Data encryption is usually associated with hackers and notebooks, but what if we told you could encrypt your data on a smartphone? Meet the Blackphone 2.
Safeguarding privacy is the main reason this device exists. Encrypted by default, it gives you all the security promises of Silent Circle, while being as familiar and user-friendly as any other Android phone.
The Blackphone 2 runs the Silent OS overlay over Android 5.1.1 Lollipop, but this isn’t your average overlay. With the Silent OS, you are given control over what information your apps can access once installed on the device. Essentially, it gives you control over what your apps know about you and your device, or any other info in it. All this is accessible from the Blackphone Security Center.
Your calls made with the Blackphone 2 via the Silent Phone pre-loaded are fully encrypted, with the encryption key stored on your device instead of a central server. The keys are immediately destroyed when the call ends. You can also send encrypted texts that self-destruct with the app, making sure unauthorized miners go away empty handed. All other files passing through the Blackphone 2 are also encrypted, so that anyone trying to intercept the data can’t make use of what they get. The catch is that you’ll need a Silent Suite subscription for all the security, and the receiver of your secure calls and texts will also need to have an active subscription.
Other things the Silent OS does, include detecting and preventing any system modifications to the Blackphone 2. If you worry about someone getting their hands on the phone itself, you can also have your pin pad randomized so that intruders cannot get access just by checking for you fingerprints on the screen; they’ll need to know the actual key to get in.
Finally, you can have up to four virtual devices in one physical phone. This means you can keep your personal stuff separate from all your work data, and still have two spare profiles for maybe a public social media profile, and another one for your kids where it can only play games and can do nothing else that may lead to compromise like making calls and sending texts.
All these security features aside, the Blackphone 2 is an Android device with a 5.5-inch Full HD display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage that’s expandable up to 128GB via microSD, a 13MP rear camera, a 5MP secondary camera and a 3,060mAh battery that supports Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 2.0.
The Blackphone 2 retails at RM3,599, and comes with a one-year subscription to the Silent Suite, the key to all of the Blackphone 2’s security features. Currently, you can get the Blackphone 2 exclusively on 11street, but negotiations are underway for our local carriers to carry the Blackphone 2 as well.
For more on the Blackphone, please follow us here.
