Phreeli is something we haven’t seen before – it’s a mobile carrier that’s so anonymous you don’t even need to give it your name. Surprisingly, that level of anonymity is legal for phone service in all 50 US states, yet none of the major players allow for it.
But not giving your name is just one element of the many ways that Phreeli is focused on privacy and anonymity, with this carrier having seemingly thought of just about every aspect required in providing truly anonymous phone service.
Of course, you might be wondering why you’d want an anonymous phone service, or thinking that it would only appeal to criminals, but Nicholas Merrill – the company’s founder – has stated in an interview with Wired that while inevitably some bad actors probably will use the service, that’s not who he’s aiming it at.
Comparing Phreeli to the anonymity of pay phones, Merrill explained, “you put a quarter in, you didn’t need to identify yourself, and you could call whoever you wanted. And 99.9 percent of the time, people weren’t doing bad stuff.”
Phreeli also has the ability to block spammers, robocallers, and other users who are gaming the system, so it’s not aimed at them either.
So, who is this service for? Well, Phreeli could be for anyone who doesn’t like the idea of big companies having endless data on them – data that will often be sold to advertisers or data brokers, the latter of which may then sell that data on to ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and other federal agencies.
So, if you want to keep your life more private, then Phreeli could be worth looking into. In which case, here’s what you need to know about the new carrier.
1. You can sign up almost completely anonymously
Phreeli doesn’t need your name, your address, or almost any other information. The only information that’s required is a ZIP+4 code and a payment method.
The need for a payment method might worry you, since typically those are tied to personal information, but Phreeli accepts cryptocurrency, and it uses ‘Double Blind Armadillo’ architecture, which separates your account information from your telecommunications activity.
That means, for example, your phone number can’t be tied to your name or payment details – the system can tell whether you’ve paid or not, without linking your credit card (or whatever payment method you choose) to your phone number.
2. Receiving your SIM card can also be anonymous
Obviously, if you need a physical SIM card shipped to you, then Phreeli will need your address, but it claims this will be deleted after the SIM card has shipped.
Or, for extra anonymity, you can use an eSIM, and this can even be downloaded from a site that Phreeli will host on the Tor anonymity network if you prefer.
3. You can choose how much – or little – information to give Phreeli
While Phreeli allows you to be almost completely anonymous, you can choose to give it more information if you want to – and doing so might make things more convenient, so you can find the right balance for your own needs.
For example, you might choose to register with an email address to give you a way to recover your account if your phone is lost, but you don’t have to – and you could always set up a new anonymous email address for this anyway.
4. Phreeli won’t sell your data
Obviously, Phreeli isn’t likely to hold much data about you in the first place, but any data it does hold, it pledges never to sell, and nor will it use targeted advertising.
5. Phreeli is available across most of the US
You can sign up for Phreeli from anywhere in the US and Puerto Rico, except for Alaska, as long as the carrier deems – based on the ZIP+4 code you provide – that it can deliver excellent service there.
Availability should be widespread, as it uses T-Mobile’s infrastructure – but due to the ‘Double Blind Armadillo’ system detailed above, it wouldn’t be possible for T-Mobile to link you to your phone activity either.
If you’re reading this from outside the US, then sadly, you won’t be able to sign up to Phreeli – though the carrier does allow international roaming when traveling abroad.
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