President Obama is on record as a fan of the TV show “The Wire.” In that series, Baltimore drug dealers would constantly purchases new prepaid cell phones (“burners”) to keep their telecoms activity anonymous and almost untraceable.
Furthermore, we already know that spy agencies in the US and the UK — and likely beyond — are recording cell phone calls en masse.
So, stop me if you’ve heard this before, but someone has come up with a way to use cryptography to keep conversations pseudonymous.
FreedomPop announced this week the release of a Privacy Phone (they’re even calling it the “Snowden Phone” in a nod to the American whistleblower) that users can get for $10 per month.
Let the hand-wringing from law enforcement officials begin.
How the Privacy Phone works
The Privacy Phone uses 128-bit encryption, and all calling and app data are secured with a VPN. And according to TechCrunch, you can change your phone number at will.
The actual phone is a Samsung Galaxy II, which is $189 with no contract.
FreedomPop will let you buy your phone and credit with Bitcoin, too.
“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,” FreedomPop COO Steven Sesar said.
“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.”