Can you ‘deGoogle’ a phone? Murena tried — and added a kill switch
We put the Murena 2's privacy protections through their paces
Brought to you by Trickyenough
My ancient Samsung Galaxy is ready for retirement. Cracks expand across the screen, photos are hazy blurs, and the battery barely survives a day. It’s time to buy a replacement.
Brought to you by Trickyenough
The initial contenders for my cash were the usual mix: Androids and iPhones with old names, incremental upgrades, and eye-watering price tags.
Brought to you by Trickyenough
While mulling over the options, a serendipitous email arrived in my inbox. A budding phonemaker called Murena was building a new handset with a bullish promise: “the ultimate pro-privacy smartphone.”
Brought to you by Trickyenough
To substantiate the slogan, the company flaunted two compelling features: a physical “kill switch” to disconnect the device and an anti-tracking operating system. Consider me intrigued.
Brought to you by Trickyenough
The announcement of the phone — named the Murena 2 — was timely. Just hours later, a news story provided an inadvertent advertisement for the product.
Brought to you by Trickyenough
Several US government agencies had been illegally using location data taken from mobile apps. In one case, an official had tracked coworkers for personal reasons.