The "Freedom Phone" is an overpriced smartphone that doesn't free you from anything

[Initech]

It’s not every day that a new smartphone company pops up, claiming to offer a device that protects your “freedom of speech” from Big Tech. So, when Erik Finman, a self-proclaimed “Bitcoin millionaire,” announced the Freedom Phone yesterday, it piqued our interest. Finman claims that the Freedom Phone is “the first major pushback on Big Tech companies that attacked us [American conservatives],” and it features an “uncensorable app store” that will offer all the apps that have been banned on mainstream app stores. But is the phone actually all that Finman claims it to be? Let’s find out.

Before we talk about the phone itself, let’s establish some context. During the 2020 US Presidential Election run, Google removed the Parler app from the Play Store for lack of user-generated content moderation. On the other hand, Twitter permanently suspended former US President Donald Trump’s account for tweets that were “in violation of the Glorification of Violence Policy.” These two incidents, along with several others, led many right-wing people to believe that big tech companies like Twitter, Google, Facebook, and Amazon were biased against them and were violating their freedom of speech. According to Finman, the Freedom Phone will help users prevent such incidents, and his announcement video specifically mentions the Twitter ban on former US President Donald Trump as an inspiration for making the device.

Now that you know the general idea behind the phone, let’s dissect the device itself. The official website for the Freedom Phone is scarce on details, but it mentions that the phone works with all US domestic and international carriers, comes with pre-loaded conservative sites and apps, and runs a “free-speech first operating system” called FreedomOS (not to be confused with the custom ROM with the same name) that features a privacy tool called “Trust.” The phone is priced at $499, and thanks to the company’s generous affiliate program, many right-wing personalities and influencers in the US are hyping it up.

A hands-on video of the Freedom Phone from right-leaning personality Candace Owens reveals that the so-called “uncensorable app store” seems to be a rebadged Aurora Store. For the unaware, the Aurora Store is an open-source frontend for the Google Play Store, meaning all the apps from the “PatriApp Store” on the Freedom Phone are likely sourced from Google Play. If it is indeed just a rebranded Aurora Store, then Finman’s company has no control over its contents and can’t guarantee that it won’t be “censored.”
https://www.xda-developers.com/freedom-phone-overpriced-smartphone/

Great dissection of this latest money-making grab of the MAGA crowd by XDA. I give it less than a week before the Freedom Store is hacked and filled with porn spammers and identity thieves. I wouldn't trust a credit card or bank account on this device if you paid me!

[roamer65]

1. It does free you of something.

Your hard earned cash.

[Initech]

5. And probably also your identity, credit card numbers and bank account!

I fully expect this device and app store to be the victims of a massive data breach! Expect lots of reports of identity theft and bank hacks soon!

[roamer65]

6. +1000

[FakeNoose]

2. I thought it meant the RWNJs can post whatever garbage they want

... and not have to worry about getting kicked off of Twitter.

Is that incorrect?

[LonePirate]

4. There are not two versions of Twitter so the Freedom Phone is just a con job.

Personally I am fine if this phone fleeces conservatives of their money and it causes them to be pissed off at people like Owens for lying to them about the phone. A fool and his money as they say …

[Turbineguy]

3. Given the gullibility of Wingnuts

this phone has to be a hacker's dream.

[Initech]

7. Some of the other articles I've seen have said this thing is a security nightmare.

I wonder how long Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile will put up with unauthorized and unsecured devices using their networks?