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Google is silently linking phone numbers across accounts — the privacy risks and how to stop them
(www.androidauthority.com)
this post was submitted on 03 Nov 2026
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Privacy
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I'm not sure this is much different in the end... they have a different number linking all your accounts, but they're still all associated with one person... you. I don't see how it matters if it's a cell or voip #.
for me the primary motivator is to stay off of cell to avoid cell tower triangulation. the service I use right now actually doesn't even need a 'host' cell number. also, newer phones have multiple eSIM slots that you can rotate easily with the method I describe above, allowing you to further containerize your personas.
its different depending on what you're trying to accomplish. if you're trying to hide from the government, good luck. if you're trying to make it so Walmart and Amazon have no shared information on you, that's very achievable
It is difference. Sim cards can push arbitrary remote code execution to your device from towers.
That gap makes a huge difference
I'm replying to you because you sound like you know a lot about it. I have Google Fi service with an "eSim". It can't possibly be true that a Sim card is better than an eSim, can it? An eSim is total vapor. I have to beg Google Fi to turn it in or transfer it. At least a Sim can be transferred manually. So if Sim is no bueno, and an eSim is no bueno, then what, pray tell, is the 3rd option here? Is there some much better option that busy "normies" can choose?
The problem is the baseband processor.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseband_processor
Leave the phone in airplane mode 100% of the time, and use WiFi