Extra prepaid mobile - have one?

[Loppan Torkel]

I'm getting one because of how things are developing. Hadn't thought of it much before, but with google and an increasing number of services requiring your phone number for their services, it's time to create a little barrier toward the internet, and perhaps society too. I assume many have done this already and that more will follow.

Poll coming.

 

[dusters]

i have got one for the job, one for the very closest peers, so google is getting my job number. I think this is a logical idea. I don't put my real name on the internet, neither my private phone.

 

[Zelig]

No, can't imagine why I'd bother.

If it was for privacy reasons (for anything other than Google, obviously) I'd just use a Google Voice number, no need for a physical phone.

 

[Virote_Considon]

I've got a number of different sim cards which I can use in much the same way.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I only use burners.

Just kidding.

Really.

Excuse me, someone is at the door.

 

[bhsup]

I have an ancient Nokia bar phone and it does have a SIM, but I haven't put money on it in ages. Not even sure what the number is anymore. I'll say yes, though, simply because I can if I need to.

I still have yet to ever get a phone that has sound quality as good as it.

 

[Borachio]

My only mobile is a prepaid one.

Oh, and I have to use it once every 3 months to keep it functioning. So I ring my land line.

I have used it for serious phone calls otherwise, but very rarely.

I don't understand. You think I need another one?

 

[Kennigit]

got one for my hookers & blow

 

[Manfred Belheim]

If anything asks for my phone number while I'm signing up then I just cancel and note that as another service I won't be using.

 

[Loppan Torkel]

I'm not sure if it's always been like this or if I'm shopping more on internet now, but it's not uncommon that they ask for your phonenumber and/or address. I'm starting to wonder if not my bank information is less valuable than my phone number. Probably not, but still.. it's closer to me.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

If anything asks for my phone number while I'm signing up then I just cancel and note that as another service I won't be using.

Problem being that it is spreading like a brush fire. Are you ready to return to the post office? Because you may run out of services to use otherwise.

 

[Manfred Belheim]

Problem being that it is spreading like a brush fire. Are you ready to return to the post office? Because you may run out of services to use otherwise.

Depends what you mean. Things like amazon and ebay have asked for my phone number, but I don't mind giving it to them because they already have my full name and address anyway. They could find my home phone number just from that.

But anything like facebook or twitter or Skype or something of that nature that is entirely online can go swivel. I tried to sign up for a new youtube account last week because I wanted to post up a work-related video to share at work and didn't want to use my personal account for it. That asked for a phone number, so I just cancelled it and found an alternative method of sharing the video.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Depends what you mean. Things like amazon and ebay have asked for my phone number, but I don't mind giving it to them because they already have my full name and address anyway. They could find my home phone number just from that.

But anything like facebook or twitter or Skype or something of that nature that is entirely online can go swivel. I tried to sign up for a new youtube account last week because I wanted to post up a work-related video to share at work and didn't want to use my personal account for it. That asked for a phone number, so I just cancelled it and found an alternative method of sharing the video.

Right, and full agreement. The problem as I see it is that in fairly short order someone saying 'go forth and procreate' to youtube like that is likely to find that the alternative method you found has since adopted the same practice as well.

Like I said, my first experience of it was Yahoo, so I snottily switched to G-mail and a month later (maybe less) they did the exact same thing.

 

[Zelig]

I don't see the problem with gmail/hotmail/yahoo etc. requiring phone numbers - if you don't trust them with your phone number, you shouldn't trust them with your emails either.

If you want a secure email service, use something like protonmail or hushmail.

Gmail/hotmail/yahoo are free services, and allowing people to sign up without phone numbers increases support costs.

 

[Manfred Belheim]

... allowing people to sign up without phone numbers increases support costs.

How exactly?!

But even if that's true, it's not a reason why anyone has to like it.

 

[bhsup]

Gmail/hotmail/yahoo are free services

I pay an annual fee for my yahoo mail. In fact, I am grandfathered into the $19.99/year pricing.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

I don't see the problem with gmail/hotmail/yahoo etc. requiring phone numbers - if you don't trust them with your phone number, you shouldn't trust them with your emails either.

If you want a secure email service, use something like protonmail or hushmail.

Gmail/hotmail/yahoo are free services, and allowing people to sign up without phone numbers increases support costs.

Why? I'm guessing they want more information to better target the ads they send me, but since I use several useful Firefox add-ons, I never see those ads.

 

[Zelig]

How exactly?!

But even if that's true, it's not a reason why anyone has to like it.

It's harder for people to get their accounts hacked or to lock themselves out when they have a phone number supplied, hence, lower support costs in dealing with those people.

People don't have to like it, but they should stop complaining about it for free services. Vote with your dollars, pay for a service that doesn't collect the information you don't want to share.

I pay an annual fee for my yahoo mail. In fact, I am grandfathered into the $19.99/year pricing.

Yes, I pay for ad-free outlook, but I suspect free accounts are >99.9% of total accounts.

Why? I'm guessing they want more information to better target the ads they send me, but since I use several useful Firefox add-ons, I never see those ads.

Possibly Google, doubtfully others, you can read their privacy policies if you like. MS explicitly does not use phone numbers for advertisement purposes.

 

[Quintillus]

I don't, but I can see uses for it. My regular SIM card is prepaid, nonetheless, since it's considerably cheaper than post-paid plans tend to be.

I am wary of giving my number out to services where there isn't a clear use for it. Google asks occasionally, and I always say no since there's no reason they'd need my phone number to provide free e-mail (my primary, paid e-mail, by comparison doesn't try to ask for it). The local newspaper wanted one recently, so I just filled in one of the paper's own phone numbers so I could subscribe without giving them my actual number (as they're rather infamous for repeatedly calling anyone who cancels a subscription to try to get them to sign up again).

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I don't see the problem with gmail/hotmail/yahoo etc. requiring phone numbers - if you don't trust them with your phone number, you shouldn't trust them with your emails either.

If you want a secure email service, use something like protonmail or hushmail.

Gmail/hotmail/yahoo are free services, and allowing people to sign up without phone numbers increases support costs.

My problem isn't that they want my phone number...my problem is that they are now using give us your mobile number in place of all previous methods for retrieving your password. If I happen to have a mobile number to give them, and someday I need to retrieve that password, odds are I won't have that mobile number any more. So basically they are telling me 'if you lose your password you are just SOL, beat it ya non mobile phoning luddite'. And that irritates me.