Quick answer
Can an eSIM be tracked?
Yes. Mobile networks can locate an active phone approximately from serving cells and associate it with device and subscription identifiers. UnlistedSIM sells an eSIM without ID or email from $1.09, which reduces checkout information. Updated October 2026: the seven-party table distinguishes seller records, network visibility, public crypto transactions and the accounts you use online.
What remains visible after a no-ID purchase?
| Device identifier (IMEI) | Seen by the visited network, whatever eSIM is installed |
|---|---|
| Approximate location | Seen by the visited network, from the cells your phone uses |
| Encryption added by the eSIM | Mobile-link encryption and HTTPS are separate; no end-to-end VPN is supplied |
| Country of your IP address | Home routing: the issuing network's; local breakout: the visited network's (IETF). Our per-plan data: not yet published |
| What UnlistedSIM holds | Account number and balance; orders (plan, destination, ICCID, QR code); status and data use of each eSIM, reported by our partner network; top-ups (coin, network, amount, transaction ID); logged-in devices; an optional email, password and two-factor setting if you add them |
| What UnlistedSIM never holds | Name, ID document, phone number, postal address, location history, browsing history. An email only if you add one in the client area or write to support |
| Kept forever | Crypto transactions, on their public blockchain |
| Reuse | CC BY 4.0: free to reuse with credit and a link to this page |
Who sees what when you use a travel eSIM?
Seven parties can receive different information when a travel eSIM is used. The table distinguishes our published account policy from the technical visibility of mobile networks and websites. We have not inspected operators’ internal logs. The editorial scope was reviewed on 15 October 2026; individual source dates remain listed below.
Who Sees What: seven parties, one row each
| Party | What it can see | What it cannot see | How long it keeps it |
|---|---|---|---|
| UnlistedSIM (the seller) | Your account number and balance; your orders (plan, destination, ICCID, QR code and activation code); the status, first-connection date, expiry date and data used of each eSIM (reported by our partner network); your top-ups (coin, network, exact amount, transaction ID once matched); the devices logged in to your account (device name, first and last activity); an optional email, password and two-factor setting if you add them; any email you send to support. Your IP address while our site answers you. Visitor IP addresses are not written to our web server access logs and are never attached to an account | Your name, ID, phone number or address (never asked); a location history (we keep none); the sites and apps you use (your traffic does not pass through us) | Order records are kept as long as your account exists, so the QR code can be shown again and refunds can be credited, then deleted with the account. Account deletion: on request from your account, at any time; the account number, its orders and its balance are then erased. Other items: no separate retention period published |
| The blockchain (anyone) | Each payment: amount, time, sending address and receiving address. Our deposit addresses are shared by all customers on each network, so anyone who knows one sees that a wallet paid it | The blockchain does not directly label an account number or eSIM order. Links may still be inferred from timing, public information or records held elsewhere. | Permanently: a public blockchain cannot be edited |
| The exchange or wallet service you pay from | An exchange sees your identity if it verified you, plus the amount, the destination address and the time. A wallet app may see your addresses if it relies on its own servers | Your account number at UnlistedSIM, your eSIM, your mobile traffic | Their own policy, and the law that applies to them |
| The visited network (the local operator your phone connects to) | Your phone's IMEI; the eSIM's subscription identity (IMSI); your approximate location from the cells you use; connection times and data volume. With local breakout, your traffic also leaves to the internet from this network | An identity document from our checkout, because none is requested; supported HTTPS or VPN content remains encrypted. Other information can still permit identity correlation. | Their own policy, and local law |
| The network that issued the eSIM profile (home network) | The profile's IMSI and ICCID; which visited network and country you use; data volume. With home routing, it assigns your IP address and carries your traffic to the internet | An identity document from our checkout, because none is requested; supported encrypted content. We have not audited the issuer’s separate records or identity correlations. | Their own policy, and the law of its country |
| Websites and apps you use | The IP address your traffic leaves from; everything you give them when you sign in; device details and cookies; your precise location if you allow it in an app | Your UnlistedSIM account and how you paid; your IMEI (a web page cannot read it) | Their own policy |
| Your phone's maker or operating system (Apple, Google, Samsung, GrapheneOS) | What its settings send back, such as account sign-in, location services, diagnostics and backups. It already knows the phone's identifiers and runs the eSIM download | Anything from UnlistedSIM: we share no data with it | Their own policy, and your settings |
“Their own policy” means the party sets its own retention rules, and we do not know them for every operator. The visited network is the local operator serving the phone; the actual available network depends on the profile and destination. The network that issued the profile is one of our established partner networks; its country per plan is not yet published. We sell eSIMs, so we are one of the parties in this table.
What do IMEI, IMSI, ICCID and routing mean?
- IMEI
International Mobile Equipment Identity: the serial number of the phone's mobile radio. It stays the same when you change SIM or eSIM.
- IMSI
International Mobile Subscriber Identity: the subscription number stored in a SIM or eSIM profile. Networks use it to identify and authenticate the line.
- ICCID
Integrated Circuit Card Identifier: the serial number of a SIM card or eSIM profile. We keep it with your order to apply top-ups and to answer support questions.
- Home routing
A roaming setup in which the issuing network gives the phone its IP address, and all traffic goes back to that network (IETF).
- Local breakout
A roaming setup in which the visited network gives the IP address, and traffic leaves to the internet near the phone (IETF).
Does an eSIM encrypt my traffic?
Mobile networks use link encryption, and HTTPS protects supported application content. A downloadable eSIM profile does not itself provide an end-to-end VPN or conceal traffic metadata, device identifiers or cell location from mobile networks.
A VPN can additionally protect traffic to its endpoint. The network still sees that endpoint and connection metadata; the VPN provider becomes another party that can observe destination metadata. HTTPS content remains protected where supported.
Which country will my IP address be in with a travel eSIM?
It depends on how the plan is routed. With home routing, the network that issued the profile gives the IP address. That address can belong to another country than the one you visit. With local breakout, the visited network assigns it, so it belongs to that country's network. The IETF describes both modes.
We have not yet published the exit-IP country of each plan. Check yours after activation with any “what is my IP” site, and see the exit-IP registry. This matters for banking and login apps, which can react when the IP country differs from where you are.
Can the network see my location with a travel eSIM?
Yes, approximately. The visited network knows which cells your phone uses, which gives a position that is more precise where cells are dense. This is how any mobile network delivers data, with any SIM or eSIM.
Turning off location services does not change it: that setting controls what apps receive. Turning off all mobile lines or enabling airplane mode stops mobile-network connections; Wi-Fi can remain active.
Does keeping my home SIM active reveal where I am?
Yes, to your home carrier. With dual SIM, both lines are active at the same time (Apple). If your home SIM roams on a local network, your home carrier sees which country and network you are on. It also keeps its own records of your calls and SMS.
Both lines also run on the same phone, in the same place. Keep the home SIM on if you need bank codes or calls; switch it off if you do not.
Can a crypto payment be linked to my eSIM?
Our records link a transaction ID to an account number and its orders. The public blockchain shows addresses, amounts and times. An exchange you paid from can connect the payment to an identity it verified. Other observers may infer links by combining timing or additional information; shared deposit addresses do not guarantee that a purchase cannot be associated with you.
We do not accept Monero. Read payment privacy and what we collect.
What can the police obtain, and from whom?
Each party can be asked for what it holds. Location and IMEI records sit with the mobile networks. Identity sits with exchanges that verified you and with the accounts you sign into. We hold account numbers, orders, the network-reported status and usage of each eSIM, top-up records, logged-in devices and any optional email a customer adds, never a name.
We answer only legally binding orders under the law of Panama, where the operating company is registered. What exists and what does not is on law enforcement requests.
How was this table made, and can I reuse it?
It summarises how roaming works, as the IETF describes it, and our own records policy, published on what we collect. We did not test any operator's internal logs. Where a party's retention period is not public, the table says “their own policy”. We update the page when one of these facts changes.
The table is published under CC BY 4.0: you can reuse it, including commercially, with credit to UnlistedSIM and a link to this page. UnlistedSIM sells data eSIMs with no ID and no email, paid in crypto; prices are on the pricing page.
What else should I know?
Can an eSIM be tracked?
Yes. Like a physical SIM, an eSIM connects through a mobile network that sees the phone's IMEI and its approximate location from the cells it uses. Buying the eSIM without ID does not change that. UnlistedSIM, a no-ID eSIM seller paid in crypto, removes the identity check at purchase, not what the network sees.
Can an eSIM bought without ID be traced to me?
It depends on what else links to you. We hold no name and no ID, and no email unless you add one: our records are an account number, orders, eSIM status and usage, top-ups and logged-in devices. But the networks see your phone, an exchange you paid from may know who you are, and every account you sign into knows you. A no-ID purchase removes one link, not all of them.
Does turning off location services stop eSIM tracking?
No. Location services control what apps receive from GPS, Wi-Fi and cells. The mobile network locates the phone from the cells it connects to, whatever your settings. Turning off all mobile lines or enabling airplane mode stops mobile-network connections; Wi-Fi can remain active. This is true for any SIM or eSIM.
Can UnlistedSIM see where I am?
Not from our records: they hold no location history, because location data sits with the mobile networks. Our partner network reports each eSIM's status and data used to us; everything we hold is listed on what we collect. Your traffic does not pass through us either, so we cannot see the sites and apps you use.
Will websites know which country I am in?
They see the country of your IP address, which can differ from where you are. With home routing, the address comes from the network that issued the profile, possibly in another country. With local breakout, it belongs to the visited country's network. Apps that use GPS location, with your permission, see where you really are.
Does an eSIM hide my identity from apps?
No. Apps identify you by the accounts you sign into, by device details and by the permissions you grant. Changing SIM or eSIM changes none of that. A web page cannot read your IMEI, but it sees your IP address, and an app you sign into knows who you are.
Can my crypto payment reveal which eSIM I bought?
Our records contain the direct link between a matched transaction, an account number and its orders. The blockchain reveals amounts, times and addresses; an exchange may know the payer’s identity. Shared deposit addresses do not rule out inferences from timing or other information, so we do not promise payment unlinkability.
Who keeps data about my eSIM the longest?
The blockchain: a crypto transaction stays public forever. Mobile networks and exchanges keep their records under their own policies and local laws. At UnlistedSIM, order records are kept as long as your account exists, so the QR code can be shown again and refunds can be credited, then deleted with the account. Each item we keep, with its retention rule, is on data retention.
Can I reuse the Who Sees What table?
Yes. The table is published under CC BY 4.0. You can copy, adapt and republish it, including commercially, if you credit UnlistedSIM and link to this page. UnlistedSIM sells eSIMs, so it is one of the parties described; please keep that note when you reuse the table.
Which sources support this guide? (3)
- IPv6 Roaming Behavior Analysis (draft-ietf-v6ops-ipv6-roaming-analysis-03) — IETF (2014-08-09)
- Tested the no-KYC eSIM providers on GrapheneOS, results on what works best — GrapheneOS Discussion Forum (2026-05-21)
- Using Dual SIM with an eSIM — Apple Support (2026-09-17)