As we are constantly reminded, privacy doesn’t mean much to corporations and even individuals these days.  From the NSA to Facebook, it feels like everyone wants your information, to do who-knows-what with.  This has divided most people into three groups:  those that say “I have nothing to hide!  I don’t care who or what has access to my data,” the people who say “Eh, whatever,” and the privacy advocates who will do anything to keep prying eyes away.  Well, FreedomPop has announced a new phone to help appease those in the latter category.  The Privacy Phone, jokingly nicknamed the “Snowden Phone”, is currently the only phone and service that can boast truly encrypted communication, according to FreedomPop.  

Both voice and text conversations are secured with a 128-bit code.  All the rest of the data is transmitted through a VPN, and the phone number itself can be changed at the whim of the user. 
Steven Sesar, COO at FreedomPop, had this to say about the novel phone.  

“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.  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.”  

The phone is actually a modified Samsung Galaxy II and will run you $189, contract-free.  

Via: TechCrunch