MAGA-Branded 'Freedom Phone' Is a Black Box That Should Be Avoided at All Costs

[steve2470]

Note: I am guessing 0.00% of the regulars who frequent DU and CHaS will buy one of these phones. Maybe a few lurkers will. I am posting this because, undoubtedly, you will hear about these from your MAGA-loving relatives and friends.

https://gizmodo.com/maga-branded-freedom-phone-is-a-black-box-that-should-b-1847299215

Be it Parler, Gab, or GETTR, recent times have seen no shortage of dollar-sign-eyed entrepreneurs looking to capitalize on conservative America’s disdain for “liberal” Silicon Valley. It was only a matter of time before someone tried to invent the MAGA phone.

Er, make that...the “Freedom Phone.” The device, which launched Thursday, is the product of Erik Finman, a 22-year-old crypto-millionaire who says that he wants America’s patriots to take “back control” of their lives from the tech oligarchy. Finman’s phone, which costs $499, claims to offer conservatives a way to be free of Big Tech’s “spying” and “censorship”—though it is radically vague on the details. Like a random handgun, the phone should be treated as if it were loaded and dangerous because we simply don’t know what’s in the chamber.

Freedom Phone claims that it can protect users from the data collection that comes with an iOS or Android operating system (it has something called a “FreedomOS”—which, ironically, just appears to be a modified version go Google’s Android OS). The phone is also meant to liberate users from Big Tech’s alleged ideological preferences: it has an “uncensorable app store” (called the “PatriApp,” lol), where it is apparently impossible for apps to get booted no matter how unsafe or horrendous they are.

snip

The funny thing is, if Trump voters are looking for a way to get off the “Big Tech” grid, there’s no need for them to buy this sketchy shit. There are actually entire subcultures within the phone industry dedicated to escaping the Android/iOS paradigm. You can wade into the de-Googled phone sector, for instance—where Android phones are sold that have ostensibly been refurbished to rid the devices of code that will “send your personal data” back to the tech giant. There’s also the Linux-based Pinephone, which sells at a fraction of the Freedom Phone’s cost (between $150 and $200), and is a favorite of those in the privacy community. All of these come with caveats, obviously, but the point is that there are much more transparent and affordable options than the Freedom Phone.

Bottom line, the MAGA crowd is being scammed. I know we're all upset about that /sarcasm off.

See this review for another opinion (basically the same): https://thenextweb.com/news/freedom-phone-anatomy-maga-scam

[captain queeg]

1. Like I say, if I was a scammer I'd direct my efforts to a list of rethug voters

You could sell all sorts of stupid crap for greatly marked up prices. Or not even bother with a product, just say you are raising money to support xxxx and trump.

[Bristlecone]

2. A fool and his money are soon parted.