Mobile Security Company Silent Circle Raises $30 Million To Fund Its Privacy-Focused Blackphone
Silent Circle, a mobile security company launched in 2012, is making news in the tech world after recently securing a huge $30 million investment to fund the production of its Blackphone.
The ultra-private phone was unveiled at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday, according to the Washington Post. Silent Circle’s chief executive Mike Janke says that the phone will work just like any other Android smartphone but won’t have set default settings that give applications access to your personal information.
“We were working on this long before the Snowden release,” Janke said.
But security and privacy have become a number one problem and concern [for] consumers and government and business alike. It just so happens we got lucky.”
The phone’s main differences between an Android phone you can buy in stores are the key features of its PrivatOS operating system: anonymous search, private calling, texting, video chatting and file transferring. The company says that the new round of funding will go towards meeting the “overwhelming demand” for the Blackphone.
The phone was sold on a pre-order basis in February but Silent Circle says they are now sold out. The Blackphone, which sells for a reasonable $629—unlocked and ready to go, is set to ship to the early buyers in June.
Check out more info on the Blackphone below: