Over the last two years, we’ve seen an influx of consumers demanding better from brands across industries, and this is evident in the smartphone industry. As consumers turn to brands that align with their interests, the smartphone industry has evoked privacy and security concerns. These concerns are creating a state of emergency for developers who have defaulted to collecting personal information without consent for as long as we can remember.
Smartphone developers and app developers have always cited convenience as the reason behind the level of data collection they conduct. For example, Google Maps collects location data in order to recommend businesses nearby and help users navigate to specific destinations. However, this data collection often comes with few regulations for smartphone and software developers. As a result, many developers sell this information off to third parties without the owner’s consent.
The issue with data misuse
Think about this for a moment – have you ever talked about a product in front of your smartphone and received an ad for that same product on your phone? Or have you ever visited a new restaurant and then received a prompt encouraging you to leave a review a few days later? These are just two examples of the many ways in which your phone can track your online activity and offline location in real time and use this data to target you later on.
Since smartphones offer minimal levels of security, many smartphone owners are vulnerable to malware, surveillance, and location tracking. The alternative, in the past at least, has been to disown one’s smartphone and downgrade to a phone with older technology and no internet. Unfortunately, doing so also means sacrificing modern-day conveniences that others have access to.
The solution
Luckily, in this day and age, different stakeholders are putting measures in place to reduce the amount of data that smartphone and app developers have access to. This gives smartphone users the peace of mind of using their devices without having to worry that their personal data will be misused or will fall into the wrong hands.
What safeguards are being put into place to ensure today’s smartphones are more secure?
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Stronger encryption:
Today’s smartphone manufacturers are implementing more sophisticated encryption systems to protect user data. What encryption essentially does is that it scrambles data so that anyone who does not have a decryption key cannot read it. This makes it difficult for hackers to access sensitive information.
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Biometric authentication:
Biometric authentication, such a s fingerprint scanning or facial recognition, is becoming more common as a way to lock and unlock smartphones. This is much more secure than traditional passwords. After all, it is much harder to replicate a fingerprint or facial features than it is to guess or steal a password.
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Customizable app permissions:
Today’s smartphone operating systems are becoming a lot more restrictive on the default app permissions that are built into the smartphone. In other words, the modern smartphone user has control over the kind of data that their apps have access to. For example, users can restrict access to their camera, location, and contacts. Alternatively, users can allow access to these features only when the app is in use. These restrictions make it harder for apps to track a user’s activity 24/7.
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Privacy-focused ecosystems:
Until today, the problem is that smartphone manufacturers have no interest in protecting the privacy of users. Their income is based on the use and resale of its data.
Swimming against the tide, the Cosmic Dolphins team announces the upcoming launch of the Cosmic Phone LvL 50.
What is the Cosmic Phone LvL 50?
The Cosmic Phone LvL 50 is the first Swiss-made phone that is built to prioritize user control over data and provide a more secure environment for users.
At first glance, the Cosmic Phone LvL 50 may not look all that different from other smartphones on the market. It comes with a sleek, modern design, sports a large touchscreen display, and the usual features you would normally expect from a smartphone. However, there are some key differences that set the Cosmic Phone LvL 50 apart from alternatives on the market.
One of the most significant differences is the focus on privacy and security. Unlike many other companies, The Cosmic Dolphins does not collect data about its users. So it’s only natural that their phone, the Cosmic Phone LvL 50, follows the same philosophy. This means that users can use all their usual applications in a secure environment. Choose what information to give to which application and when. Total control over what comes out of the phone.
Another important difference is that the Cosmic Phone LvL 50 runs on CosmicOS, a native operating system developed by the experts at Cosmic Dolphins. CosmicOS is designed to prioritize privacy and security, using a unique architecture that separates the user’s data from the applications that access it. This means that even if an application is compromised, the user’s data remains secure.
Where to get the Cosmic Phone LvL 50
The team over at The Cosmic Dolphins has announced plans to launch the Cosmic Phone LvL 50 on Indiegogo on March 20. This Indiegogo campaign will give tech enthusiasts who are concerned about privacy the opportunity to be among the first to own a smartphone that is built entirely around data privacy. Once the Indiegogo campaign has wrapped up, the smartphone manufacturer will begin shipping these smartphones out in June this year.
