Is it a good enough solution for IMEI tracking to use an alternative device to provide a hotspot connection?
This approach appears to protect any new device that hasn’t inserted a SIM card from being identified.
But I’m not sure how much information is carried to the second device by using hotspot.
Is this a good solution so far? Should I try to spoof IMEI?
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by push notifications to work you mean?
Sandboxed Google Play is only considered an app in GrapheneOS. It shouldn’t have direct access to the IMEI number unless it’s explicitly granted permission.
I remember it being explained in the GrapheneOS FAQ that only the OS and the phone (dialer) app have access to the IMEI number. However, I’m not an expert, so I can’t say for sure.
Could you please provide a link that confirms whether sandboxed Google Play or any app has direct access to the IMEI number? Thanks a lot!
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right then hopefully someone could see this post and confirm
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The main goal here is to keep my device’s IMEI number private, so that it appears to the service provider as if my phone has never used cellular data. By hiding the IMEI, the provider won’t be able to associate the device with me when I use it solely on public Wi-Fi such as in a café, or be able to track me with IMEI if my IMEI number is leaked by some service or app that I accidentally used. They might see that a new device is connected, but they won’t be able to identify that it belongs to me.
Now that I think of it twice I think you got a point Solely connecting to WIFI doesn’t seem to leak my IMEI number. But I’m not sure what else will except for using SIMs.
I guess I just don’t like the idea that a persistent number could be used to identify me.
Though I’m still curious about:
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thank you for the clarification!
changed my device name!
I cannot find any reliable source that says personal hotspot can see the device model connecting to it, would be really great if someone could clarify this here.
I believe this is true as there is browser plugin for spoofing device model
You should be clear about what your threat model is. What are you willing to accept? What are you willing to trade?
Using a phone only as a Wi-Fi device is probably going to reduce the information surface you exposed to the world.
thanks a lot
May I also ask how much information is carried to the second device by using hotspot? By this I meant the phone with IMEI will be able to know my device name, but what else? Will the phone with IMEI also be able to know the device model?
I’m not exactly sure what you’re trying to do here. Yes, if you use a phone as a hotspot, everything going through will be associated with that hotspot phone’s IMEI.
thanks a lot.
I am trying to keep my device IMEI information private
May I also ask how much information is carried to the second device by using hotspot? By this I meant the phone with IMEI will be able to know my device name, but what else? Will the phone with IMEI also be able to know the device model?
It will know as much data as it would for any other wireless client. MAC address mostly.
thanks a lot! what about device model, is this info also sent?
By replacing it with another not-private one? For what purpose?
using another not-private device is just a temporary solution. In the end I would like to use a portable router that supports MAC/IMEI randomnization
Not sure how that would work. IMEI is how the carrier knows who you are and grants you network access.
They certainly can be spoofed or cloned.
But thats as illegal as it gets and faces serious proscecution.
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