IMEI is a unique identifier for your phone, so it's location and activity can be logged. It's tied to you via your cell provider and any logs they keep will show call and data logs. However if you use privacy focused apps, lile WhatsApp, Signal and others, they can only see that you have used those apps and not your messsages content. Web browsing again via https is private so they can only see what sites you have visited not what you have read. That information they can only see when they seize and inspect your phone.

hiya fusion center (⚠️ clearnet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusion_center ⚠️) cyber specialist here. nope that cop was just trying to scare you. there are much easier ways to find incriminating things about you that don't involve invading your personal privacy. theres a shittonna "FOIA this" and "PATRIOT that" in the government intelligence sector. your 8k anime porn is safe from us

in laymans terms, Its a serial number for the GSM modem the number is whitelisted when a device is created. This means, if two phones using same imei register on same network both get blocked.If you giwe however get a broken phone and transfer the IMEI from that to say a stolen device, the phone will work.

Unless they are forensic IT officers they tend to be fairly stupid when it come to actual Opsec. I had long conversation with a few detectives years ago, one was the dumbest mother fucker with a badge I had ever met in my life, not certain how he made the rank of detective especially considering he was part of an online crimes taskforce in a very large US law enforcement department. 9/10 them simply seize electronic devices and hand them over to the IT dept, I found it surprising how much electronic data containing devices they overlooked. The other detective appeared to me to be of average intelligence they complained the "CSI effect" had ruined her job making juries expect to see enhanced video of fingerprints from 500 meters away tying the suspect to the crime. What I want to know about IMEI numbers is how far back they are recorded. Say I purchase a used phone made 7 years ago, I pay in cash insert a cash paid SIM card and do things to to get the attention of the authorities. Can they find that IMEI number associated with the calls and go back 7 years and find out who first purchased the phone under what carrier? That us what I want to know.

If your endpoint device is tight, not compromised and your communication is encrypted, the ISP can see that encrypted traffic only. IMEI is a unique device identifier permanently attached to your device. There are only few devices that can reliably change their IMEI number. The point behind the IMEI is that all intelligence is forever attached to that IMEI number. In general, don't use the smart phone for anything sensitive unless you know precisely what you are doing and you are able to rice the HW and SW of the device heavily. And of course, there are other "undocumented functions" on those devices ;)

"what does IMEI number actually show?" "everything you've typed" "every picture taken" "every picture viewed" "etc" "if [LE] request info from mobile service provider" Presumably, one of the first things you did was search online: https://googlethatforyou.com?q=imei high on the list, if we're doing wikipedia links, is this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Mobile_Equipment_Identity If you bother to open the 3GPP TS 22.016 document, you will read this: "An MS can only be operated if a valid "International Mobile Subscriber Identity" (IMSI) is present. An IMSI is primarily intended for obtaining information on the use of the PLMN by subscribers for individual charging purposes. Besides the IMSI, the implementation of IMEI is found necessary in order to obtain knowledge about the presence of specific mobile station equipment in the network, disregarding whatever subscribers are making use of these equipments. The main objective is to be able to take measures against the use of stolen equipment or against equipment of which the use in the PLMN can not or no longer be tolerated for technical reasons. The IMEI is incorporated in an UE module which is contained within the UE. The IMEI shall be unique and shall not be changed after the ME’s final production process. It shall resist tampering, i.e. manipulation and change, by any means (e.g. physical, electrical and software)." Lower down in the article is some specifics about what the IMEI is: "The IMEI (15 decimal digits: 14 digits plus a check digit) or IMEISV (16 decimal digits: 14 digits plus two software version digits) includes information on the origin, model, and serial number of the device. The structure of the IMEI/SV is specified in 3GPP TS 23.003. The model and origin comprise the initial 8-digit portion of the IMEI/SV, known as the Type Allocation Code (TAC). The remainder of the IMEI is manufacturer-defined, with a Luhn check digit at the end. " "...the first two digits of the TAC are the Reporting Body Identifier, which identifies the GSMA-approved group that allocated the TAC. The RBI numbers are allocated by the Global Decimal Administrator. IMEI numbers being decimal helps distinguish them from an MEID, which is hexadecimal and always has 0xA0 or larger as the first two hexadecimal digits. For example, the old style IMEI code 35-209900-176148-1 or IMEISV code 35-209900-176148-23 tells us the following: TAC: 35-2099 - issued by the BABT (code 35) with the allocation number 2099 FAC: 00 - indicating the phone was made during the transition period when FACs were being removed. SNR: 176148 - uniquely identifying a unit of this model CD: 1 so it is a GSM Phase 2 or higher SVN: 23 - The "software version number" identifying the revision of the software installed on the phone. 99 is reserved." If you follow up on what the TAC is, you find this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_Allocation_Code "...[from January 1st 2003] many GSM member nations and entities (mainly Europe) moved away from requiring that devices be approved by national bodies, and towards a system where device manufacturers self-regulate the device market. As a result, a manufacturer now simply requests an eight-digit Type Allocation Code for a new phone model from the international GSM standards body, instead of submitting a device for approval to a national review body." So the most obvious thing an IMEI tells you, is about the model of the phone... it's a bit like a MAC address on a laptop, perhaps. Note that IMEI numbers, like MAC addresses on NICs, can be spoofed, as well as blocked. You'll notice another thing called the IMSI, which is closer to what you are talking about. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_mobile_subscriber_identity IMSI is comprised of the MCC (country code) + MNC (mobile service provider code) + MSIN (individual subscriber code) Noting: "IMSIs can sometimes be mistaken for the ICCID (E.118), which is the identifier for the physical SIM card itself (or now the virtual SIM card if it is an eSIM). The IMSI lives as part of the profile (or one of several profiles if the SIM and operator support multi-IMSI SIMs) on the SIM/ICCID." The IMSI is more useful to LE (and others looking for you) than the IMEI, because of what the HLR shows: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_switching_subsystem#Home_location_register_.28HLR.29 "The home location register (HLR) is a central database that contains details of each mobile phone subscriber that is authorized to use the GSM core network. There can be several logical, and physical, HLRs per public land mobile network (PLMN), though one international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI)/MSISDN pair can be associated with only one logical HLR (which can span several physical nodes) at a time. The HLRs store details of every SIM card issued by the mobile phone operator. Each SIM has a unique identifier called an IMSI which is the primary key to each HLR record. Another important item of data associated with the SIM are the MSISDNs, which are the telephone numbers used by mobile phones to make and receive calls. The primary MSISDN is the number used for making and receiving voice calls and SMS, but it is possible for a SIM to have other secondary MSISDNs associated with it for fax and data calls. Each MSISDN is also a unique key to the HLR record. The HLR data is stored for as long as a subscriber remains with the mobile phone operator. Examples of other data stored in the HLR against an IMSI record is: GSM services that the subscriber has requested or been given. General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) settings to allow the subscriber to access packet services. Current location of subscriber (VLR and serving GPRS support node/SGSN). Call divert settings applicable for each associated MSISDN. The HLR is a system which directly receives and processes MAP transactions and messages from elements in the GSM network, for example, the location update messages received as mobile phones roam around." That's where you get into the domain of "IMSI-catchers" for MITM "attacks". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMSI-catcher "In the UK, the first public body to admit using IMSI catchers was the Scottish Prison Service,[10] though it is likely that the Metropolitan Police Service has been using IMSI catchers since 2011 or before.[11] https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/09/the-body-worn-imsi-catcher-for-all-your-covert-phone-snooping-needs/ Body-worn IMSI-catchers that target nearby mobile phones are being advertised to law enforcement agencies in the US.[from 2013]" ...that's probably what the LE officer was alluding to, but like most people, aren't familiar with all the acronyms and get them mixed up. The IMSI can reveal your IMEI sometimes, but usually that IMEI would be obtained via the MSISDN via a CDR report at a MS company. The main use for an IMEI seems to be just identifying that the number is being used a specific phone model, and maybe knowing that model is useful to verify something about the user. If you buy phones in cash, and user other people's names, then it's unlikely it can be traced to you, other than by repeated data points showing you associated with it, but it's not very useful inofitself really.