Been using privacy.com for years. You can enter any ZIP code, any name and the seller won’t know anything about you unless you’re shipping to your home, I guess. Some markets will see the cards as gift cards and won’t accept them, but that is rare.
I use it wherever I can, especially for services that always used to end up with a stolen CC#. The cards can be single use or locked to a single merchant. I used a single use card on PSN three years ago and still get fraudulent charge attempts to this day, but the card stopped working after one use, as designed.
I’m just getting more diligent about my privacy in the face of the US tech empire going balls to the wall with stealing people’s data, and it looks like this might be a helpful addition in that regard.
I recommend read Extreme Privacy by Michael Bazzell. Hell, purchase it. It is an incredible value for the cost and will help you immensely with trying to get more diligent about your privacy. You don’t have to do everything, but Bazzell is incredibly well though out.
Revolut offers the exact same service (one-time-use credit cards). They’re an EU company. They do a ton of KYC though (much more than your normal physical bank, as they have much more anti-fraud concerns being online-only). Also only available in their app which is an atrocity, their website is not functional for banking separately.
Know your customer or know your client (KYC)[1][2] laws, regulations and guidelines in financial services require regulated businesses and professionals to verify the identity, suitability, and risks involved with maintaining a business relationship with a customer. These procedures fit within the broader scope of anti-money laundering (AML) and counter terrorism financing (CTF) regulations.
This makes sense re: my intuitive understanding that it protects you from giving your information to other businesses, but it won’t protect you from the police if the police subpoena privacy.com and ask them about you specifically.
Privacy.com is still currently on the point of the enshittification curve where they are making a good free service for customers, but I don’t doubt that once they have enough people locked in, they’ll make the service worse by pivoting first to helping their advertisers and then to helping themselves and their financial backers at the expense of everyone else.
Unless something changed recently, Google Play has always accepted my privacy cards. I have one saved now a my family payment method on my Nvidia Shield account.
Been using privacy.com for years. You can enter any ZIP code, any name and the seller won’t know anything about you unless you’re shipping to your home, I guess. Some markets will see the cards as gift cards and won’t accept them, but that is rare.
I use it wherever I can, especially for services that always used to end up with a stolen CC#. The cards can be single use or locked to a single merchant. I used a single use card on PSN three years ago and still get fraudulent charge attempts to this day, but the card stopped working after one use, as designed.
Holy crap, that sounds fantastic.
I’m just getting more diligent about my privacy in the face of the US tech empire going balls to the wall with stealing people’s data, and it looks like this might be a helpful addition in that regard.
I recommend read Extreme Privacy by Michael Bazzell. Hell, purchase it. It is an incredible value for the cost and will help you immensely with trying to get more diligent about your privacy. You don’t have to do everything, but Bazzell is incredibly well though out.
I could be wrong but privacy.com is USA only.
Edit: from their faq
"Who can use Privacy and do you need a bank account?
Privacy is currently available to US citizens or legal residents with a checking account at a US bank or credit union, and who are 18+ years of age."
Revolut offers the exact same service (one-time-use credit cards). They’re an EU company. They do a ton of KYC though (much more than your normal physical bank, as they have much more anti-fraud concerns being online-only). Also only available in their app which is an atrocity, their website is not functional for banking separately.
You can’t avoid all of the surveillance, but this helps a lot.
Worth noting that privacy.com has KYC.
What is this? EDIT: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Know_your_customer
This makes sense re: my intuitive understanding that it protects you from giving your information to other businesses, but it won’t protect you from the police if the police subpoena privacy.com and ask them about you specifically.
Privacy.com is still currently on the point of the enshittification curve where they are making a good free service for customers, but I don’t doubt that once they have enough people locked in, they’ll make the service worse by pivoting first to helping their advertisers and then to helping themselves and their financial backers at the expense of everyone else.
Know Your Customer. It’s where the company keeps a record of your personally identifiable information on record and linked to your account.
Please stop buying from Amazon
That’s really interesting – any theories as to why/how PSN leaks yor CC info?
Available on Apstore and Google Play. No go for me. Don’t and won’t use from those sources.
I respect that. You should also know you don’t have to use it as an app you can also just use their website.
I don’t think they’re a noble company or anything. It just seems worth it to me for the time being.
Unless something changed recently, Google Play has always accepted my privacy cards. I have one saved now a my family payment method on my Nvidia Shield account.
Don’t use Apple products, so can’t speak to that.