[reacharavindh]

Evil.

Imagine those teens at school, that bought Chromebooks because they were more affordable, and now getting pried on like this.. :-( It is this generation that is going to lose the idea of privacy and suffer from these piece of shit corporations.

It's almost like watching a movie.

[open-source-ux]

>"...and now getting pried on like this."

Those students are being tracked regardless of whether they provided their mobile phone number. ChromeOS is an entire operating system that tracks you from the moment you sign-in with your Google account.

Sure, you can use a guest account, but you won't be able to save anything because the entire OS is "cloud-based".

People rush to Google's defence and say that Google doesn't build ad or marketing profiles from student data. But even if the online activity from students is aggregated or detached from individual accounts, that still means Google holds the personal online behaviour of millions of students. They can now poke and interrogate that data in ways that even they probably haven't fully grasped. And as we've seen from Netflix and Spotify, aggregated data still lets you pull out precise details and behaviour from "anonymised" data (a meaningless term).

Tracking is so pervasive and so normalised that no-one even bothers to ask: why should students be tracked in the first place? Tracking online behaviour is in Google's DNA and no-one does it at such industrial scale.

The hypocrisy of the tech community who have nothing to say on the privacy implications of ChromeOS in schools is hard to understand.

[bobdole123456]

Most of the tracking in your google account is to give you the answers you’re looking for, not because it’s of any benefit other than providing a better service.

Like when I search for a three letter acronym, google knows that I’m an engineer, and I see links for results about computer hardware, and not about a Jewish Torah studies group with the same TLA.

Google makes those models for individual accounts, which is why google can tailor results so well to what you’re looking for right now.

[mavhc]

If you're a school you're on GSuite for Education so can create as many accounts as you want for free, without phone numbers, and for under 13s

[mverwijs]

Parentpost is talking about a different market group. You are talking about chromebooks provided by schools to students. Parent is talking about chromebooks _bought_ by students (because they're cheap and functional).

[mavhc]

Fair enough. I'd just pick up a random sim card at any supermarket, comes with a free phone number.

[CaptainZapp]

I don't want to spend money. Not even a few quid, because a scummy company suddenly doesn't let me access my device, which I "own" for years without surrendering even more personal information.

That's apart from what other posters explained. That in a lot of countries you can't just get a sim from a kiosk, or a vending machine without proper identification.

[bobdole123456]

This is an anti-spam and anti-abuse requirement, not because they need you to tell them your phone number.

They’re on most of the phones in the world, and have access to all the billing records associated with your phone number, as they’re a cell phone service provider. They’re asking folks who they think might be abusing the service for this information, so they identify themselves in a way that Google can report to law enforcement.

The idea they’d need you to tell them this information so they could use it is kind of laughable.

[CaptainZapp]

Given that this is a very new account I smell trolling, or astroturfing. Just in case it's not, I bite:

This is an anti-spam and anti-abuse requirement, not because they need you to tell them your phone number.

Any means of backing up that statment? Specifically, why are anti-spam measures needed to access a device?

They’re on most of the phones in the world

So what? A lot of people, myself included, will never, ever use an Android device. Especially since they don't trust Google one yota not to completely violate their privacy. In terms of the discussion this is a red herring.

and have access to all the billing records associated with your phone number, as they’re a cell phone service provider.

It's here, where your comment gets outright ludicrous. From [1]

When the mobile device is turned on or is transferred via a handover to the network, this new "visited" network sees the device, notices that it is not registered with its own system, and attempts to identify its home network. If there is no roaming agreement between the two networks, maintenance of service is impossible, and service is denied by the visited network.

The visited network contacts the home network and requests service information (including whether or not the mobile should be allowed to roam) about the roaming device using the IMSI number.

If successful, the visited network begins to maintain a temporary subscriber record for the device. Likewise, the home network updates its information to indicate that the cell phone is on the host network so that any information sent to that device can be correctly routed.

There is NO, whatsoever exchange of subscriber information, safe for service information required for billing. Pretending that "Google can associate billing records with your number" doesn't pass the smell test.

The idea they’d need you to tell them this information so they could use it is kind of laughable.

The idea that the ilks of Google, Facbook and all those dodgy add tech brothers and sisters would not abuse any means possible to violate your privacy is laughable.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roaming

[algog]

Use TextNow app- it gives you free phone numbers.

[binomialxenon]

Many services that require phone numbers can tell if a number is a free VOIP number and will not accept it for verification.

[semi-extrinsic]

FYI being able to just buy a random SIM a any supermarket is not common outsid the UK.

[kolp]

FYI, it's possible in Ireland.

[TomMarius]

It is common at least in most of Central and Eastern Europe.

[wprapido]

And in most of South America, and many Asian countries

[johnchristopher]

They closed that loophole in Europe after the terrorist attacks of recent years. You can't buy pre-paid SIM cards without giving an ID anymore.

[Symbiote]

Please don't generalize about Europe unless you're certain the statement is true.

You can buy a SIM card in a vending machine in at least airports in Denmark and the UK.

[Loic]

Last time I was there in Denmark I had to provide a CPR number to enable the SIM card. For the non-danish people the CPR number is basically your lifetime number for everything from social security, to tax, payroll, etc.

[blub]

Can you also activate it and use it?

Because I've seen SIM cards that can be bought in supermarkets in another country, but then you need to show your ID to an operator over Skype to activate it.

[johnchristopher]

Indeed, I thought it was a European directive.

I am willing to bet the vast majority of European countries will follow suit before 5 years though.

[miluge]

In Romania by law you have to give your ID. But between what the law says and what happens in practice...

[anticensor]

Throwaway SIMs are unavailable and foreign throwaway ones do not work in Turkey.

[carlos_silva]

In Portugal you can buy and use a prepaid sim card without showing your ID or giving away any personal information. On the other hand buying credit is done via the bank, so you only have a few euros to spend before losing anonymity.

[bye_gmail]

It's different in different countries. Estonia, Latvia, Netherlands allow sim cards wihout IDs. Poland, Switzerland do not.

[squarefoot]

You lose anonimity in a very short time if you either:

1- Use the new "anonymous" sim card with a phone you already own and used with other sim card (IMEI matching).

2- Use a new phone with the new sim card but let it connect through your home WiFi network (IP tracking).

3- Use a new sim card and a new phone, but carry the new phone around with your main phone so that they find your second phone and number just by looking in the carrier(s) database(s) if there are any matches to the tower areas the first phone connects to.

[dazc]

Must be a buoyant market in sims walking over the border?

[kefyras]

You don't need ID in Lithuania. You can also buy top ups with cash.

[agentdrtran]

what kid doesn't have a phone?

[dazc]

I find teens rather cautious about giving out phone numbers, older generation - much less so.

[isostatic]

Anyone over the age of 40 (and many younger) will have had a landline, almost all in the phone book. Name, address, and phone all neatly collected, very few were bothered.

[phobosdeimos]

True but that loophole was closed when phone books started to collect mobile phone numbers. Nobody was happy with that so it was changed so that people had to actively opt into being listed. Phone books are now dead and good riddance.

[bobdole123456]

Except that with the advent of mobile billing, and the like, any phone service provider can pull your info from pretty much anywhere in the world.

Which is why Google is asking for a phone number here, they think the account is likely abusing a service, and they want to identify who is using it.

[DEADBEEFC0FFEE]

Very good point. I had completely forgotten about that practice. Name, address, phone number. Seems surreal.

[isostatic]

There's no problem with it in general when it's printed on a dead tree.

When it's available electronically, everything changes