Worried that someone might be listening in on your phone? In June 2014 a phone built for exactly that worry started shipping to the people who had pre-ordered it. Meet the Blackphone, an Android smartphone from SGP Technologies, a joint venture between the encrypted communications company Silent Circle and the Spanish phone maker Geeksphone.
The $630 handset took privacy and security features normally sold to businesses and governments and offered them to ordinary buyers. Its makers presented it as a phone that put privacy first in a market where many apps and devices trade features for users' personal data. They said pre-order demand showed there was a real international appetite for that idea.
Key features
- Private communications: encrypted voice and video calls and encrypted text messages with attachments, through Silent Circle's Silent Phone and Silent Text apps.
- Wi-Fi security: a pre-installed Wi-Fi manager that stopped hotspots from building up a history of where the phone had been.
- Security Center: full control over each app's permissions, with changes taking effect immediately.
- Remote wipe: the ability to erase the phone's data from anywhere.
- Private browsing and VPN: search and browsing tools designed to hide the user's IP address and limit tracking.
- Encrypted cloud storage: access to a private, encrypted cloud service from the phone.
Blackphone specifications (2014)
- Display
- 4.7-inch 720p IPS
- Processor
- 2 GHz quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 4i
- Memory
- 1 GB RAM
- Storage
- 16 GB plus microSD slot
- Connectivity
- LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11n, Bluetooth 4.0
- Cameras
- 8 MP rear, 1.3 MP front
- Battery
- 2,000 mAh
- Price
- $630
The first batch of Blackphones sold out, and the company opened a second round of pre-orders in mid-July 2014.
Update (October 2026): Silent Circle bought out Geeksphone's share of the venture in 2015 and released a Blackphone 2 the same year, but the Blackphone line has long since been discontinued. The ideas it championed went mainstream: end-to-end encrypted messaging is now standard in apps such as Signal and WhatsApp, and both Android and iOS now let you review and revoke app permissions at any time. You no longer need a specialist phone for the basics; see our guide to securing your smartphone.
Why it mattered for students
Privacy is not only for spies and executives. Students store exam work, health information, bank details and, increasingly, accounts with real money in them, from payment apps to sportsbooks and online casinos in the states and countries where those are legal. Every one of those is a target. The Blackphone was a niche product, but its checklist (encrypt your messages, control app permissions, be careful on public Wi-Fi, be able to wipe a lost phone) is still the right one.