Right-wing activists push $500 ‘Freedom Phone’ made in China and seemingly available under a less-patriotic name for $120
There’s now a phone just for MAGA supporters wishing to part ways with the Big Tech companies they blame for casting them out of the mainstream following the Jan. 6 attack on the nation’s Capitol.
Freedom Phone, which sells for $499 and comes preloaded with fringe-popular apps including OANN, Newsmax and Parler, was introduced to the marketplace Wednesday by self-proclaimed 22-year-old “Bitcoin millionaire” Erik Finman.
“This is the first major pushback on the Big Tech companies that attacked us — just for thinking different,” Finman announced. “We’re finally taking control.”
Conservative influencers Roger Stone, Dinesh D’Souza, Jack Posobiec and Candace Owens went online to promote the new gadget.
“Today you need to get this phone!” Owens said, boasting that Freedom Phone is not affiliated with tech giants Apple or Google. “If it does not help save the nation I don’t pitch it.”
She advertised on social media to, “Use code: CANDACE for 10% off your new phone.”
But tech site Gizmodo, as well as the Daily Beast, quickly pointed out the Freedom Phone appears to be anything but revolutionary.
“MAGA-Branded ‘Freedom Phone’ Is a Black Box That Should Be Avoided at All Costs,” Gizmodo wrote in its headline.
That site’s analysis warned the apparent “budget phone from Asia” could actually puts its owners security at risk, rather than the opposite, which is what Freedom Phone largely claims to do.
Freedomphone.com, where the device is sold, offers almost no useful technical information about the device, other than several options to “buy it now.”
That site’s own page on Privacy Policy states the company collects usage date that can include users’ IP addresses, browser types, “the time and date of your visit,” and “the time spent on those pages.”
This phone’s features reportedly include “tracking blockers and an uncensorable app store” as well as a “A Free-Speech First Operating System.”
It welcomes users to “Say Hello to Trust.”
The Daily Beast noted that the Freedom Phone seems to be a simple rebranding of Chinese company Umidigi’s “Umidigi A9 Pro.” The company is headquartered in Mainland China. Finman reportedly confirmed to the Daily Beast that Umidigi makes the phone, but said he wasn’t sure if it was modeled after the A9 Pro, which sells for less that a quarter the cost of Freedom Phone. He claimed his phone is manufactured in Hong Kong.
The Daily Beast also noted that the apps that come with Freedom Phone are all available for free for Android devices on the Google Play app store. Its supporters, including former “Survivor” contestant and right-wing provocateur Anna Khait, can’t seem to shed much light on Freedom Phone’s specifics either.
“Is it an Android?” Khait answered during a livestream promoting the portable device. “I’m not really sure. No. It’s a Freedom Phone.”
Supporters of former president Donald Trump have raged against tech providers like Twitter and Facebook since they banned him for promoting January’s uprising at The Capitol meant to stop the certification of Joe Biden as the nation’s 46th president following his election win. Right-wing groups have also rallied against tech companies including Google, Apple and Amazon.
