[conspire] Fw: The Freedom Phone is not great at privacy

[Rick Moen]

Some elaborations and slight corrections to my comments about Freedom
Phone, drawing on Carrie Mihalcik's CNET review at Carrie Mihalcik:

1.  It's a rebranding specifically of the Umidigi A9 _Pro_, 
which Mihalcik says is about US $120, while Freedom Phone is US $500.
Thus, I regret my error of saying "(almost) triple the price".  It's 
actually well over quadruple.

2.  The alleged "FreedomOS" is disclosed by 22-year-old CEO Erik Finman,
self-proclaimed "bitcoin millionaire", as being "our own blend of AOSP
[Anroid Open Source Project], LineageOS, GrapheneOS, and our personal
development as well" -- not just slightly rejiggered LineageOS as stated
upthread.

3.  The supposed "uncensorable app store", actually just the community
open source Aurora Store API to reach Google Play Store, has been given
the fatuous name "PatriApp".


More (both from July 2021, when this hunk o'junk was introduced)  at:

https://www.dailydot.com/debug/freedom-phone-security-issues/

   The ‘Freedom Phone’ that far-right leaders are hawking is a cheap
   Chinese Android—and a security nightmare
   The device is being touted by prominent conservatives as private and
   secure.
   by Mikael Thalen

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

   MAGA-Branded 'Freedom Phone' Is a Black Box That Should Be Avoided at
   All Costs
   Nobody can blame GOP voters for wanting a phone that prioritizes privacy
   and autonomy, but the Freedom Phone can't be trusted.
   by Lucas Rope

   [...]
   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.  [...]