Layers of Phone Privacy
Our mission is to deliver mobile privacy for non-techies
Privacy in the past was much simpler. Before the digital age you could decide not to go out in public, have fences around your property, have curtains on your windows, and your most private information was in a filing cabinet in your house. Governments and corporations had files on you but was limited to people with physical access to the actual paper. Your most important conversations were in person or on the phone.
The world has changed. Everything is done online and more so on smartphones. As we have previously discussed, privacy is not what it used to be and is harder to maintain everyday. Those on social media freely give away their privacy with every post, comment, and interaction.
We are working hard on building a collection of phones for those that truly value their privacy in the physical and digital world. This article maybe a bit technical but I want to explain the work we are doing to bring digital privacy to everyone.
A phone has many technology layers to deliver its services to you. Each layer also has a potential to collect information about you.
Below describes the work we are doing to deliver a solution for you to be connected and still protect your online privacy.
How do we make our phones private?
Mobile Operating System (OS)
The operating system is the software that runs on the phone. It is what allows applications like email, chat, and taking pictures possible with the phone. Most phones either run Android with Google services or iOS on Apple. These operating systems collect data on you every minute. Wonder why phone providers like 5G? To make it easier to collect massive amounts of data concerning your usage. These phones typically need an account with Google or Apple. We do not require an account on our phones. There is no Privacy Society account. Even the Privacy Society App Store is anonymous.
The first thing we do with all our phones is wipe them clean and install a fresh copy of a privacy focused operating system. The two operating systems we have chosen are open source which means that anyone can review the computer code and make sure there is no back doors, hidden data collection, or undisclosed monitoring systems.
Privacy OS - This operating system is dedicated to making a de-googled privacy focused version of Android. We based our Privacy OS on LineageOS which is available for many phones but you need to be a bit techy to “flash” or install this on your phone.
Phones
We currently are supporting hardware from two vendors. The Google Pixel family and a variety of unique handsets from UniHertz.
Google Pixel Family of Devices
The combination of the Google hardware and Privacy OS give you end to end privacy. Remember, when you have Privacy OS on your Google Pixel it is not connected to any Google services.
UniHertz
UniHertz offers a wide range of lifestyle phones from having a unique physical keyboard like the Blackberry, a ruggedized phone, and a tiny phone for youngsters. We take these phones and wipe them clean and install our version of Privacy OS. People worry about Chinese phones having back doors or spyware on their phones, we eliminate that notion by installing Privacy OS for you.
Other Handsets
We only have plans to support additional Google Pixel's and UniHertz models in the near future but if you are a handset provider and want to talk, please contact us.
Networking
We currently do not sell any cell phone plans. We hope to mid to late 2024.
Soon as you turn on your phone (unless voice/data is disabled) the tower logs your location. The only way to mitigate that is I recommend buying a SIM with cash and paying for the cell service with a pre-paid credit card. Make sure when signing up for your phone plan also use a separate email address not tied to you. In certain jurisdictions you need ID or even a passport because of new “Know Your Customer” laws. Privacy is eroding.
For executives or high risk individuals I found eFani as an interesting option.
eFani Phone Plan
They offer executive plans for unlimited North American calling, texting and data. They offer a $5M SIM Swap insurance and a 100% protection against SIM Swaps. A SIM swap is a type of social engineering attack, in which the hacker fools or bribes a phone service provider into porting the victim’s phone number to the hacker’s device. Once they have your phone number, they can use it to gain access to other accounts, like your bank account. Read more about SIM Swaps.
Personal/Family Plans
We are also exploring economical cellular plans especially if this your second phone or for your infrequent communications.
How you manage your phone plan is critical in your privacy journey and will be a subject of a separate article.
Web Surfing and Online Service Privacy
In Privacy OS we offer the Quad9 private DNS which helps to protect your web surfing and internet habits. We include the Brave Browser with Duck Duck Go to aid in private web surfing.
Privacy Society App Store
The Privacy Society App Store is the heart of your privacy shield.
Inner Circle based on Session
We love Session and think its the best way to have private conversations with those that you trust. We have taken Session and slightly adjusted the interface to make it a bit easier to use for non-techies. It is 100% compatible with Session and we are not changing any core features or encryption. This is a private and secure way to communicate with your Trust Circle. Inner Circle has chat, group chat, and video/audio calls. Nothing is stored on a server and you don’t need an email or phone number to use it.
Important: If you want a privacy phone that you can use to communicate with your most trusted inner circle then all you need is one of our phones and a Wi-Fi connection. No email or phone number needed. You don’t even need a SIM card unless you need a real phone number or a data plan when out of Wi-Fi reach.
Shadow Suite
The Shadow Suite has been developed in house to help maintain the privacy of your cellular phone number. Everyone wants to know your phone number! Plus, if a hacker knows your real phone number it is a vector for attack directly to your phone. We provide you with a virtual number that is mapped to your real phone. So you only have to give out your Shadow Number and you can recycle it anytime. This keeps your real phone number private. For example, when you get your oil changed you no longer have to give them your real phone number. Did you know many of your friends and family which you give your phone number to, their phones have malware. That malware steals their contact list, which you are in. By providing people your Shadow Number, you ensure greater privacy for your real number. Plus, you can recycle your shadow number anytime and still keep your real number.
Proton Privacy Suite
We love Proton. It has a privacy suite hosted in Switzerland managed by a team dedicated to privacy. Their email, calendar, and storage are end-to-end encrypted. Which means they can’t see your files stored in their cloud storage, they can’t read emails sent between Proton Email accounts plus they provide a password safe and VPN services. We recommend this for all our users.
Privacy Configuration and Installation
Most security and privacy issues come from two major sources.
The first is misconfiguration. That is why we want to take our security and privacy experience and configure a device for you to help you maximize your privacy.
The second reason is online services leak your information on purpose or by accident. Most people trust Big Tech and online services with their most private conversations, location information, financial information, and precious memories (photos). Our dedication is to find services that minimize your online footprint and find methods for you to securely communicate with your inner circle.
In Summary
There are many layers to deal with to provide a private operating environment for your phone. Here are the layers we help configure to make sure you are only talking to those you wish to talk to.
The Phone – Provide a phone that can have a privacy operating system installed.
Privacy OS – An operating system configured for privacy and no user accounts needed.
Online Activity Privacy – Keep your web surfing and online activity private from your network provider and Big Brother using DNS providers like 1.1.1.1 and Quad9. Search with Duck Duck Go.
Inner Circle – Communicate with those you trust securely and privately without needing a phone number or email.
Shadow Suite – Keep your real phone number private from everyone and get a new virtual number anytime.
Privacy Suite – Email, Calendar, Cloud Storage, VPN all provided by a renowned privacy company, Proton.
Utilities – Weather, Maps, Notes and other useful apps that don’t spy on you and have privacy as a foundation.
If you have any questions or have a privacy service you like to see us bundle please drop us a line.
Also consider CalyxOS - the most secure. I do consider GrapheneOS to me more private and easy to install!