Posted on 07/17/2021 7:11:33 AM PDT by tkocur
An absence of specs has caught the attention of skeptics.
A new "free speech and privacy first" phone unveiled this week is raising red flags, with one report suggesting it's just a rebranding of a budget Chinese phone.
The $500 Freedom Phone was launched Wednesday by Erik Finman, a self-proclaimed "bitcoin millionaire," as an alternative to popular devices from Google, Apple and other Big Tech companies. The website for the Freedom Phone is void of the usual technical specs but says the gadget works with all major US carriers and is supported by an "uncensored" app store.
The phone apparently runs FreedomOS, an operating system that Finman said in a tweet was "our own blend of AOSP, LineageOS, GrapheneOS, and our personal development as well." The three operating systems are based on Google's Android OS, which powers almost nine out of 10 smartphones in the world.
Though people might understandably be drawn to a phone that prioritizes privacy and free speech, multiple reports have raised security concerns and questioned whether the Freedom Phone is being upfront with customers.
The Freedom Phone appears to be a rebranding of the Umidigi A9 Pro, a roughly $120 phone made by Chinese tech company Umidigi, according to a report Thursday from The Daily Beast. Finman reportedly confirmed to The Daily Beast that the Freedom Phone is manufactured by Umidigi but didn't say what model it was based on.
Finman didn't explain to The Daily Beast how the Freedom Phone justified its apparent markup, but reportedly suggested it features customized hardware and improved memory.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnet.com ...
Sounds like a get rich quick scheme taking a cheap phone and simply re-branding it. There are apps that will give military encryption to your text messaging for free on android OS phones.
Most phones are made in China....along with almost everything else in our homes.
Those 3 companies report directly to those named Chinese entities. Samsung Androids and Apple iPhones do not.
I seriously doubt it. These phones are sold globally and it would have been proven long before now. It would absolutely destroy their business.
That’s not to say countries like Cuba or N.Korea couldn’t load malware on their imports.
I’ve used this phone for almost three years with never a hint of a security problem much less a hardware problem. No malware is found on scans, and apps update regularly.
It would be terrible if governments couldn’t monitor our every word, text, and location at all times.
You do not know to whom they have sent your data - its about collecting data - just as the PLA collects genetic data from pregnant women worldwide through a front company to find birth defects, so they collect your data for their own nefarious purposes through these companies.
Large Chinese companies in China are managed and owned by the Peoples Liberation Army, the CCP or both; no other owners are permitted. If you imagine any company wholly owned and based in China is benevolent in any fashion, I have a collection of bridges looking for owners.
Or just buy an iPhone.
To go with my Freedom Fries?
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