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Not that long ago you could buy a prepaid cell phone with cash, an unlocked cell phone with cash, and a sim card with cash, without having to show any ID, in the USA. As far as I know this is now impossible. Every store now requires ID when purchasing these things. Is there any way to obtain a cell phone that respects my privacy and therefore security in the US any longer? Are these rules about showing ID state-specific? I'm curious if anyone else has recent experience trying to do what used to be the norm. Obviously any sim card or phone tied to an id, credit card, etc., offers no privacy. Thanks!
takyon: People IRL and on IRC are telling me that no, you do not necessarily need an ID to obtain a prepaid cell phone. You might want to get it months in advance of doing anything with it so that store CCTV footage is erased, and you might want to put it in a faraday cage (several layers of foil can also be used) before it is anywhere near your house or primary identity-tracked phone(s). In fact, you could do that in the parking lot of the place you buy it. Here are some related stories:
How Two Escaped Killers Could Completely Disappear Off the Grid
Bill Aims to Identify U.S. Prepaid Cellular Users
Thailand Plans to Track All SIM Cards Sold in the Country
(Score: 4, Informative) by jelizondo on Friday February 03 2017, @10:17PM
I use Mr. Number. You CAN administer your own listing, i.e., any number not in your contacts or address book is redirected to voicemail or just terminated, your choice, leaving a record or not. You can (or not) mark unwanted numbers a number of ways (spam, debt collectors, etc.) to help the community.
What more administration do you want?
(Score: 2) by Arik on Friday February 03 2017, @10:31PM
If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by requerdanos on Friday February 03 2017, @11:21PM
Choosing not to install such an app would provide the "less" you seek via features already not present in the phone itself.
(Score: 2) by Justin Case on Friday February 03 2017, @11:28PM
I'm not trying to speak for Arik but here's what I would like:
1. I admin a whitelist of my friends. Potentially, anyone I call may be easily added to that list.
2. That's it. No other callers/texters can penetrate my universe. At all.
(Score: 2) by jelizondo on Saturday February 04 2017, @04:36AM
So if the 'whitelist' is called your Address / Contact Book, you have a problem? It must be called a 'whitelist'?
Anyone NOT on your address/contact book CAN be banned to: your choice: 1) voice mail or 2) terminated (i.e. no voice mail, no nothing)