Geeksphone's Blackphone Promises You an Unparalleled Level of Privacy

Google's known for a lot of things, but where privacy's concerned, those things are not too kosher for a lot of people. In fact, Google mines so much data on us - sometimes even if we're nameless - that some would rather avoid anything that has to do with the company. Of course, pulling that off is easier said than done. As unfortunate as it is, from this standpoint Google is everywhere. But that doesn't mean that simple steps can't be taken to minimize the amount of data the company has on you.

For those who'd like to do take that very path, there's "Blackphone", just announced by the folks at Geeksphone at Mobile World Congress. While the phone uses Android as its base, it's a special flavor called "Privacy OS"; in effect a hacked-apart Android that rids all sorts of data mining and adds privacy features.

Geeksphone's other phone, Revolution

The phone's being priced at $629, which is a bit on the steep side, but we assume that negates the need for a contract. Plus, the phone isn't much of a slouch; at 4.7-inches, it offers a quad-core SoC, 4G support, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage.

Because some might worry about more than just Google's data mining efforts, a two-year subscription to Silent Circle is included with the phone as well, which will encrypt all of your phone calls and emails - plus, you can pick and choose three friends that will have their voice encrypted as well.

Overall, the Blackphone seems to go to the right extent to protect its users, but it feels as though it goes so far, that it could turn out to be a hot product for illegal activity. And, if that becomes the case, it wouldn't be surprising to see some governments stepping in to somehow maim the device. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.