Should you Change your Mobile Carrier?

A Public Service Announcement

This post is a follow up to last Thursday’s post on government surveillance. That post was an overview, and if you haven’t read it yet, consider doing so. Here it is:

There is a new mobile phone carrier called Cape that is dedicated to privacy and security. They will make it much harder for location services to work (so you cannot be tracked) and mobile apps will have trouble selling your data. This becomes especially important in light of the September 2024 contract that DHS signed with Paragon Solutions (US).

Paragon is headquartered in Israel, and is best known for Graphite, a spyware product used to extract communications content¹. The contract is under review because of President Biden’s EO on spyware. Link. 36 organizations signed a letter to Secretary Mayorkas asking for details. I recommend you read the letter to understand the parameters of what they are asking. The scariest thing to me, and why I am seriously considering Cape next year is that the spyware can completely take over your phone, without you knowing about it.

Even if the current administration abandons the Paragon contract, there’s no doubt that the incoming fascist regime could either decide to enforce it, or sign another one, and then the government’s ability to spy on ALL of us is greatly enhanced.

While Cape will utilize US Cellular’s network, they own the software that runs their system. This is different from other “add on” networks like Consumer Cellular and Mint Mobile. They sell fully functional Android phones, although you will be able to port over your current number, provided you have an eSim that they can update.

From Cape’s FAQs:

Right now, Cape is available to individuals at heightened risk of being targeted by malicious actors. This includes national security professionals, corporate leaders, journalists, domestic violence survivors, celebrities, and more.

Previously, this product was only offered to government users.

It is also incredibly expensive, with costs currently ranging up to $1,000/month depending on selected options. Once Cape opens registration to the general public (likely next year) the prices should come down.

If you are interested in Cape service, you can sign up for their waiting list. Before you do, consider which email service you are using, and whether you want an additional email account.

No email service is safe: a government warrant or subpoena and all your stuff will be turned over, no matter who the provider is. But you can encrypt your emails, and that helps.

Personally, I have two personal email accounts. One is a gmail account that I’m pretty sure is about as public as an email address can get. I’ve had it since 2005. I have tried to quit gmail, but it’s even worse than trying to change banks.

So I have a second email account from hey.com. They encrypt everything, they even put up a pair of sunglasses for those received emails where the sender will track you, although hey fixes that. Here’s their take on privacy. Hey email is not free, it’s $99/year after a one-month trial.

So consider a second email account, or going through the pain of porting from one service to another.

Then, consider getting on the Cape waiting list. When you sign up, peruse Cape’s site, especially their blog: there’s a ton of useful information there.

1. Graphite is very similar in what it can do that Pegasus is known to have done around the world.