Double Blind Armadillo

Double Blind Armadillo

From Firewalls Don't Stop Dragons Podcast by Carey Parker

March 2, 2026 · 1h 12m

About this episode

Nick Merrill discusses how his company Phreeli provides cellular service without requiring personal information beyond a ZIP+4 code.

Cellular providers need to know your location in order to deliver calls and text message to your phone. But it turns out that they really don’t need to know who you are to give you that service. They only need to know how to bill you – and that information can be at little as knowing your ZIP+4 code. Why do we give so much personal information to our mobile service providers when we don’t have to? Today, Nick Merrill, founder of Phreeli, will explain how he can give you top notch cell service and know almost nothing about you. Interview Notes Phreeli: https://www.phreeli.com/ Double Blind Armadillo: https://www.phreeli.com/files/PhreeliDoubleBlindArmadilloWhitePaper.pdf Wired article: https://www.wired.com/story/new-anonymous-phone-carrier-sign-up-with-nothing-but-a-zip-code/ Call Detail Record: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_detail_record 2600 Magazine: https://www.2600.com/ Zero-Knowledge Proofs: https://firewallsdontstopdragons.com/how-zero-knowledge-proofs-work/ Further Info My book: https://fdsd.me/book My newsletter: https://fdsd.me/newsletter Support the mission: https://fdsd.me/support Give the gift of privacy and security: https://fdsd.me/coupons…

People in this episode

Guest: Nick Merrill

Topics covered

  • cellular providers
  • privacy
  • anonymous service

Keywords

  • Phreeli
  • Double Blind Armadillo
  • Zero-Knowledge Proofs

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Phreeli

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