Smartphone Blackphone: marketed through data protection functions

from T. Nicholas

Blackphone wants to change the way we look at smartphones and data protection.

When we think of smartphones or cell phones, data protection is probably the last term that comes to mind. A new provider on the mobile phone market, Blackphone, wants to fundamentally change this and is marketing its phone and app store as absolutely data protection-compliant.

Will it work? The future will tell. At the moment, the Blackphone has only been available for a few months. The app store was opened in January 2015. However, Blackphone's market presence is already special. The company is positioning itself as a smartphone manufacturer whose unique selling point is data protection.

Other brands may mention data protection, but Blackphone focuses on data protection "from the cradle to the grave". The website states: "Blackphone is designed to safeguard your data, allowing you to keep your personal and work information secure without taking drastic measures." This theme is also reflected in the name of the operating system, PrivatOS.

PrivatOS is an additionally secured further development of Android. The Blackphone app store will soon go online. It promises information on security checks of apps and its own data protection seal of approval for selected and checked apps.

While there are still many unanswered questions for Blackphone in terms of market entry and acceptance, one thing is already certain: Blackphone is one of many providers who have recognized that there is a market for solutions that offer premium data protection.