Best Mobile VoIP Service for Privacy and Anonymity

Introduction

While Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology has been around for years, you may think it is only for residential or business landlines. Remember Vonage and Magic Jack? More recently, VoIP has become a popular choice for smartphones as an alternative to or alongside cellular service. In this article we discuss four VoIP service providers for mobile phones and the advantages and disadvantages from a privacy-first perspective.

How VoIP on Mobile Devices Work

When signing up for a VoIP service, you receive a real phone number (or multiple numbers depending on the service). To place and receive calls and texts on your smartphone, you need to install an app from the service provider. Upon granting permissions to your contacts, you can easily call or text friends and family with your new number. In some cases, the service integrates into the native phone dialer app, creating a seamless calling experience. The VoIP service can also work alongside an existing mobile plan.

Remember that VoIP utilizes Internet Protocol, not the cellular network, so an internet connection or mobile data plan is required. If you're connected to your home's Wi-Fi network, or if you have an existing mobile plan with data, you're good to go. If you prefer ditching your mobile carrier, a "data-only" plan is a great solution. Several carriers offer data-only plans in gigabyte (GB) increments. We'll discuss some of these plans later in this article.

Criteria to Make the List

Searching the internet for VoIP services yields dozens of results, most of them focused on residential or business landline service. In our case, we are interested in services that function on mobile devices and prioritize privacy. We also need to distinguish -- from whom are we protecting our privacy? You'll find that two of the services in our review focus on keeping the user private or anonymous from people they call (i.e. dating, account sign-ups, and 2FA requirements). While that's a valid concern, we're also interested in privacy protection from Big Tech data collection and 3-letter government agencies that monitor personal voice calls and text messages. We'll distinguish these differences in our evaluation below.

1. JMP.chat

JMP.chat provides VoIP services with the added benefit of encrypted communication. They have essentially created a private gateway to the telephone network. This is done by bridging the public switched telephone network (PSTN) with Jabber - a decentralized, federated, and encrypted communication standard powered by XMPP. Using JMP's Cheogram app, or compatible XMPP client, voice calls and text messages are encrypted from the user's device to the JMP server, shielding call and text data from your ISP or mobile carrier.

The Cheogram app is open source and available on F-Droid. To sign up, you'll first need a Jabber ID, similar to an email address but on the Jabber network. Although it's an extra step, it creates the ability to use their service from any computer, laptop, or mobile device with a compatible client. To learn more, check out Joinjabber.org. Signing up for your phone number can be done from JMP's website or through the Cheogram app. 

It's no secret that we are fans of JMP's service. We've partnered with them to provide a privacy-focused phone service that complements our de-googled devices. Customers who purchase a digital device from us get their first month of service for free.

2. Brax Virtual Phone

Rob Braxman is a well-known businessman and privacy tech content creator who offers privacy-focused solutions from his Brax.me website and app. He recently added a VoIP service called Brax Virtual Phone. Users create an account on brax.me and then purchase the service from the in-app store. Just like other VoIP services you can choose a US and Canada-based phone number. Once provisioned, calls and texts can be made directly from the app or set up on LinPhone using Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).

Brax Virtual Phone is an affordable, no-frills VoIP solution. Basically, what you see is what you get. Braxman emphasizes that the service is for a small privacy-friendly community and there is no KYC required to sign up. Customers can pay anonymously with BTC and ETH cryptocurrency, money order, and Amazon gift cards.

3. Hushed

Based in Ottawa, Ontario, Hushed has been around since 2013 providing "affordable private phone number solutions" according to their website. Their focus is on simple, organized solutions for managing multiple phone numbers. Features include auto-reply messages, managing separate contact lists, custom voicemail greetings, call forwarding and call routing. Unfortunately their app is proprietary, not open source, but works on both phones and tablets. 

Hushed claims calls and texts are private and anonymous, but that's only from the perspective of whomever receives  your call or text message. Their focus is not on protecting privacy from Big Tech data collection or government surveillance. In fact, they are well integrated with Apple and Google. You are forced to complete Google Captcha to sign up and the app is only available from Apple App Store and Google Play Store. However, Android users can find it on Aurora Store or download and install the APK directly from a 3rd party APK repository in order to avoid Google Play Store. While they offer cryptocurrency payments, they rely on Coinbase for 3rd party payment processing.

4. MySudo

MySudo offers very affordable VoIP service for US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore phone numbers. Their service is the least expensive of all that we reviewed. A single "Sudo" phone number can be purchased for $0.99/mo, three for $4.99/mo, and nine for $14.99/mo. They claim end-to-end encryption when communicating with other MySudo users. Plans also include email aliases, or "Sudo" email addresses, and the app is user friendly and convenient. Sadly, that's where the advantages end.

Users are forced to download and set up the proprietary app through Google Play Store or Apple App Store. There is no cryptocurrency or anonymous payment option. In fact, only credit cards on file with Google Play Store are accepted as payment. MySudo is firmly in bed with Google and Big Tech and has not made any effort to support open source solutions or anonymous on-boarding. Like Hushed, MySudo claims privacy and anonymity but only to hide your identity from recipients of calls and texts.

Conclusion

We recommend JMP.chat and Brax Virtual Phone for those seeking real privacy from Big Tech and state-sponsored surveillance. If you just want a streamlined setup and simple way to manage multiple virtual phone numbers, Hushed is a decent choice. Regardless of which one is right for you, we always recommend a VoIP solution on a de-googled mobile phone or tablet. You'll be totally protected from Big Tech data collection and tracking. Check out our selection of de-googled Android phones and tablets and contact us with any questions.