Privacy policy
We are a phone shop, not an advertising business. We collect what you type into a form so we can answer you, and nothing else. Last reviewed September 25, 2026.
The short version
We do not sell data, we do not run ad trackers, and we do not set advertising cookies. Using the free IMEI checker requires no account and leaves nothing tied to you. Everything below is the long version of those three sentences.
Is the free IMEI checker private?
Yes, and it is worth explaining how. When you paste an IMEI at smocell.com/imei, the first eight digits are matched against a device list we host on our own server. There is no account, no email box and no sign-in. We do not store the number against your name, because we do not have your name. It is not sold, not shared, and never used to contact you.
Very rarely a brand-new handset is not in our list yet. In that case only, those first eight digits — which identify a model, not a person and not a particular phone — are sent to a device-database service so we can name it, and the answer is added to our own list so the next person gets it instantly. The remaining digits, the part unique to your handset, are never sent anywhere.
What we collect when you ask us for something
When you request an offer, a repair quote, an activation, an unlock or a device we should source, we collect what you type: your name, a phone number or email, and details about the device — model, storage, carrier, condition, and the IMEI where the form asks for it. Nothing is collected before you submit, and nothing is required beyond what answering you needs.
Why we collect it
Only to answer you: to send your quote or offer, to confirm your visit, and to verify the device you described. On a phone we are buying, that verification includes a check that the handset is not reported lost, stolen or blacklisted — a standard step, and the reason we can pay on the spot. An IMEI attached to a sale is used for that and nothing else.
Payment details
We never ask for and never store a bank account number or a card number. A mail-in payout goes by check to a posting address, or by Zelle, Cash App or PayPal — each of which reaches a handle, phone number or email you already gave us, none of which is a banking credential.
Tracking your sale
The page at smocell.com/track asks for your sale number together with the email or phone you gave us at the time. That pairing is the whole login, which is why there is no password to store and no account to breach.
Cookies and analytics
This site sets no advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. Some pages remember a preference in your own browser so a form does not lose your place; that stays on your device and we never see it. If live chat is open during staffed hours it is provided by Tawk.to, which sets its own cookie for the length of the conversation — closing the chat ends it.
Where it lives, and for how long
Form submissions are stored in this website’s own dashboard and emailed to our staff so we can reply. We keep them as long as it takes to handle your request, plus what we need for ordinary business records. We do not copy them anywhere else.
Your choices
Want a submission deleted, or want to know what we hold? Call or text (313) 340-9621, email info@smocell.com, or walk into 15300 Livernois Ave, Detroit, MI 48238 during store hours and we will handle it while you are standing there. You do not need a reason and we will not ask for one.