Using personal phone as hobby phone

The NSA doesn't give a shit who you're fucking and neither does google. Put down the tin foil hat and go forth and get your rocks off! Originally Posted by SpiceItUp

Google may not care, but some of us have real jobs and family. Some people in this world don't see life the way we do.

Thus the use of a cheap dumb (not Smart) hobby phone that you replace ever so often, plus a dedicated hobby e-mail account. Stay safe!

I started using my standard number and phone----- until I had some guy back track my number and find ALL my real personal info! Creepy!! He was harmless and didn't want any more of that. Google voice works well.

Without going into great detail, because it has been discussed over and over on the board.------ Google Voice is BAD BAD for this thing of ours.

Search is your friend for more details.

J-Frame and I have both discussed this and similar issues (with others) and have made similar comments multiple times in multiples threads on various local boards and here in national. This is also a common discussion item on other boards. Setting aside all the above comments:

The biggest issue with GV is that you simply can't toss it. The whole idea is to be able to drop the hobby phone in one second, and be able to disclaim that it's yours. Hopefully down a sewer grate, into river, down a trash chute, etc. You simply can't do that with your primary real world handheld.

That you can buy minutes/data card from walmart etc

I have been using my personal phone as my hobby phone for some time without having a problem, but now I'm starting to wonder if their are hidden factors that I'm not seeing. I only give my phone number to verified clients, and don't have an SO to hide it from, but of course keep a code lock on it anyway. Are there hidden dangers here that I'm not accounting for? Please feel free to smack me right upside the head with them if so, because I'm not clueless but I definitely don't know it all. Thank you for any input. Originally Posted by MsKitty

3 words quickly come to mind!

1) Recipe
2) For
3) Disaster

Im not a very IT person so can someone give me some advice on the google voice. I have a personal phone and my business phone. I can discard my work phone in one second but I keep my personal phone for close friends and family.

Briefly Google Voice is an Internet based service that allows you to give everyone one phone number and forward it to multiple phones.

It still uses your phones minutes or data plan and there will be a record on your Phone Service Call Detail Report (CDR) for calls to and from the Google Voice number. It will not show the call to/from using the GV number.

I do use GV for my personal/business life and found it to work pretty well. However, I would NEVER, NEVER use it for this world of ours.

There is plenty of material on the web about GV and how to use it.

I used my personal phone when visiting the US when it had a foreign number. It was hard to imagine Deutsche Telecom giving out any info about me or even anyone in the US bothering to ask. Their personal data protection laws are very strong.

How about utilizing the app "Hushed"? Can anyone comment on that?

Thanks!

Camille

Get a hobby phone. Google voice is nice but do you really want a third party company having all your information to do with as they want forever? google has shown its willingness to work with government agencies without your permission or respect your privacy. and who knows what they will do tomorrow? prepaid phones are cheap and can be literally thrown away if needed.

nothing is foolproof. but you have a lot more control with a prepaid phone. and far more privacy.

Im not a very IT person so can someone give me some advice on the google voice. I have a personal phone and my business phone. I can discard my work phone in one second but I keep my personal phone for close friends and family. Originally Posted by Kay of Houston

How about utilizing the app "Hushed"? Can anyone comment on that? Camille Originally Posted by CamilleFox69

Two excellent questions, as they are presented as questions about the applications themselves.

The reason that questions about Google Voice or other software, like Hushed, constantly comes up is that folks are thinking about having a second phone number, or having software on a phone, that can be used for discretion or to hide stuff. These products are fine, perhaps excellent for what they do. I know folks that have multiple phone numbers coming into a handheld for real world stuff.

However, as this is a hobby board, I'll turn it back into the hobby thing anyway. And, apologies for length but the point that I, jframe2, and others are trying to make is that a "hobby" phone, which definition includes some folks work phones, should be disposable. And, that GV, Hushed, some other software, or whatever, simply do nothing for a couple common issues that completely support having a separate phone (disposable) for hobby use.

First, if a badge takes the phone, GV, Hushed, some other software, or whatever, simply does not matter. Badges have a professional IT/communications guy on staff/on call 24/365 and these guy get to play with taxpayer funded equipment that can copy the data from a phone in seconds. Ignoring that the badge is going to obtain your real world ID regardless, do you want them to also know all your family phone #s, or whatever else is in the contacts and recent history? And note that these guys do have access to any and all telco phone records if they so wish. And rather quickly, if they have a reason. Yes, they will know where the phone was acquired, yes they will know if a phone line is call-forwarded to another phone line. Yes they will obtain phone history. So how can you disclaim that the phone is actually yours?

Second, if the badge has your hobby/work phone, and is going to keep it few a few days, what are you going to do if that's the only phone you happen to have? Unless you've a fantastic memory, who are you going to call? And are you going to use the doughnut station phone to call a friend? Seriously?

For brevity, I’m leaving out all sorts of other reasons, as both of the two items just mentioned, I think, just themselves, validate having a separate disposable. Or perhaps a couple disposables.

I’ll admit perhaps one exception: Someone that has no road trips whatsoever and only visits with longstanding, or very well screened friends (and I hesitated about putting in the well screened bit).

Last, note that the jelly doughnut sampling crew now also likes to spill grape jelly into/onto whatever laptops, notepads, etc. that happen to be on hand as well.

^^^^^^^

I greatly appreciate the time you took to explain the issue.

Camille

^^^ Quite welcome.