Experts called the smartphone a cybersecurity nightmare.
Former US President Donald Trump and other GOP officials have repeatedly accused big tech companies of prejudice and censorship against conservatives, which ultimately resulted in the emergence of several alternative social networks to Facebook and Twitter, such as Gab, Parler, or Gettr.
Freedom Phone is another project that appeared to counterbalance the politics of large tech comics. At nearly $ 500, the Freedom Phone is the first “privacy-focused” phone with tracker blocking and PatriApp uncensored app store, according to the website. The device comes preloaded with apps popular with conservatives like Parler, DuckDuckGo, Rumble, and Newsmax.
However, the Daily Beast claims that the smartphone is not at all what it seems at first glance. As the journalists note, the Freedom Phone is just a “more expensive rebranding of the budget Chinese phone” Umidigi A9 Pro, costing about $ 120. The device runs on an Android version called Freedom OS. According to information security experts, Umidigi smartphones are known for their poor cybersecurity.
In addition, the Freedom Phone website does not explain how the device is protected from malware or other questionable applications.
According to experts from the XDA Developers community, Freedom Phone clearly does not offer all the functionality that the creator of the project, Eric Finman, spoke about, and “marketing is only focused on prejudice of tech companies against right-wing parties, but does not offer any real solution.” As for PatriApp, this is just a renamed Aurora Store (an alternative store for Google Play), experts noted.
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