15
submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

There are many ways to describe Voice-over-IP, or VoIP. I've seen it called an anonymous, internet, alias, or throwaway phone number (and more). Regardless of the name, I personally consider VoIP to be a healthy part of a good privacy and security strategy. The advantages are endless. For one, VoIP is harder to SIM Swap compared to a normal SIM phone number. VoIP can also help provide you privacy since most SIM numbers can easily be Googled or looked up on any number of the hundreds of people search sites and return information about the carrier and who the number is registered to. On the day-to-day, VoIP – combined with other strategies I recommend on The New Oil – can help reduce spam calls/texts, prevent would-be stalkers, create healthy work/life balances, control what information people (like prospective employers) can find about you, and help compartmentalize or reduce tracking by big corporations. Sadly, VoIP is a tool that's not widely available in many countries, but for those with access to it, VoIP can provide numerous benefits and should at very least be considered. So this week let's explore some of the best VoIP options currently available for consumers.

top 14 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] [email protected] 16 points 1 month ago

Recommending Google or Microsoft services does not belong in Privacy sublemmy.

[-] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago

sublemmy

Lemmy communities. Mbin/kbin magazines.

[-] [email protected] 13 points 1 month ago

This is a pretty bad article imho. It only recommends voip with their own special apps. Nothing about standard SIP services. I've been using Vitelity and Twilio and others are out there. The article mentions voip.ms as "honorable mention" but says it's hard to use. That's kind of silly. Linphone is pretty easy to configure, for example.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Also Localphone, Callcentric, Anveo... the list goes on.

And if you don't like using a SIP app on a cell phone, you can always buy a desk or cordless SIP phone. Panasonic is a well known brand.

There are quite a few options (and feature sets, and pricing structures) available if you're willing to learn.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

Linphone is the only one I've tried, because it's on F-droid. It's not great but I do use it sometimes. There is also a device called an ATA that is basically a SIP adapter for a standard analog phone.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

Yes, analog terminal adapters do exist, can be found for cheap, and can be handy if you must keep your old phone or fax machine. In my experience, though, native SIP phones work and sound better.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

Can you recommend a cheap model? I need something that is absolutely butt simple to operate, for my elderly mom. An old fashioned analog phone had seemed like just the thing.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I haven't shopped for them in years, and even then, I wasn't looking for simple ones. You might try asking on this forum:

https://www.dslreports.com/forum/voip

If she isn't good with tech but is already comfortable with a particular style of analog phone, an ATA (that you set up for her) might be a good choice.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Thanks. I have also thought about customizing Linphone or something similar to make it simpler, then putting it on an old Android phone in Kiosk mode (phone only runs one app) and wrapping a box around it. Maybe I'll look into that a little more too.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

I actually got lots of pain to get linphone to connect to voip.ms. is there any up to date guide on how to set it up?

[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

The main non obvious thing I remember is saying it to use a faster codec even with slow Internet. Otherwise it made awful static over the conversation.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

which of these allow you to pay privately (eg with monero)?

[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

I've been using Voipo for years, no complaints.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

thank you for sharig this! The New Oil es a great informateon source.

this post was submitted on 23 Jul 2024
15 points (85.7% liked)

Privacy

31111 readers
467 users here now

A place to discuss privacy and freedom in the digital world.

Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.

In this community everyone is welcome to post links and discuss topics related to privacy.

Some Rules

Related communities

Chat rooms

much thanks to @gary_host_laptop for the logo design :)

founded 4 years ago
MODERATORS