[mr_overalls]

A good start would be using a prepaid mobile phone (paid with cash, via an intermediary to avoid appearing on store CCTV), plus using phone apps that are not tied to your real identity. A Faraday bag for the phone when it's not in use.

Honestly, it just depends on how paranoid you want to get, and who your adversary is.

[bschwindHN]

> using a prepaid mobile phone (paid with cash, via an intermediary to avoid appearing on store CCTV)

Nathan Fielder provides a good demonstration on how to properly do this:

https://youtu.be/N9gbdv5cXKg?t=51s

[ramphastidae]

If your goal is to simply avoid your location being sold by your carrier for marketing purposes, an intermediary seems a little excessive, no? Unless you have reason to believe that your local pharmacy or cell shop is selling facial recognition data as well ...

[pacala]

Selling facial recognition data is the next big revenue stream. There is a reason the Googles of the world are gushing over installing internet connected surveillance cameras on every block [0].

[0] https://nest.com/cameras/

[metalliqaz]

Last I heard, buying a "burner" phone in this way has been outlawed in many states.

[Theodores]

I have been 'caught' buying a burner phone - many years ago - and since then I have thought about why it is that anyone can buy a burner phone without having to produce their mother's birth certificate and many years of bank statements. You would think 'terrorists' and drug dealers should be banned from such purchases.

However, if you have a burner phone for whatever reason, you are tracked and it is a relatively simple task for a three letter agency to see when that burner phone swaps cell towers and what other phones swap cell towers at the same time.

Consequently, for tracking purposes, letting anyone have a phone is what they want.

Even with the best efforts at 'operational security' a mere mortal is going to end up getting tracked.

Think of it a bit like 'shadow Facebook profiles'.

For instance, in the drug dealer scenario, the guy has one phone to speak to his mum and girlfriend and another set of interchangeable burner phones for his customers. It is all too easy. I am sure that the agencies can turn on the cameras too, fortunately the police still run Windows XP and have too much paperwork to fill in for this type of stuff.

After reading this article I am not so sure this will be the case for long.

Regarding the 'nothing to hide' rationale, if anyone has had a sick, crazy psychopath stalker pursue them for YEARS then being on the electoral roll or being on Facebook can be as good as fatal. There are good reasons to not want to be tracked, even if you have one stupid person focused 24/7 on stalking you rather than an agency/police force doing it.

[facetube]

I buy burner phones and SIMs all day every day as test equipment because I develop for mobile equipment. Sue me, assholes.