Blackphone vows to put privacy ahead of everything else using custom version of Android
An interesting new phone has found its way out of the shadows and into the light. It’s called the Blackphone, and its creators — a joint effort between Geeksphone and Silent Circle — hopes it’ll change mobile privacy for the better. Blackphone aims to “prioritizes the user’s privacy and control, without any hooks to carriers or vendors.”
They’ll do it using a custom version of Android that they call PrivatOS, which will apparently have a framework built-in for securing everything about your mobile communications. Here’s a quick summary of things it’ll be able to do for you:
You can make and receive secure phone calls; exchange secure texts; exchange and store secure files; have secure video chat; browse privately; and anonymize your activity through a VPN.
Blackphone vows to give power back to the user. While they aren’t specific on how any of this will be done, we’re told we should be learning more about it at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month. For what it’s worth, they say the phone will be just as powerful and capable as the top smartphones from major manufacturers. We won’t take their word for it just yet, but they definitely have our attention from this point forward.
Blackphone is something that is sure to turn the heads of many in a time where more and more folks are conscious about their basic rights to privacy. With the likes of the NSA potentially monitoring communications using backdoor protocols and advanced surveillance techniques, privacy buffs everywhere will have to seriously consider the proposition Blackphone is making. They’re hoping the video you see above will convince you, so go ahead and give it a quick viewing and see how you feel about it.
[via Blackphone]