Look Up Unknown Phone Numbers Using Facebook Reset Password • Hacker News Board

Re: Look Up Unknown Phone Numbers Using Facebook Reset Password

#51

Post by actuator » Mon, Jan 04, 2021, 5:59 AM UTC

vmception wrote: post #49

actuator wrote: post #48

This doesn't seem like something which is of concern but on a tangential note, I wanted to check how you guys maintain your phone number privacy. Consider the cases: - I absolutely hate giving phone number to new ecommerce sites as it is just a database that will eventually get leaked. The only one I can trust here is Amazon probably. - Phone number on packages. A person can read your name, address and phone number f…

I maintain dual sims in my iphone. For dates this means that my "burner number" also has blue text messages, revealing to them it is an iphone and that other features are available like facetime and airdrop in the future. I also maintain google voice numbers to set up additional accounts on places and more easily filter spam. Right now, my one device has three numbers on it. (2x sim, 1x google voice).

I need to upgrade my Pixel 2 to a dual sim phone too. I think this seems like the easiest way. Not sure how WhatsApp etc support dual sim though.

Re: Look Up Unknown Phone Numbers Using Facebook Reset Password

#52

Post by vmception » Mon, Jan 04, 2021, 6:03 AM UTC

actuator wrote: post #51

vmception wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I maintain dual sims in my iphone. For dates this means that my "burner number" also has blue text messages, revealing to them it is an iphone and that other features are available like facetime and airdrop in the future. I also maintain google voice numbers to set up additional accounts on places and more easily filter spam. Right now, my one device has three numbers on it. (2x sim, 1x google voice).

I need to upgrade my Pixel 2 to a dual sim phone too. I think this seems like the easiest way. Not sure how WhatsApp etc support dual sim though.

WhatsApp is the only one that makes it inconvenient. Perhaps Signal is one identity too, and therefore less convenient.

But you can always at the very least set up the accounts, using your browser on a PC.

You just won't get chat notifications for multiple numbers on one device.

Telegram app lets you have 3 accounts logged in, the only similarity being that setting up a Telegram account requires phone number authentication. But the similarity ends because a Telegram account on your device doesn't need to be linked with a phone number accessible from your device.

Re: Look Up Unknown Phone Numbers Using Facebook Reset Password

#53

Post by philposting » Mon, Jan 04, 2021, 6:15 AM UTC

actuator wrote: post #51

vmception wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I maintain dual sims in my iphone. For dates this means that my "burner number" also has blue text messages, revealing to them it is an iphone and that other features are available like facetime and airdrop in the future. I also maintain google voice numbers to set up additional accounts on places and more easily filter spam. Right now, my one device has three numbers on it. (2x sim, 1x google voice).

I need to upgrade my Pixel 2 to a dual sim phone too. I think this seems like the easiest way. Not sure how WhatsApp etc support dual sim though.

You can install WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business, with a number on each. WhatsApp business has some extra functions for businesses, but is otherwise the same.

Re: Look Up Unknown Phone Numbers Using Facebook Reset Password

#54

Post by actuator » Mon, Jan 04, 2021, 6:18 AM UTC

vmception wrote: post #52

actuator wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I need to upgrade my Pixel 2 to a dual sim phone too. I think this seems like the easiest way. Not sure how WhatsApp etc support dual sim though.

WhatsApp is the only one that makes it inconvenient. Perhaps Signal is one identity too, and therefore less convenient. But you can always at the very least set up the accounts, using your browser on a PC. You just won't get chat notifications for multiple numbers on one device. Telegram app lets you have 3 accounts logged in, the only similarity being that setting up a Telegram account requires phone number authenti…

I think the problem of going outside prevalent apps like Text/iMessage/WhatsApp is that not everyone will have the less prevalent ones.

Few people have Telegram, Signal seems like a very niche tech/journalist thing.

Re: Look Up Unknown Phone Numbers Using Facebook Reset Password

#55

Post by actuator » Mon, Jan 04, 2021, 6:23 AM UTC

philposting wrote: post #53

actuator wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I need to upgrade my Pixel 2 to a dual sim phone too. I think this seems like the easiest way. Not sure how WhatsApp etc support dual sim though.

You can install WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business, with a number on each. WhatsApp business has some extra functions for businesses, but is otherwise the same.

It does show you are texting with a business account which might just seem weird to the other person. If they didn't find not having IG shady before, I am sure they will now.

Re: Look Up Unknown Phone Numbers Using Facebook Reset Password

#56

Post by vmception » Mon, Jan 04, 2021, 6:38 AM UTC

actuator wrote: post #54

vmception wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

WhatsApp is the only one that makes it inconvenient. Perhaps Signal is one identity too, and therefore less convenient. But you can always at the very least set up the accounts, using your browser on a PC. You just won't get chat notifications for multiple numbers on one device. Telegram app lets you have 3 accounts logged in, the only similarity being that setting up a Telegram account requires phone number authenti…

I think the problem of going outside prevalent apps like Text/iMessage/WhatsApp is that not everyone will have the less prevalent ones. Few people have Telegram, Signal seems like a very niche tech/journalist thing.

Thats just informative for you.

I'm not really focusing on the dating use case and have already solved that for myself, and for you, and I'm not sure why you are overthinking it aside from your upcoming expensive of buying a new phone and additional cellular plan. The practicality is already there.

Re: Look Up Unknown Phone Numbers Using Facebook Reset Password

#57

Post by fy20 » Mon, Jan 04, 2021, 6:40 AM UTC

rsync wrote: post #36

I have a shell script named 'lookup' that lets me know (through twilio) the location, mobile carrier, and registered name of a phone number. I wrote it to quickly identify mobile vs. non-mobile numbers that I might text - also from the command line. I won't paste the entire script here (mostly authentication and argument parsing) but the meat of it is: /usr/local/bin/curl -X GET "https://lookups.twilio.com/v1/PhoneNu…

In countries which have number portability this may not always be right. For example my phone number returns Vodafone, which was the carrier it was originally assigned to 15 years ago, but I've been on other networks for over a decade.

Re: Look Up Unknown Phone Numbers Using Facebook Reset Password

#58

Post by MattGaiser » Mon, Jan 04, 2021, 6:42 AM UTC

zwog wrote: post #45

MattGaiser wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't you just say that a password reset email has been sent? That is what we did when I worked in banking as a way to prevent this. Whether or not you have an account, the system says a reset email has been sent.

In most cases you can find out whether an account with a specific email address exists by trying to sign up with it, though.

Fair. We didn't have that issue because you don't sign up for bank accounts online.

Re: Look Up Unknown Phone Numbers Using Facebook Reset Password

#59

Post by kristopolous » Mon, Jan 04, 2021, 7:16 AM UTC

Y'all know we used to publish everybody's phone number in a book along with their address and then distribute copies to every household, right?

We did it for many decades and it was fine. Every pay phone, which was a phone anyone with a couple coins could make anonymous calls from, had this giant book right there for your reference. Everyone knows this, right?

If you didn't know someone's number you could look it up and call them. They wouldn't have caller ID so you'd identify yourself and then you could talk to them.

This was 99.99% of the time not a problem.

We need to stop freaking out about a "security vulnerability" that does 1/50th of a system that everyone used mostly without incident for decades.

Besides, none of this information is actually private now, it's all still for sale. These companies freak out about this stuff because your data is their product, it's not supposed to be free.

Re: Look Up Unknown Phone Numbers Using Facebook Reset Password

#60

Post by aembleton » Mon, Jan 04, 2021, 7:28 AM UTC

kristopolous wrote: post #59

Y'all know we used to publish everybody's phone number in a book along with their address and then distribute copies to every household, right? We did it for many decades and it was fine. Every pay phone, which was a phone anyone with a couple coins could make anonymous calls from, had this giant book right there for your reference. Everyone knows this, right? If you didn't know someone's number you could look it up…

Could I easily look up a name for a given phone number with this book?

Or did I have to go through the whole book to find a match?