My friend works for an electrical company, he says he can turn his phone "off" and then use his equipment to show electrical signals still setting off the meter

let me tell you this, my current smartphone is the last one I ever will buy.

No, it's because Steve Jobs didn't like removable batteries, and the entire industry just follows what apple does.

The original iPods also had no removable batteries.

This is just plain bullshit. The profit margins are much higher on the electronics than the battery. and eliminating the removable feature means a cost savings during manufacturing.

also, same reason why televisions don't turn off any more. only 'standby'

Same reason they banned lead paint.

Although you are right generally speaking there are a few phones with removable batteries just not very high end phones https://thedroidguy.com/2019/05/9-best-phones-removable-battery-2019-1079207

Incorrect, it's a component of planned obsolescence. You can still be tracked with the battery removed from your device.

First thing I thought when I found this out.

Not mine, got a ulefone armor 2 for $300 has a removable battery that lasts all day.

Taking a battery out of your phone doesn't do shit for spying, especially more so today. Just wait till 5G comes out in full force. Your entire home can be mapped in real-time with EM. They will even be able to tell if you have any firearms in the house, and be able to count how many rounds you have loaded and even what type of round it is. This is just a possibility based on a fundamental understanding of the technology, who knows how it will actually be used, but if the history of government is any indicator, we should expect a whole lot worse.

You will live to see man-made horrors beyond your comprehension

...or you could stick it in a faraday's cage anytime you want to go dark...

Indeed that would permanently fix the problem.

Laptops also the same.

Even if you take the battery out, the technology exists to power and turn on your phone remotely. And i'm not talking about wireless charging.

I made a faraday bag for my phone. Just for testing purposes of course

Get an RF shield bag to put it in

Smartphones no longer have removable batteries?

I'm pretty sure all you have to do is wrap your phone in aluminum foil and it cannot send or receive any signal.

ITT, spooks deflecting.

Purism phone is supposed to have just that.

Soooo

Updating your Facebook, Twitter, and instagram accounts from your smartphone is even worse than just having a smartphone.

Faraday case or bag. You're welcome.

We just put ours in another room and play Madonna music.

Problem solved.

Keep in mind that cellphones has working GPS chips in them years before they were capable to giving customers access to the "feature", circa 1998 I believe. Smartphones weren't a thing until 2003 and not wide spread until 2007, yet every flip phone had a working GPS chip.

Cell/smartphones are not yours. Cell/smartphones are "theirs". I call it tattletech like anything that is called "smart" whatever. Smartphone, smartTV, smartFridge, smartLight, smartThermostat, smartAssistant.....none of it truly belongs to you in the sense that you are in complete control of it and it is designed to rat you out, to divulge all your little secrets.

I'm going to go ahead and guess that there is a chip in there that doesn't need an internal power source.

Here you go m8, there are many different premade ones you can buy that look nicer, but I can't attest to their efficacy since many seem to have openings in them and arent perfectly enclosed.

For total privacy put it in a home made bag or container and leave it at home so it doesn't record and send it later.

https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Faraday-Cage

No - you understand that while there’s a removable battery it’s entirely possible to have another little one tucked away to power a spy chip, right?

Battery life became the top concern as phones advanced and now they cram battery pieces into odd shapes and nooks to maximize.

Battery life is the REAL reason phones screens got so big and no one makes a smaller one - the extra size gives them room to cram enough battery in to make the phone last an entire day.

I heard aluminium foil can block signal pretty well.

Don't get a smartphone...

It's so you have to replace the whole unit, instead of just the battery. Phones run over $200 these days, batteries are $40. It's part of the Right to Repair that Apple keeps fighting via DMCA. Basically, they want to keep stealing your money through planned obsolescence , which is becoming harder. They're scammers with little value now.

No. Its just cheaper in parts (5-15 usd per unit) to manufacture, and cheaper in labout required (up to 5 usd per unit) and batteries themselves are cheaper because they no longer need idiotproofing as they are shielded by the body of the phone (thinner, can save space on top of cost savings).

I've always thought about this

yeah i tend to agree with this idea.

However, they are limiting the life cycle of their phones. my note 3 hardware is still better than some new ones and its now 5 years old, but ive had to replace the battery in it every two years. Like printers, lightbulbs, everything these days seems to be made to fail.

You mean why iPhones don't have removable batteries. That's entirely possible...

There was a scare among tech people a few years ago about "supercaps", high capacity capacitors that could perhaps keep the GPS running for awhile if the battery were removed.