    No, I'm not - it will default to using that as the outbound ID even on a data-only plan, because iOS doesn't know it's a data-only plan. The fact that you must go and manually change it to your email address for outbound iMessages is the part that's invisible.
    - shurcooL 13y ago
      My iOS knows because it runs on an data-only device (iPad mini with cellular).
      - rosser 13y ago
        Do you suppose that might be because your iOS knows it's not on a phone?
        shurcooL 13y ago
        What is a "phone"? Is it a device with a rotary dial? Or is a device capable of making voice/video calls. A cellular iPad mini, IMO, is simply a mobile iOS device with a 7.9" screen. It can make/receive calls similarly to the 4" screen iOS device (think FaceTime audio, Skype, VoIP, etc.).
lukeschlather 13y ago
This has nothing to do with the phone carrier. In the US phone numbers are much more open than any other means of identifying someone you want to contact. "non-free" is a bizarre thing to say in this context. No identifier is going to be free as in speech - that would defeat the purpose. If you want to have assurance that you can keep the identifier it had better not be free as in beer either - the provider of the identifier could revoke it at any time. Some sort of government-issued communications identifier might provide the needed benefits, but actually the phone number is the best solution to the problem that we have. If you're relying on an email address, you're in much shakier territory. (Unless you own your own domain and email hosting solution, and unless you're a multinational corporation it's likely to be less reliable than other options.)
- MereInterest 13y ago
  >No identifier is going to be free as in speech - that would defeat the purpose. I would say that a public key would work well as a free as in speech identifier. It uniquely identifies an address-holder, and the full software necessary to send messages using that key can be obtained and held on one's own. The problem comes when expecting an identifier to be associated with a person, since there you need a trusted authority to relate between names and keys.
- shurcooL 13y ago
  I'm pretty sure it's quite possible and easy to create an email address, be it from gmail or another email provider. That email address will be valid and accessible as long as you have internet access. You can travel, use Wi-Fi or cellular data, and it will work. You can create a new email address for free. In that context, getting a phone number is much more limited and not free (you need to pay for a voice plan, etc.). And your ability to use said number from other countries (roaming) is limited and expensive.

sneak 13y ago

A data-only plan still has a carrier-provided phone number, and it will still default to that phone number when sending iMessages, happily ignorant of the fact that it can't call or text or MMS.

shurcooL 13y ago
You're talking about invisible implementation details. My iMessage/FaceTime are set to use an email as the only ID. No one else knows or uses my data-only phone number. Just like they don't know or use my IMEI number.
- sneak 13y ago
  No, I'm not - it will default to using that as the outbound ID even on a data-only plan, because iOS doesn't know it's a data-only plan. The fact that you must go and manually change it to your email address for outbound iMessages is the part that's invisible.
  - shurcooL 13y ago
    My iOS knows because it runs on an data-only device (iPad mini with cellular).
    - rosser 13y ago
      Do you suppose that might be because your iOS knows it's not on a phone?
      - shurcooL 13y ago
        What is a "phone"? Is it a device with a rotary dial? Or is a device capable of making voice/video calls. A cellular iPad mini, IMO, is simply a mobile iOS device with a 7.9" screen. It can make/receive calls similarly to the 4" screen iOS device (think FaceTime audio, Skype, VoIP, etc.).

lukeschlather 13y ago

This has nothing to do with the phone carrier. In the US phone numbers are much more open than any other means of identifying someone you want to contact. "non-free" is a bizarre thing to say in this context. No identifier is going to be free as in speech - that would defeat the purpose. If you want to have assurance that you can keep the identifier it had better not be free as in beer either - the provider of the identifier could revoke it at any time. Some sort of government-issued communications identifier might provide the needed benefits, but actually the phone number is the best solution to the problem that we have. If you're relying on an email address, you're in much shakier territory. (Unless you own your own domain and email hosting solution, and unless you're a multinational corporation it's likely to be less reliable than other options.)

MereInterest 13y ago
>No identifier is going to be free as in speech - that would defeat the purpose. I would say that a public key would work well as a free as in speech identifier. It uniquely identifies an address-holder, and the full software necessary to send messages using that key can be obtained and held on one's own. The problem comes when expecting an identifier to be associated with a person, since there you need a trusted authority to relate between names and keys.
shurcooL 13y ago
I'm pretty sure it's quite possible and easy to create an email address, be it from gmail or another email provider. That email address will be valid and accessible as long as you have internet access. You can travel, use Wi-Fi or cellular data, and it will work. You can create a new email address for free. In that context, getting a phone number is much more limited and not free (you need to pay for a voice plan, etc.). And your ability to use said number from other countries (roaming) is limited and expensive.