I'm not exactly sure what you're trying to do here. Yes, if you use a phone as a hotspot, everything going through will be associated with that hotspot phone's IMEI.
this post was submitted on 29 Jun 2025
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Privacy
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thanks a lot.
I am trying to keep my device IMEI information private
May I also ask how much information is carried to the second device by using hotspot? By this I meant the phone with IMEI will be able to know my device name, but what else? Will the phone with IMEI also be able to know the device model?
I am trying to keep my device IMEI information private
By replacing it with another not-private one? For what purpose?
using another not-private device is just a temporary solution. In the end I would like to use a portable router that supports MAC/IMEI randomnization
Not sure how that would work. IMEI is how the carrier knows who you are and grants you network access.
They certainly can be spoofed or cloned.
But thats as illegal as it gets and faces serious proscecution.
It will know as much data as it would for any other wireless client. MAC address mostly.
thanks a lot! what about device model, is this info also sent?
You should also beware that if you use the Google Play stuff for push notifications to work (even sandboxed afaik) it will include the IMEI in the payload when it phones home to Google.
push notifications to work
by push notifications to work you mean?
Sandboxed Google Play is only considered an app in GrapheneOS. It shouldn't have direct access to the IMEI number unless it's explicitly granted permission.
I remember it being explained in the GrapheneOS FAQ that only the OS and the phone (dialer) app have access to the IMEI number. However, I'm not an expert, so I can't say for sure.
Could you please provide a link that confirms whether sandboxed Google Play or any app has direct access to the IMEI number? Thanks a lot!
It's possible that I'm mistaken. I've seen it claimed that it still has the IMEI, but that might be inaccurate, and I don't know exactly where I saw it. I've never seen an explicit claim that it does not before now, so I'm not sure who is correct.
right then hopefully someone could see this post and confirm
You should be clear about what your threat model is. What are you willing to accept? What are you willing to trade?
Using a phone only as a Wi-Fi device is probably going to reduce the information surface you exposed to the world.
thanks a lot
May I also ask how much information is carried to the second device by using hotspot? By this I meant the phone with IMEI will be able to know my device name, but what else? Will the phone with IMEI also be able to know the device model?