Customer Ratings & Reviews

Switched to the UP Phone after getting fed up with constant tracking on my old iPhone—best decision ever! Setup was insanely easy: unbox, power on, and it auto-connects to their Liberty VPN for instant privacy. The automatic setup call from their US-based team popped up right away, walking me through everything in under 5 minutes—no tech headaches, just smooth sailing. Customer service? Unreal. When I had a quick question about the Encrypted Cloud, a real person answered immediately, super helpful and patient. It's like they actually care about you, not just selling a phone. I LOVE the Firewall dashboard shows trackers getting blocked in real-time and that SD card slot for offline storage If privacy matters, this is your phone. Effortless, secure, and supported like a pro. 5 stars all day!

I’ve been using the UP Phone for a couple weeks, and I’m honestly impressed. The setup was way easier than I expected. I even had a quick customer support call to walk me through a couple questions, and they were patient, friendly, and actually knew the product. It already feels as convenient as my old iPhone, but without the weird data tracking that always made me uneasy. Day-to-day use has been super straightforward. Messages, calls, apps, photos and all the basics just work. But what really stands out is the peace of mind. It feels like a normal, modern smartphone experience without that sense of being monitored in the background. I wasn’t sure what to expect switching over, but so far it’s been great. If you’re looking for something that keeps all the convenience without the privacy trade-offs, I’d definitely recommend the UP Phone.

TLDR For a $1,000 smartphone, you receive hardware worth approximately $300, equipped with a functional kill switch. However, the device requires significant trust in the manufacturer. The phone operates on an outdated, rebranded version of Android 14, mandating an account with the company for basic functions like messaging, app downloads, or flashing the device. The company also promotes subscription-based services, such as its VPN. While you can use false information to create an account and unlock the phone for alternative operating systems, no other OS is currently supported, rendering this option impractical for most users. Despite effective marketing, the privacy community widely regards the company as untrustworthy, potentially operating as a data collection scheme. Until the manufacturer collaborates with the open-source community and supports third-party operating systems, it does not merit trust. For privacy-focused alternatives, consider the Fairphone or older Pixel phones running GrapheneOS.

Are you tired of having a conversation about some product with someone and the next thing you see are ads popping up on google or Facebook, and the next thing that pops into your mind is what else is your phone listening to and what other information it might be sharing with God knows who. Personal data farming is a multi-billion-dollar industry, where people are getting rich selling our personal information to marketers, government agencies and even overseas. Well, it’s not too late to put a stop to that. Introducing the Unplugged-Up Phone. I’m going to tell you why I fell in love with this phone the moment I unboxed it, so let’s go over what the UP phone has to offer. Unboxing and Setup: First of all, this phone had me at the unboxing. I don’t know about you, but I am always a big fan of a manufacturer that provides everything you will need and don’t have to spend extra money on an item. Now, I iam not sure if Unplugged does this with every phone they sell, but the review model came with a very nice Phone case. The phone also comes with a pre-installed screen protector and get this; every phone also comes with a complimentary 30-minute setup call with a live person and they are amazing. Although I can handle my own tech setup and data transfer, I tested their customer service and found it to be excellent. The Guts: Now, let’s go over what the phone itself has to offer. The UP phone offers 6.67-inch screen, same size as my old Samsung S24 Ultra, with an AMOLED display with a 90 Hz refresh rate and 500 nits’ brightness. The phone comes with 8 gigabytes of memory and 256 GB of storage but is expandable up to 1 Terabyte with an SD Card. The phone does come unlocked, meaning it can be used with pretty much any carrier, and you can also do either an e-sim or actual sim card transfer if you have one. The phone is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 1200 3 gigahertz processor powering a proprietary Android 14 system. The phone has all the same features that you find in the latest phones such as WIFI 6, Fast Charing, wireless charging, fingerprint reader, 5G and 108-megapixel rear facing camera, 32-megapixel front facing camera, 5-megapixel telephoto camera and an 8 mega pixel ultrawide camera. The phone also features a 4300 milliampere hour battery, solid enough to get you through your day. Protecting Your Privacy: So, this is where this phone shines, while others sort of sell out. Features like the physical kill switch to cut power to radios and sensors, the dedicated Privacy Center to control camera, microphone, location, and firewall settings, and a de-Googled and de-Appled operating system all work together to give you a level of control you don’t usually see on mainstream devices. The phone comes with a built-in firewall which does a great job blocking third parties from gathering data off your phone. The phone also comes with a VPN, keeping your online activities confidential, as they should be. The phone also offers an encrypted cloud storage service that is only accessible to you. To be honest, I have never experienced the level of privacy and security that I have with the UP than with any of the other phones I have had in the past. Overall, I am very impressed and satisfied with the Unplugged UP phone. To be honest, I was a little afraid at first of change and wondered If I would be losing out on anything but I have instead of losing, I have gained back my privacy without losing out on any mainstream features. I would highly recommend that you check out this phone before signing up to sell your data away.

Unplugged is a new phone maker on the market and where it hangs its hat on is being privacy focused. A unique privacy feature the UP phone has is a kill switch. This switch disconnects the battery so nothing receives power. Currently phones are always connected, even when powered off or out of battery due to a reserve battery that is used for certain services. The kill switch completely removes battery connection, so the phone becomes a paper weight. The UP phone also provides options for storage and backup, where other companies force you to use the cloud with the UP phone you can store and backup everything to the SD card or an encrypted cloud. The security dashboard screen is an excellent UP phone feature that gives you privacy insights such as when you unlocked your phone last, VPN, firewall, camera access/location and the amount of trackers blocked. You can quickly toggle on/off permission at a system level which will apply across the system. I found this to be very useful and everything was easy to see and understand. The best part about all of this is that its set up out of the box for you, having ad blocking on was a pleasure especially when watching youtube videos. When it comes to the user experience, I was pleasantly surprised at how smooth everything was. I had no issues with studder or slowdowns, the applications worked as needed and touch response was great. Now while the up phone is based on android it does not have the google app store, so your apps will be limited. One of the things I did notice about the apps is that even if you give apps access to camera/location all these things can be turned off at the system level. This is great as turning them off at the system level stops access without bricking the app which tends to happen on android and apple. When it comes to the UP phone the best thing about the phone is that everything comes set and ready to go. There is already a screen protector installed and the phone comes with a case, this also applies to its privacy settings. It not that you can’t buy a screen protector/case or install a VPN/ad blocker its that these things are already there and working. The UP phone has decent specs but they are not top of the line in terms of speed/picture/screen. Now don’t get me wrong the screen is big/bright with nice colors, even the sound is good and provides nice highs and mids, its just not the best out there. The UP phone is a great start to a phone brand/company however there are improvements that are needed. One of these things is the camera, the current camera is equivalent to something from 3 years ago. To appeal to the masses a better camera is needed, however that does not seem to be the targeted market. Overall the UP phone is good for someone that is not connected to social media and does not mind having a below average camera while getting privacy features built in that they don’t have to set up. I would not recommend it to anyone who wants/needs social media apps on their phone as even with the privacy features on the phone those companies are able to create/make profiles on the users.

The Unplugged UP phone is a fantastic way to keep your smartphone access, but remain at an arms length away from all the data and privacy issues that bombard us today. I've been using mine for over a week now and am thoroughly enjoying it for it's clear messaging and pursuit of keeping my data private and secured. The Unplugged phone is very comparable in form and function to many of the more recent devices, so it's chic and modern. A large battery is housed within consisting of 4300mAh and also a three camera lens setup that gives good results. The main camera is 108MP, secondary camera is 5MP macro, third camera is 8MP wide, and the front camera is 32MP. The phone feels comfortable in hand with it's 6.67 inch AMOLED screen. The phone can use WiFi 6 for connectivity, and also is Bluetooth 5.2 compatible. The phone will charge at 33W and also offers 15W wireless charging. Where this phone shines is its ability to be a private phone to keep your data private and secured. There is a battery disconnect feature on this phone that truly deactivates the battery when you want to ensure complete security, and to be completely dark and off the grid. There is an active firewall that is tracking data and harvesting attempts in real time to keep you safe while you're visiting social media or browsing online. The phone allows for an SD card storage to keep files offline and accessible to you and only you. The built in VPN is a great feature for anyone that needs to remain secure while browsing or someone that travels a lot. I feel safer knowing that I'm veiled behind many layers of security and that I'm not trackable. Similar to many other competitors you'll have access to download and install apps as you would with more popular devices. Unplugged gives you access to over 2 million apps to browse and install. The UI/UX is the crafted dynamic of this device that is built from the ground up to keep it secure for your use. The team at Unplugged gave me a very well detailed orientation call as they guide me through setting up the phone, how things work, and how to transfer my data from my previous phone to here. The courtesy call they provide is available to all users and it's a very thorough and well versed team that was ready to help me in my setup process. This is a phone that is that alternative to conformity of what we have known and used for years. This Unplugged phone helps to put people back in control of our own digital lives with privacy and data security. The phone will run on an Android operating system but it's completely de-Googled, so you don't have the tracking and advertisements that come on a similar device. Having the ability to pay for a subscription to a VPN, encryption, private messaging, and firewalls is worth it if you're able to keep your own digital persona and life safe and less available to the data harvesters.

As someone who values digital autonomy, i found the Unplugged Phone a device that doesn't treat my data as a product. It offers a clean, secure experience that puts the user back in control. I believe it's time to acknowledge that our smartphones play and cary a huge digital footprint of our lives and to distinguish between safe internet usage and careless usage that can come at pricey cost of our privacy. 🔐The Built of this Phone: Like a said ealrier this Smartphone is built from the Ground Up for security at every level. The OS of this phone is stripped aof Google services and third-party trackers. Apps are curated for privacy and utility, not engagement and data mining. From Secure Messaging: Preloaded with encrypted messaging apps like Signal and SimpleX to Hardware Kill Switches that lets you instantly disable your radio signals. The phone itself it's very robust and offers a great quality in terms of feeling and usage experience. The Up's Phone dashboard displays key stas and settings at a glance, allowing you to adjust features, monitor Firewall and VPN status and others - all thru intuitive controls. 👤 This Phone it is for people that understand the importance of online privacy and don't fall for the glitter and sparkly things at the cost of their online safety. It also makes a great cold-storage companion for Crypto Users out there who wants to keep their wallets and seed phrases off the grid. The Unplugged Phone it's more then a device - it's a philosophy. It challenges the status quo of surveillance capitalism and offers a viable alternative for those who want to reclaim their digital lives. It's not for everyone, but for The Right User this phone's built-in features would much apreciate it!

The UP Phone isn’t just another smartphone—it’s built from the ground up with privacy at the center. Right out of the box, it’s simple to set up and you can tell it’s designed to protect you, not track you. The on‑device Firewall and layered protections give me confidence that my data isn’t being siphoned off, and the dashboard makes it easy to keep an eye on everything. I can check Firewall and VPN status or tweak privacy settings in seconds without digging through endless menus, which is a huge win compared to the usual smartphone headache. What really makes this phone stand out is that it’s completely De‑Googled and De‑Appled. No hidden surveillance, no data harvesting, no backdoors—it’s refreshing to use a device that isn’t tied into Big Tech’s ecosystem. The operating system, UnpluggedOS, is smooth and responsive, with privacy baked in from the start. It doesn’t feel like a stripped‑down compromise; it feels like a well‑built OS that gives me control without being complicated. Bottom line: the UP Phone is practical, secure, and easy to use. It’s not just another gadget—it’s a statement that privacy matters.

What's great: -Attempts to make privacy a core feature (you CAN setup and use the phone without providing a single piece of information) -OLED display is solid -Setup is simple and guided support is helpful -Portions of the codebase are open-source, though not all components are fully open-sourced -Battery kill switch (see what could be better) -Video support call to get setup (though it is a week out scheduling a call which is unfortunately a long time to wait to setup your new phone) What could be better: -No privacy-centric payment or registration options (Shopify/Stripe only; no crypto, gift cards, or anonymous accounts) -Uses Android 13, which is aging (the current version is 16) and without a clearly stated update/patch policy, long-term security/data privacy is very uncertain without this (an old OS that is not actively patched is risky to use online, period) -No published long-term support commitment for OS or security updates -Limited OS customization options (I can't stand the clock font on the lock screen and cannot change it) -CPU is 3-4 generations old (originally released in 2021/2022) and uses older LPDDR4 memory instead of the current LPDDR5 -No physical kill switch for antennas/radios (only for battery) -Battery life was surprisingly weak; even idle on a desk, it dropped to ~65% in one day and was nearly dead by day two -The cameras are horrible, this is a case of where more megapixels does not mean good pictures, and there's a HUGE difference in quality when compared to the S25/S25 Ultra (night/day difference) -App store leaves a lot to be desired (read below) -Received advertising from Patriot Mobile in my email shortly after registering and I've never even thought about switching to them -No recommended Tap to Pay options for NFC payments Overall Thoughts I really had high hopes for a more fully privacy-focused hardware and software experience, but after using it for a couple weeks, it feels closer to a simplified, modified, rebranded generic Android phone with a privacy VPN. If you are looking at this phone and wondering if spec-wise it's comparable to a current or last gen flagship Galaxy or Apple phone, you can just cut it short by saying it's not even comparable. You are literally trading the tech under the hood, for the privacy first features that Unplugged is trying to offer. If you use it strictly as shipped — without installing anything outside the included apps — it DOES achieve a "de-googled"/"de-appled" experience and you absolutely can have a better privacy experience (until they quit updating/supporting it at an undetermined time). That all changes once you create an account to access their app store or services, and install apps, you’re still handing over personal information much like you would with any other mainstream platform. Their policies are transparent about info handling, which is appreciated, but it does mean the privacy model isn’t as strong as truly anonymous focused platforms. For example, if you install any other 3rd party apps (especially those that they haven't vetted), you literally compromise the whole point of getting this phone, and for Unplugged to market it any differently is misleading at best and they don't really try to make that clear. The privacy VPN, just like it does with the Proton Privacy VPN on my current Android phone can and does block trackers and advertising (which in some cases breaks some apps or makes them not work properly). I also thought it was odd that the phone recommended a fingerprint as the "most secure" lock option when setting up the phone when that's really not true anymore (search the web United States vs. Brown case). Being a privacy-centric phone, I thought at least maybe the OS would have put less emphasis on biometrics or educate users on what option will give you the most privacy and security... which is to NOT use biometrics and use a secure pin/password. For it to reach a higher level of privacy, it would need anonymous usernames instead of email addresses, privacy-friendly payment methods (crypto/cash), and a stronger commitment to long-term software/security support for their flagship phones like this one. In addition, there should be 3rd party verification of all of the claims made not only for encrypted communications (like they have done for the messenger communications) but the security of data/information on the device/VPN and services all apps used. I could not find clear documented information on what the VPN really is and how it works/who manages it, and if they are audited by a 3rd party. I also couldn't find out if there's a way to use the VPN on a PC or other device as I can with Proton VPN which essentially does the same thing this VPN does except, I use it on all my devices for the same cost. The app store makes an effort to provide Unplugged "verified apps" which is good though it's not clear what that really means, but that's where it also falls short. When I first opened the app store, the recommend apps that you first see are X, Telegram, The Epoch Times, and Turning Point USA. X being the first and prominent recommended app is extremely unfortunate as social media in general is not privacy centric by design. While I don't have anything against those apps, I hardly see those as being privacy centric or alternatives to mainstream apps that put user privacy first before everything else. Literally the only one that could be privacy centric is Telegram... and then on the homepage of Unplugged.com it says the store is not biased... how can someone believe that when those are the recommendations in their app store when you first open it? Yikes. That's like telling you to not believe what your eyes see when you see it. I hoped to see a kill switch to disconnect it from radios - like physically unplugging the Bluetooth, Cellular WWAN, GPS, and WIFI and still use the phone... sure you can disable these in the menus/widgets, but you can do that exact same thing on your current Android/Apple phone. Last, after setting this phone up, literally a day or two later I received an email from Patriot Mobile. I have never looked at or even considered looking at Patriot Mobile, then to get an email marketing to have me switch to them. How/why would Patriot Mobile get my email address when I have NEVER even looked at them, and it happens to be right after I received and setup this phone??? Now I'm really skeptical of what information was shared and with whom. So, after seeing that email and the app store, this privacy first thing is clearly a marketing scheme as much as it is about privacy. Long story short, I cannot recommend this phone being privacy centric as that's somewhat misleading based on my experience. While it is possible to get a privacy centric experience, it's not what I experienced. I really wanted to see this phone be something that could actually stand against Apple or Google. For some this may be a good phone but where there's no commitment to long-term support or updates it really falls short. The 12 month warranty ONLY applies to the hardware, not software and they expressly state that so get this phone with eyes wide open knowing what you are getting. If you really want/need a privacy centric high-end phone (with actual good cameras and hardware), you're much better off getting a Google Pixel and re-flashing it to GrapheneOS or similar.