Privacy-focused phones are not a new concept, even as they might be a little gimmicky and silly. You need to make a lot of uncomfortable compromises to go truly locked down. Another one of those privacy-first devices has just popped up, but you should probably not buy this one.
A company called Unplugged has announced the UP Phone, a “privacy-first phone” in line with other projects like the Purism Librem 5, the Pinephone, or any phone powered by GrapheneOS. The phone runs on UnpluggedOS, a version of Android that strips out Google’s services and adds features such as a built-in firewall, a “no-logs” VPN, and a physical kill switch that the company states “physically disables circuits” to completely cut power. The phone itself is seemingly a revival of an old project, and specs include a four-year-old MediaTek Dimensity 1200 chipset, an OLED display, 8GB of RAM, and a 108-megapixel main camera—the specifications are apparently unchanged from the previous model.
I have a lot of concerns about this phone. Mainly, the fact that it has the specs of a mid-range phone in 2021-2022, but it’s selling at insanely high prices, costing a whopping $989—a price that also includes a one-year subscription to Unplugged’s privacy suite, but it’s probably too expensive nonetheless. That subscription will also cost $130 annually, by the way. For context, the MediaTek Dimensity 1200 is used in phones like the OnePlus Nord 2, which wasn’t sold in the US, but you can probably find it between $150 and $250 second-hand. Yikes.
Then, we need to address the people behind this phone. Unplugged was co-founded by Erik Prince, who founded the private military company Blackwater in 1997 and was awarded countless government security contracts while he served as its CEO. Recent “ventures” he’s been involved in include a crowdfunding campaign that collected over a million dollars to “liberate” Venezuela (which never did anything with that money afterward), as well as a “partnership” with the government of Ecuador to “help fight gangs” (which was regarded by some as a political marketing stunt). Unplugged is at least semi-aware of Prince’s fame, as its website doesn’t mention him anywhere, but he still actively promotes the phone on his podcast and in media appearances.
As for this specific project, the privacy-focused GrapheneOS project has labeled the device a “clear-cut scam,” arguing that it lags significantly behind on security patches, lacks fundamental security features, and is “far worse than using an iPhone.”
This phone probably won’t be an outright scam—the hardware is old, but definitely exists and should be easily packageable in a new phone. However, even if it’s a legit product, this phone is far too expensive for what you’re getting. And frankly, you probably shouldn’t support this company or its co-founder anyway. If you really want a privacy-first phone, buy a Pixel and install GrapheneOS on it. That’s probably the least shady approach to it, though you should still be aware of obvious shortcomings, such as the fact you won’t have Google services.
Source: The Verge