Flip phones do have SIM cards.
[QUOTE=RickNva;6494486]...
I confirmed this again with a T Mobile employee who explained that flip phones don't have SIM cards so they ARE harder to track and easier to hide. Proved it by pulling out her Nokia phone from back pocket, even though she had been using smartphone to call activation center...[/QUOTE]I am pretty sure all phones sold for decades now have SIM cards. I know most (pretty sure all) have sim cards. Even if you can't remove them, they are there. You need an IMEI to be on a cell network.
If you want to keep things anon the key is to buy the phone and SIM card with cash, and have a plan you can top up with cards you buy with cash. Even then it's pretty likely you could still be traced by video from shops where you bought the phone or cards by LE that was really, really determined. But that would be way more work than someone just looking for people who hired an escort would be willing to do.
That said these days I don't have a burner either and just use texting / call apps, or communicate mostly over email or PM.
Keep your IRL phone Wifi and location off when playing
[QUOTE=FarFarAway;6524308]I super greatly appreciate that last bit. Can you be a bit more specific? I must admit, I do not think I have been doing that. I never never use the wifi on my burner, other than when I go to Starbucks to download big updates (save myself the data charges).
But for my IRL cell phone, which I do have w / me when I am playing (essential to know that nothing has happened to the SO. If there were an emergency text, I could get myself to someplace appropriate before answering). For my IRL cell, I almost always have Bluetooth on (California laws on cell phone use in cars) and WiFi on (bad cell signal at my house, phone is useless on data there, need to use my home WiFi). If I will have that phone w / me in the FC, how does it need to be set up?[/QUOTE]If you have a warden or family you are all probably all sharing your location. If they wish, one click and they know Exactly where you are are and Google will give a play by play on where you were. I agree, the family needs to reach you, but if you take a detour to a FC with the WiFi and location on, the warden will be able to trace you if so inclined. Motivated women are Not private investigators, they are archaeologist.
If you are in the FC in Mosaic, can you explain that? Yes, you went to get a burger. But if you frequent AMPs on side streets, then be ready with an excuse. A favorite coffee shop as an example. I choose FCs where I can hide in plain sight. Not perfect, but better than nothing.
With that in mind, take WiFi off, turn battery saver on, and turn location off when prowling. If questioned, just say you were saving battery. Stay low.
Well, you can always block your location
If you search for "faraday bag" on amazon that will effectively shut down all communication with the outside world. Or just turn off wifi and enable airplane mode.
I will leave it to you to explain why you were off line for so lone.
Be safe.
--BE.
[QUOTE=SonChi;6526940]Many of your apps are desperate for your location, so they use your phone's attept to connect to a wifi Hotspot to triangulate your position. Then your phone stores it and provides it to Google Maps. If your warden wanted to, she could show you where you have been over the past 7 days. I have been shown the data by a former warden.
Bluetooth is fine, it's a near field tech.
Mosaic in Fairfax is the site of many FCs.[/QUOTE]
Google Maps (and other location hungry apps)
[QUOTE=FarFarAway;6527394]One other question. Obviously, they know where your phone was based on which cell phone towers it pinged off of. Why doesn't the phone provide this to Google maps as well? Or if it does, it is truly the case that I can't have my phone on when I am off path of my usual habits.[/QUOTE]Just turn your location off. Then the the apps cannot print out the play by play. It will try to bridge gaps between when you had it on and off, but those specific places will not be there. And that's the point.
I say Google, because most of us have a Gmail but this goes for many apps, including Waze and others.
Again, do not ignore how tech savvy motivated wardens are. I will say this again: motivated SOs are not private investigators, they are archaeologists. Stay low!
Why my adventures are limited.
[QUOTE=FarFarAway;6528293]Agreed. Here is one that is lo-tech, but difficult to figure out a solution to. Lots of places have toll-based highways. You have to have an account in advance, you can get billed via your license plate, or a tag of some sort you put on your car. Each month I get a statement that gives the time I passed each of the tolling spots. Sometimes that might look funny to the SO. I do try to avoid getting time-stamped by that system when I can, but sometimes it is a balance between being able to get to work in a timely way (but using the tolled road).
This is one a lot of people would not think about, but of course you are vulnerable should the warden do so and dig in.[/QUOTE]I had to chuckle at this because the Mrs is definitely an archeologist and has snooped our EZ Pass account. Glad to have learned this before I started the hobby. So I'm stuck with adventures in areas without toll roads unless I have other justifiable business in those areas. Fortunately, I've learned there's a fly fishing and military surplus stores in the 2 areas I want to visit next.
Checking location history on Android
[QUOTE=FarFarAway;6528750]Could you provide a how-to for us to check our own mapping? Here's my guess. Log into the google account that goes w / our Android phone, and then go to google maps and see what it says.
Please correct if needed. I will do this first w / my burner account, because it might be the case that logging into the google account that goes w / my IRL cell phone might trigger some security alerts, and who knows where those might go.[/QUOTE]On Android, go to your settings, and click on Location, then click Location Services. You will then see a menu where you can choose to display Location History and Location Sharing among others. Take a peek and see what you are sharing. Stay low!