38
If you had to provide gov ID to use your phone, what would you use?
(sh.itjust.works)
id just stop using phones
Full-time pocket radio
Excuse me if I am doubtful lol.
Nearly every country requires an ID. 80% of Europe or so, nearly all of Asia including China and India, all but 1 country in Africa, Australia, many/most countries in the Americas.
It is going to end up like seatbelts and surveillance in America. Tons of complaining and bitching and grand threats, but everyone immediately capitulating and putting up no resistance. That is just how humans are I think and this is a lot less of a deal than other surveillance being done daily (as long as encrypted messaging stands) since you are completely fingerprinted on your phone anyway and your identity is widely tied to your browsers and apps and google/apple accounts.
excused!
I believe you are right. In your doubtfulness. In general I mean, IDK about the person you were replying to, they could be an exception.
I think at most we'd see a very few holdouts. Almost everyone will go along. As you say, using a phone already ties it to you, for most ppl. There's a GPS track that stays in your home every night, and goes to your work every day. Fingerprinted browers that log into your accounts. A whole social graph map.
However. It's still a backward step, IMO. Today, it is possible, VERY difficult but possible, to use a smartphone anonymously. You have to be VERY careful. Faraday pouch 100% of the time it's near your house, lots of extreme steps like so. If the new FCC rules go info effect tho, it'll be almost impossible b/c the carrier just won't give you service unless you gave a photo ID.
If we're a assuming this is implemented by the OS, then a different OS. If implemented by a carrier, then I'd obfuscate my data through a VPN and possibly other tools. I'm already on a different OS and VPN so not much would change.
e: I guess a vpn wouldn't work if this was implemented by a carrier, but neither would a flipphone. At any rate, since the privacy community keeps coming out with tools, it would be a matter of time before a new workaround came out.
For the unaware, it was possible until now to get a smarrt phone in USA without showing any kind of ID. But that may be about to change. The current FCC wants to require companies to collect gov IDs for ppl to give them cell service.
If this were to happen I think I would go back to a landline phone and a smartphone with no SIM.
don't worry they'll come for that next. getting away with one thing just gives them justification to do the next.
before long you'll need government ID just to be accepted in an ambulance or seen at a hospital.
none
International VoIP?
I'd use a disconnected phone on wifi and download as much media as I could because eventually the internet simply wont be an option.
Having thought about how I use my phone: pics, music, shopping list.
Replace the phone with a very thin pocket camera, a mp3 player, and a paper notebook.
Now if I can continues using my current GOS enabled Pixel. Remove my eSim and use public WiFi and/or SilentLink with SimpleX. Its been weeks since I made a phone call and I mostly keep VoIP active for Signal and medical appointments. I can use the landline for the medical stuff.
How is VoIP necessary for Signal?
Its the lowest cost way to have a phone number in my country. Isn't a phone number necessary for Signal?
Isn't that just for signing up?
a fake ID. you can get them easily enough.
I wouldn't use a phone.
Probably a fake ID
A lot of countries made it impossible to get a "burner" phone number. Check this source : https://prepaid-data-sim-card.fandom.com/wiki/Registration_Policies_Per_Country
I'd maybe get a small laptop and go around with that instead. Also flip phone.
You're going to have to vaguely doxx yourself here. There are plenty of places on this planet where you can't legally get a "burner" without providing ID.
Move to a Linux phone for sure
It's anyway stupid, you need your ID for the contract with your ISP, means they anyway have your ID, in last years even with a prepaid phone.
I would probably just fake it.
Do you mean to make a phone call? Or to use the Internet?
the humble kamil adrian tumu(l)ec
Flip phone still has Android on it. There are no dumb phones.
I'd give my government ID.
this post was submitted on 24 Jun 2026
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Privacy
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