In a perfect world, everybody’s sure their right to privacy is honored. Since that’s not the case, people tend to whip up special tools for protection, like the Blackphone, a privacy-focused device whose thick veil of mystery has now been lifted at Mobile World Congress. Its creators said very little when the shadowy phone was announced in January, but we now know that it’ll retail at $629 unlocked and has similar specs to comparably-priced Android devices.
Perhaps more dangerous than someone telling you that your digital experience is being monitored by heavy handed government agencies are companies that claim to have a turnkey solution to protect yourself from those people. Blackphone, a collaboration between Geeksphone and Silent Circle, is one of many products that are now selling security as the key feature in their product. What they don’t tell you is that they aren’t really selling anything new. When it comes to putting yourself on the Internet, you are exactly as secure as you choose to be. You choose your hardware, your software, and the provider for the service you want to connect to the Internet through. Beyond that, your data is not within your control.