Burner Phone 101
3 days ago
- #digital privacy
- #risk modeling
- #burner phones
- Workshop hosted by Brooklyn Public Library on burner phones and digital privacy.
- Goals included learning about burner phones, understanding their limits, and connecting to broader privacy practices.
- Anti-goals emphasized not sharing sensitive info and avoiding harmful uses of burner phones.
- Risk modeling is foundational: identify what to protect, from whom, and consequences of failure.
- Smartphones collect and expose data in four categories: identity & finance, location & movement, communications & social graph, content & storage.
- Privacy tips for all phones: update OS, use strong PINs, disable cloud backups, install Signal, restrict app permissions, minimize sensitive data.
- Android-specific tips: disable Google Location History, use Firefox/Brave, restrict Google Assistant, consider F-Droid or GrapheneOS/CalyxOS.
- iPhone-specific tips: enable 'Ask App Not to Track', restrict Siri, enable erase after failed passcodes, use Lockdown Mode if high-risk.
- Burner phone options: prepaid/repurposed phones, SIM rotation, minimal/dumb phones, device disguises.
- Universal burner setup: buy in cash, no personal info, public Wi-Fi, no personal accounts, treat as disposable.
- True anonymity is difficult due to IMSI and IMEI tracking; how you use the phone matters as much as buying it.
- No phone is the strongest option in high-risk scenarios like protests, ICE raids, or avoiding association trails.
- Alternatives to phones: paper maps, preset meeting points, Wi-Fi devices, community phones.
- Faraday bags, airplane mode, and powering down offer varying levels of protection.
- Q&A session emphasized collective learning and practical setup testing.