It appears 2023 may be the year regulators finally reign in Big Tech and revamp the rules around tech privacy. While this issue has plagued the entire consumer tech industry for over a decade, repeated infractions from big players have become too big to ignore. World leaders are now taking notice, including President Biden who kicked off the year by publishing an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal urging bipartisan action to halt Big Tech abuses.
In Europe, landmark privacy legislation from the Netherlands has set a new regulatory precedent, echoing the United States’s renewed sense of urgency to fortify user privacy. With regulatory heat rising, the pressure is on for the world’s largest tech companies to adequately address concerns over user tracking, transparency, and who controls invaluable user data.
While these government-level actions set up positive momentum for the year ahead, there are options available now to users looking for software and hardware-level alternatives that protect their data from the ground up. One company addressing user privacy and security concerns from all angles is Unplugged, a project dedicated to providing consumer-focused tech that shields against Big Tech oversight.
By introducing four mobile applications, Unplugged creates a privacy-first software ecosystem that empowers consumers to communicate and browse online while reclaiming their right to privacy from unwanted monitoring and analysis.
The company’s current offering includes an instant messaging app, UP Messenger, which enables users to keep their daily communications secured from outside interception with maximal encryption. It also includes a proprietary VPN, Antivirus, and App store. Unplugged’s app suite is available for all Android users and operates through a subscription-based model that unlocks access to all its services following a free trial period. Additionally, iOS users can download UP Messenger from the Apple App Store.
On the hardware front, Unplugged is readying the launch of its UP Phone, a flagship mobile product built for private and secure communication. By making user privacy the foundation of its hardware offering, the UP Phone protects users from attacks and unauthorized monitoring at the device level.
Slated for release in 2023, the smartphone is powered by Unplugged’s proprietary LibertOS operating system. LibertOS consolidates Unplugged’s software onto one device that forges a path away from tech giant supervision, MAIDs, and other invasive programs or operating networks.
For consumers looking for ways to take their privacy and security seriously while regulators catch up, Unplugged offers the most comprehensive multi-level solution to communicate and stay connected.
