Using a data only eSIM + MySudo for greater phone privacy

2025-10-26

I wrote a couple weeks ago about my progress in making my iPhone more private. While those measures were a step in the right direction I was still going to rely on my phone carrier for phone calls when away from home. As someone who doesn't make or recieve a lot of calls, that seemed fine. Basically, I'd leave the phone in airplane mode (cell radio turned off) and only turn it on when I needed to make a call to a standard phone line while away from home. When at home I would rely on the MySudo VOIP line making calls over Wi-Fi. I could have probably stopped there.

But it occurred to me that there might be an additional option. I should have known that data only eSIMS were a thing. Well, I did know because I'd bought one some time ago for my iPad. For some reason it just didn't occur to me that I could do the same for the iPhone. Why not? And yes, of course it's a thing. Lol. Sometimes it takes me awhile to think things through. Better late than never?

So with that thought I went looking and found a few inexpensive eSIM data only options. But as my goal was increased privacy I didn't just use my credit card to buy that eSIM I used MySudo (yes, the same app that I'm using for VOIP) to set-up a virtual, privacy card to make the purchase. That took a couple minutes. Then I purchased 1GB of data from KeepGo.com. They throw in a free GB so I've got 2GB purchased for $3. That data does not expire. Once it's used up I'll buy another. A 3-minute call with MySudo uses about 1mb of data. And I'll only use that when away from home and, as already mentioned, I don't make or recieve many calls so I'm likely good on data for a long while. I also turned off cellular data access for every app except MySudo and Signal.

I activated the new eSIM on the iPhone with a tap. Confirmed it was working and had a good signal. Then I toggled the standard phone company eSIM off. I'll keep that line and phone number for now but I may dump it in the not to distant future.

Yes, this data-only eSIM still has to connect with a cell tower to work. But there is a significant difference in level of privacy. My phone carrier is dead to me and I to them. With the exception of calls made to me their already sparse call log for me will go completely dark. Nothing. Their tracking of my phone location: Nothing. My daily activity is now invisible to them. Instead of that, every so often, my phone will access another provider for a bit of data. That provider will have little to no idea how that data was used. They certainly won't know that I'm making a call or who I'm calling or texting. And in terms of location tracking, well, there will be a ping from a device using some data.

All that said, the this is a phone I bought several years ago through a carrier so there is a link between myself and the hardware embedded IMEI and EID numbers. If I wanted true anonymity I'd need to pay cash for a phone. But I'm not a spy or a high value target. I'm just a guy that want's privacy and this is enough for me. I've added multiple layers of obscurity that were not there previously.

To summarize the cost of this: $3 for data that should last months. $5 per month for 200 minutes of data, 300 texts. I'll never need all those texts. Most months I probably won't use all of the minutes.

But what if I were someone who actually relied on the phone for daily calls? Could this work? Sure. My Sudo offers a $15/month plan with unlimited minutes and texts as well as 9 phone numbers. 1GB of data is good for about 3,000 minutes of phone calls, 100 minutes a day. But remember, that just needs to cover calls made when away from home internet access. When at home MySudo calls would just go out over home WiFi. So, likely, $20 would cover any user's needs.

A few additional notes regarding MySudo features:

Sudo to Sudo calls and messages are fully encrypted. Any call or text to a standard phone line is not. That said, a call to any standard line is still better for a MySudo user in terms of privacy because the MySudo phone number is not traceable to a person's identity.
MySudo also includes email accounts which, when sending to other MySudo users is encrypted.

Read more about MySudo, privacy and security

Any negatives?

It's not possible to purchase a subscription outside of an Apple or Google App Store.
The MySudo App on a larger iPad works but it's not great. Specifically it still uses an older windowing mode so windows cannot be resized and it feels weird on a larger iPad. Also, font sizes cannot be customized and the default is too small.
The desktop version of the app is not available for GNU/Linux.

A note of caution

The public/private key pair that is created the first time you launch the app on your phone is stored only on the phone. There is no username/password option. If you loose your phone or if it is destroyed the company has no way to get you back into your account. You must have a back-up which can be on a local device, cloud or a companion device that you have used the export via QR code option with. Details here

911 calls

From what I've read a cell phone without an active carrier SIM can still put in a 911 emergency call. It's hard wired in and works without an active data plan. The main difference is that an exactly location is not automatically delivered to the 911 operator. Until I know more this is one reason I'm hanging on to my active carrier $20 voice only subscription.

I don't have comments but I love email or you can find me on Mastodon.

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