Oddbean new post about login | logout Just paid for an anonymous esim from silent.link and paid via Lightning through eCash. 🥜 ⚡ How is your weekend going?
This is the way nostr:nevent1qqsvcavmr7yumglerxl9gx2r52w4la0rq0edvgced5cjexy3237gtnqppemhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mp0qgsqc0nm5nzkn2jktvser4udn4chsk906hnesyut5me9tq9mg3lhujcrqsqqqqqpajw92u
Silent.link is awesome, it just works everywhere.
Unfortunately, it didn't work in Bhutan. 🇧🇹
I recently got one of these: https://cloakedwireless.com/
LFG
Is the esim really anonymous though? Your network provider does see the IMSI/IMEI right?
You get an IMSI that's not connected to any identity. Once you connect it to a phone, it'll be transmitted together with your IMEI to the local network, if my understanding is correct. So you could be identified via your IMEI. So for perfect privacy on that level, you'd need a phone (IMEI) that's not connected to your identity. I guess that's achievable if you buy a (used) phone for cash in a store. If you want to dig deeper, Amir Taaki had a long thread on X on that topic a couple days ago, with very specific instructions on how to hack the IMEI.
As documented a few days back, if you want/need a partial alternative to some of the services that Silent.link provides, do try jmp.chat, which does not rely on eSIM to get you a working US or Canada phone number. For that same reason (no SIM), it doesn't give you data, obviously, and you need your own source (WiFi, mobile, etc). That's why I say it's a partial alternative only, depending on your use case. nostr:nevent1qqsvcavmr7yumglerxl9gx2r52w4la0rq0edvgced5cjexy3237gtnqpz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduhsygqv8ea6f3tf4ft9kgv367xe6utctzhateuczw96duj4sza5glm7fvpsgqqqqqqsv3cur6
I don’t understand eCash. I thought it is tokens inside of Lightning used within a community. Does the receiver have to redeem the eCash tokens in this case?
eCash is a concept for anonymous electronic cash. It's seeing a renaissance with Bitcoin as the monetary base (instead of fiat). You interact with a custodial mint and send your BTC (onchain or via LN) to a mint. The mint, in return, gives you eCash tokens. Those tokens can be redeemed by anyone at the mint for BTC. In the case of the payment for silent.link, I handed ~15000 Sats in eCash tokens to the mint, and the mint paid a Lightning invoice on my behalf. The mint doesn't know who I am, so the Lightning payment is completely disconnected to any identity. Hope that helps a bit.