Such irony that the site has difficult to opt-out cookie/tracking settings sharing everything possible about you with hundreds of "partners", and flashy, distracting ads between every single paragraph…
Ublock origin
Settings -> Filter Lists -> Cookie Notices (enable them).
No ads, No annoyances.
Why are you still struggling with this?
I'm not, not on the PC. But I was on my phone.
> This isn’t tin foil hat paranoia.
> Use precise geolocation data ( 649 partners included )
This article feels like it's written by AI. And from what it sounds like the switch just enables Airplane Mode.
I used to own (well, technicall I still own) a Jolla Phone when it was released in 2014 and what was way more beneficial towards my privacy as a user, was the fact that it was a full fledged linux phone where I could have potentially installed any piece of software I would have wanted, with full root access in a custom linux terminal with bash. I think I once tried to run a Minecraft Server on it.
I was hoping that they'd port aircrack-ng to it, like it was possible with the Nokia N900, but sadly that never happened.
This sounds different to airplane mode:
> hardware switch that physically disconnects your microphone, camera and Bluetooth
When switched on it's impossible for your phone to listen to your conversation and send the data to some company somewhere or use it to influence ads. Airplane mode doesn't switch off the microphone, so your phone can just store the data to transmit later. And even if it did switch off the mic, it would be a software setting that could be undermined by some component manufacturer.
> This isn’t tin foil hat paranoia. This is just honest engineering.
This sentence and others makes me think this article was written or edited by an AI. Anybody else get that feeling too?
> This isn’t some hipster nostalgia trip or a flip phone for people who think the 90s were peak civilization. This is something way cooler. A phone that gives you back something we didn’t even realize we’d lost. The ability to actually, truly, shut the hell up.
I started skimming and instantly thought AI, then came to the comments to see if it was just me.
[deleted]
It’s like having a guest room in your house. The app can visit, but it doesn’t get to rearrange your furniture or go through your mail.
Yep. I came here to say
"Well hi there chatgpt, I recognise your writing style anywhere &emdash; it's like a bad metaphor that hasn't been thought out. The LLM can predict likely text but that's not the same as making sense." Having tested dozens of privacy focused devices over the years, from GrapheneOS phones to Purism’s Librem 5. I can tell you that hardware based privacy switches are the gold standard.
You've tested "dozens" of privacy-focused phones, but you're writing about Jolla as if they're brand new and haven't been around for a decade? How did you miss Jolla until 2026?
A bit of context: Jolla makes Sailfish OS, which is the distant offspring of the Linux based OS Nokia planned to ship with its Symbian-successor smartphone, the N9.
I think it's a wrong idea to focus so much on privacy, N9's OS (and Windows Phone too) correctly identified that users are looking for a much simpler experience than Android has provided (which is still true to this day).
I think the market gap still exists for people who don't want to run an iPhone, but prefer a simpler and more reliable experience than what the computer-in-your-pocket Android provides.
Especially, that nowadays I feel apps are becoming less and less popular, and everything's going back to the browser.
I'm not sure if this article is factually correct in claiming the privacy switch to be a physical disconnect for microphone, camera and bluetooth. IIRC Jolla advertised that the user would be able to configure the exact function of the privacy switch, which would mean that there's some system software involved.
This is a very important point. Jolla's pre-order site (https://commerce.jolla.com/products/jolla-phone-preorder) states:
>User configurable physical Privacy Switch - turn off your microphone, bluetooth, Android apps, or whatever you wish
Unless that user configuration is via internal jumper or DIP switch, then this cannot be a hardware privacy switch.
Exactly. And on that list, running Android apps on SFOS is very much a software feature, imo quite unlikely to be disabled purely in hardware.
I kind of remember and Jolla like 5 years ago, but I think this is supposed to be a hype generating post OK. Try buying one though it is not so easy
1. More cellphone companies is a good thing, especially if paying lipservice to what consumers want. Which may not be ideal but steps in the right direction, consumers themselves need to take the next step their since it is their money.
2. Feeling like your phone is listening to you implies you lack self awareness to deduce why the things you think or discuss with others are reflected in your metadata. You use the internet as a sounding board for thoughts, there is a pattern to it and that is all happening non-verbally. Turning the mic off is unlikely to make this go away.
3. If this makes you paranoid, it should and that paranoia only becomes medically relevant if it impedes your ability to do things you want to do but is otherwise a healthy adaptation that in many contexts would aide in your continued survival. This might be worth keeping in mind, not trying to run away from. Quick fixes in life generally are just traps.
This feels like a gimmick. Most privacy issues aren't from the camera, bluetooth, and microphone.
The article agrees:
"It’s real Linux. Like, actual Linux. Not Android with Google quietly running 47 background processes to figure out whether you’re sad enough to buy ice cream. Not iOS with Apple playing gatekeeper over which apps you’re allowed to have. Just clean, honest open source Linux that treats you like a grown up who actually owns their stuff."
For many of us it's mostly a gimmick, and as a former colleague pointed out: If an attacker is so deep into my phone or laptop that they can turn on the camera and microphone, pictures of my fat ass naked online is the least of my concerns.
Still, for teenagers and young women, having the a switch that ensure that no one is spying on them in their bedroom or bathroom might help relieve some anxiety.
My iPhone is dying and I'm not sure if I'd want a new one. I certainly don't want an Android phone, because I have little trust left in Google, but Apple is also starting to annoy me and I certainly no longer feel like a valued customer. Plus their integration of Gemini into Siri doesn't inspire a lot of trust. There are a other few alternatives, like /e/OS and CalyxOS which seems interesting as well.
It would be interesting to see Sailfish ported to the Fairphone as well.
> This feels like a gimmick.
Yeah, marketing, but there are many other reasons, including competition within this space. I was looking at their new C2 community phone and the price (circa 300 EUR) too seems fair to say the least (with 5 years of support). Fairphone seems nice too. But as foobarkey commented above, these things should really be in brick and mortar stores (or in Temu, god forbid...).
Edward Snowden takes apart his phones and removes the microphones. He was a senior level employee at the NSA.
But at the end of the day it's about trust. Why should we trust this company?
This kind of articles is moot.
- Will the author use it daily? Forever?
- price point? Many people cannot afford that.
> Not Android with Google quietly running 47 background processes to figure out whether you’re sad enough to buy ice cream.
BS. Look at all the background processes in any device? Even stock debian or postmarket OS.
> According to research from the Electronic Frontier Foundation and multiple independent security audits. Open source operating systems like Sailfish provide significantly more transparency than closed source alternatives. You can actually see what the code is doing instead of just taking a company’s word for it.
No references.
EFF says this also:
https://ssd.eff.org/module/your-security-plan
Trying to protect all your data from everything all the time is impractical and exhausting.
In computer security, a threat is a potential event that could undermine your efforts to defend your data. You can counter the threats you face by determining what you need to protect and from whom you need to protect it. This is the process of security planning, often referred to as “threat modeling .”
> You know that moment when you’re chatting with a friend about needing new sneakers and then like magic, every app you open is suddenly plastered with shoe ads?
Sure don't.