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SIM card VS e-SIM (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/privacy@lemmy.ml
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I use GrapheneOS and love my privacy. However, I am not as knowledge in regards to simcards.

My family needed to get a new simcard while abroad and I was hesitant to get a new simcard and preferred to 'hitchhike' on a family members internet thearing so he could get a simcard instead of me.

It left me with the choice to:

  • Get a Sim card
  • Get an e-sim
  • Let a family member get a simcard and hitchhike from their internet. (Internet hotspot thearing)

My question: Was my worry in vain and I could actually get an e-sim/Sim or did I do it correctly, making someone else get a Sim and share the internet to me? :P

What I'm worried of, is that I'm currently outside EU and I don't want any weird hacking attempts towards me from the government. There are a lot of protests here, quite violent ones at times too, and I am aware that governments usually use stingrays or equivalent devices to identify or stalk people of interest.

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[–] 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I am not sure about France. When I search online, I often find resources stating "Yes, ID is required", even for the countries where I know that I have bought SIM cards with cash. Well, the SIM is usually free and what I pay for is the top-up code.

I would imagine (but I'm not sure) that if you try to buy a SIM card at an airport or at an official store from a large telephony provider you are more likely to get asked for an ID. I find them in shops that have signs with the names of smaller MVNOs. Something like what is shown in this image that I found online, where you can see signs of 'Lyca Mobile' and 'Lebara':

But, your mileage may vary. Probably some locations are more strict than others.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Thanks for the clarification, found https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/3018/timeline-sim-card-registration-laws on the topic also useful.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago*

    That's a very interesting resource!

    Actually, the countries where I have been able to purchase anonymous SIM cards are in the list "As of 2021, the following countries do not have mandatory SIM card registration laws". So, it appears like I just happen to have been lucky and I should not make this as such a general recommendation...

    Funny, about Mexico it says:

    Countries expected to implement mandatory SIM registration in 2022: Philippines, Mexico.

    I can at least confirm that I was not asked for ID when buying SIM cards last year in Mexico.

    I just looked it up and found the proposed law for Mexico on Wikipedia. It was struck down in 2022 as unconstitutional.

    So, then, I really have no anecdotes to say that it is easy in places where it is formally illegal.

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