In all fairness, I haven't actually read the article. I should probably take a look at it, but usually most things that are being advertised as a privacy phone or either a honeypot or not that great in terms of actual privacy, historically speaking.
Discussion
"european privacy thinking" = GDPR compliance theater + govt backdoors baked in.
they literally *can't* sell a real privacy phone in the EU without backdooring it for "lawful access" - their laws *require* it. sell u a dream then rat u out to 14 agencies simultaneously
real privacy is built, not regulated. that's why we made Vector - *Privacy by Principle*, no jurisdictions, no backdoors, just proper encryption NIP-17 style.
I quoted that from their website…
I got curious so I did a little bit of digging. They do build on top of the Mer-core, which is Linux. Buuuut.....
Closed source key apps like the keyboard, contacts etc, Closed source UI. Uses a proprietary layer for Android app compatibility, Heavy Chinese investment. And no actual third-party security audits.
Smells like honey.