Is JMP.chat expensive? Are there any alternatives? (lemm.ee)

submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by lemmylem@lemm.ee to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

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I've been using this phone number from JMP.chat and I've barely used it for much of anything (Started February 27th, 2024), and somehow its telling me I need $35? I tried out their service plan but it was way too expensive. I only bought it once and took off my credit card after because auto pay kept auto depositing money into my account too frequently. Maybe I'm doing something wrong?

Edit: Found out what happened, it's $6.99/GB for the eSIM, I'm billed 5GB at a time. So $35 total.

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[-] CrypticCoffee@lemmy.ml 14 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Maybe I'm being dumb here, but what is this and why would I use it over Signal or Matrix?

What about it justifies payment?

[-] poVoq@slrpnk.net 22 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

It gives you a normal mobile number (US & Canada) you can use for calls and sms from within your XMPP apps.

[-] CrypticCoffee@lemmy.ml 4 points 7 months ago

Ah, appreciate the clarification.

If your payment is linked to the number, is it any more private than a PAYG number?

[-] poVoq@slrpnk.net 4 points 7 months ago

It can be used entirely without a SIM card or even a mobile-phone. All you need is an internet connected device and a compatible XMPP client.

[-] CrypticCoffee@lemmy.ml 3 points 7 months ago

This is pretty useful. Is there anything for UK based folk?

[-] Manalith@midwest.social 2 points 7 months ago

Maybe look into Hushed. I know they advertise having UK numbers. It's a similar service but I don't think they have a desktop client

[-] poVoq@slrpnk.net 2 points 7 months ago

Sadly no, but you can self-host their stack and link it to an SIP voip provider: https://blog.jmp.chat/b/mobile-friendly-sip-gateway

But that will give you only a land-line based phone-number with no SMS support most likely.

[-] mac@infosec.pub 1 points 7 months ago

Is it possible to use this number with matrix? That'd be a perfect option for me, I don't really want to sign up to another chat service.

[-] poVoq@slrpnk.net 1 points 7 months ago

No, but you can use Matrix through an XMPP gateway.

[-] mac@infosec.pub 1 points 7 months ago

Does this mean you'd be able to send people text messages and call via matrix?

Honestly if I could do that I'd be happy to remove almost all other Comms methods from my devices.

[-] poVoq@slrpnk.net 2 points 7 months ago

No, but you can do it via XMPP, which is better than Matrix anyway.

[-] sloppy_diffuser@sh.itjust.works 6 points 7 months ago

I pay $4.99/mo. Also have the data eSim (rarely use as its a backup). Don't use auto-top up as I pay with XMR.

The bot has a transaction ledger. Did you inspect it?

[-] LWD@lemm.ee 6 points 7 months ago

To keep a US phone number functioning to some degree, most services seem to want $5 a month minimum. $35 or even $15 seems pretty steep. Are we talking a multi-month commitment here?

[-] solrize@lemmy.ml 3 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

No a lot less, twilio is $1/mo, see also VoIP.ms and vitelity.net

[-] Lemmyfunbun@sh.itjust.works 3 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Will these work for registering on social media sites?

[-] LWD@lemm.ee 4 points 7 months ago

Yeah, and Twilio has a reputation as a horrible company that sucks for both privacy and security

[-] mac@infosec.pub 1 points 7 months ago

What other services that are alternatives to this?

[-] LWD@lemm.ee 1 points 7 months ago

You can get 3 months of Tracfone service for $20 from a store. That includes minutes, text, and data. Other services probably cost way less but that's a major one.

[-] TurtleTourParty@midwest.social 4 points 7 months ago

It should be $5 a month for a phone number. Unless by service plan you're talking about their data SIM.

You can check your account info and plan if you open up a chat with cheogram.com in the cheogram app and go to the command tab.

I only get the "your balance is low message" but the account info says I'm paid through June.

this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2024

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