NSA Proof Blackphone 2, Did I Just Waste My Money?

[DylinPrestly]

Hey everyone. New to Tom's Hardware forum. Just wanted to get real tech opinions and what everyone thinks. I recently purchased the new Blackphone 2, a high end security phone by silent circle. I notice it's not running the normal Android OS that everyone is using, it's running "Android Silent OS".

One thing I notice was, it doesn't come with stupid bloatware that I'm custom to getting with iPhone and Androids. One of the main issue I purchase this one was the promise from Silent Circle that any new discovered security bugs, they will release a patch within 72 hours and it seems like they have a good track record of doing so.

I'm just wondering the money I shelled out for this device, did I just waste money or is it really worth it. I'm tired of smart phone apps that I download always keep track of things and accessing private stuff like contact information, GPS location and other sensitive information where I was a victim of one app that sold my GPS location to an advertising company where I was bombarded with ads on my phone.

Any thoughts on this device if it's really a high security phone or just a gimmick to sell. I know no phone is NSA proof of course but I'm guessing this phone is a little more secure then the average Android/iPhone.

 

[g-unit1111]

I've been reading about this phone - I had no idea it existed until now. The hardware is pretty solid for this type of phone, reminds me of what's included on the HTC One M9. That said, it looks pretty legit about what they're offering. But, you cannot make an OS, especially one designed for mobile platforms at that, completely secure. The more secure you make an OS, the more features you lose. The more open you make an OS, the more open and vulnerable you become. What it sounds like they're offering is just a more secure and backdoor proof version of Android, with quicker vulnerability updates than what Google offers. But no matter how much you make an OS secure, no matter how "virus proof" or "backdoor proof" you make an OS, someone is always going to find another way in. Another way to look at it is that anyone that claims to make an OS hack-proof, knows nothing about hacking.