With recent announcements of the Blackphone and Boeing Black handsets, it’s clear that enhanced privacy features is something that companies will likely begin to sell their products with. FreedomPop, a company that prides itself on providing free Internet to the masses, is the latest to enter the foray by announcing the bluntly-named Privacy Phone.
Essentially a modified Samsung Galaxy S2, the aging handset offers a modified version of Jelly Bean. It offers 128-bit encryption for voice communication and text messages, application and Internet data are sent through an encrypted virtual private network (VPN). The phone’s number can be changed at any time.
“In light of recent violations in consumer’s privacy across social networks and mobile devices, privacy is becoming increasingly important to many Americans and we all have a right to communicate anonymously,” said FreedomPop COO Steven Sesar. “Large carriers don’t have the flexibility, desire or creativity to invest in privacy. We don’t agree with this approach and felt it was up to us to create a truly private mobile phone service at an affordable price.”
By affordable price, Sesar means $190, which is how much the Privacy Phone will go for. The price includes three months of unlimited voice, texts, and 500MB of monthly data. After the three months are up, the plan will go for $10 a month.
Finally, to wrap up this privacy-laced box of treats, FreedomPop now supports Bitcoin. Whether that option will be taken up, given the recent events surrounding the Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange, remains to be seen.
