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!

Have you ever had the FBI boot your door in and hold the information on your device against you? My names Brian Preller & I have. That will never happen to me again. All I need is time to punch one code and it purges everything. If you're smart you'll use tellecomms systems that also self destruct & are encrypted. That will never happen to me again. Aside from that this phones actually pretty bad sweet. Its a learning curve to use because its been " degoogled " so you've got to navigate restricted apps and a system based on security which means its not going to be convenient i can tell you I've gotten 10 fold less spam calls since switching. The camera is nice but honestly I'm mostly intrigued and entertained and secure with the tightened security. I love this phone and when the next model comes out I'm 100% staying with this brand. As long as they don't sell out.

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.

Look, I’m all for privacy. I have an arsenal of tools that are privacy-centric, and I wanted to expand my focus on privacy with a privacy-first phone. If you are on the edge of switching into a more privacy-focused life, you may have to sacrifice convenience. Rarely can you be private while it being convenient at the same time. I currently use an old but reliable Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra as my daily driver. I switched to the UP Phone and used it for about a week. It has both its pros and cons, but I found it to be a more frustrating user experience compared to using a phone from a major manufacturer. In this review, I’ll go over the pros and cons and give a recommendation for who the UP Phone is for. *TLDR at the bottom =========== IN THE BOX/FIRST IMPRESSIONS/SET-UP: In the box, you get the phone, a USB-C to USB-C cable, a quick start guide, a SIM eject tool, a screen protector (comes pre-installed), and a pocket-sized copy of the U.S. Constitution. I do appreciate that Unplugged included a pre-installed screen protector. It's not just any screen protector, either, it’s a glass one, so you will get peace of mind knowing that your phone screen is protected. The phone does have a beautiful AMOLED display. It doesn’t get as bright compared to my S21 Ultra, but it still is a great display with a 1080x2400 resolution. There is also a fingerprint sensor located on the power button, which works wonderfully. A SIM card slot and SD card slot (expandable up to 1TB) are included, which is an amazing design choice by Unplugged. Many major manufacturers have removed the SD card slot, and I am happy to see that this phone has decided to still include it. There is also an extra button on the left side of the phone. Similar to the Bixby button on the Galaxy S8. This button can be programmed to a specific action, which I completely love. Kudos to the Unplugged team for that. The back of the phone mirrors the back of an iPhone 16 Pro Max, making it familiar to Apple users. But it does run on a custom-built Android OS. Unplugged offers a complimentary setup call with one of their onboarding experts. Mine was one-on-one, but I’m not sure if there are any group calls. The setup was straightforward. No account was needed for the initial setup. Up even offers a “switch” app that allows one to easily transfer one’s data from one phone to this one. Once I was on the home screen, I wanted to try out Unplugged’s built-in apps. This is where I ran into one of my first gripes. If you want to use the apps provided by Unplugged, such as the App Center (App Store/Play Store for this phone) and the VPN, you will need to sign up for a UP Account. I’m not fully against this, as Unplugged probably needs your information to be able to sign up for the Premium version of their apps, which gives access to unlimited VPN use, unlimited antivirus scans, and cloud storage for your photos and videos. But as a privacy-first phone, one would think that an account shouldn’t be needed to use these apps, or even, download apps. Unfortunately, that is not the case. =========== UNPLUGGED’S CUSTOM APPS I signed up for a UP Account to be able to use Unplugged’s apps. The app store on this phone is called the App Center. It is limited in app selection, but I was able to download all the apps I needed within the App Center. I’m not quite sure how apps are vetted, but some apps do have a “External Application” tag, which may indicate that the app may not be fully compatible with the phone. While I did run into bugs with some apps, all apps were able to function correctly on this phone. The Privacy Center app does a lot. It displays what trackers have been blocked, your app usage, controls to block certain content, hardware controls (camera, mic, etc.), and network controls (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Location). These controls can be turned on or off on the system level, preventing an app from using them. This is a neat feature! Finally, there are some other features, like “Lost Mode” and “Schedule Reboots,” that you can enable or edit in the Access tab. The VPN app is self-explanatory. It can be used to bypass site/app restrictions or mask network traffic from your ISP. I did notice network speeds were slightly throttled when using the VPN. Finally, there is a built-in antivirus app. The app scans for malware and details all the identified app trackers. The phone is not completely immune to trackers. Some apps will need some essential services to be running to function properly. For example, Hulu uses Conviva to track and sync your watch history across devices. But, in general, the UP Phone does an amazing job with blocking third-party trackers. I will keep this short and simple. Unplugged paid a third-party penetration testing company(raxis) to assess third-party trackers from 33 apps (2 minutes of use on each app) on the UP Phone compared to a Samsung Galaxy and an Apple iPhone. To sum up the report, raxis did capture more “activity” with both the Samsung and Apple phones compared to the UP phone, which had none. Overall, the risk rating was low for the phone. These are excellent and impressive results indeed. The full results can be viewed online. =========== UNPLUGGED OS AND APP USE/PHONE USE: Next, I’m going to cover the custom-built operating system and app usage. This is where my frustrations lie the most. The custom OS is called Unplugged OS and is based on Android. It is open source and currently on GitHub. This is great to see, but I’m not quite sure how often their GitHub page gets updated. The last update was 2 months ago. Regardless, I am glad to see some transparency and commitment to showing how the OS works. Now with a custom-built OS, there are bound to be some bugs. And I found a lot of them. One of the first ones I encountered was when I tried to group apps into a folder. I’m not quite sure how the apps are supposed to be displayed, but when I go to open the grouped apps, they get jumbled up with my other apps on the home screen. Another one I encountered was the missing notifications from my important apps, like email. I use Outlook for my work email and have noticed sporadically that I would not receive some email notifications for some reason. And yes, I have checked permissions settings and have done some basic troubleshooting. Another bug I experienced was with apps that need Google Play Services to work. By default, these services are not installed because of Google trackers. The phone uses MicroG to emulate these services to help some of these apps run. In the case of RE: Survival Unit, a game I installed for testing, anytime I would allow the app to sign me into MicroG to continue into the game, it would not work. I would proceed to hit cancel, and only then was I able to get into the app. I also found that I could not stream audio through a USB-C to AUX wired connection. But Bluetooth did work with my wireless headphones. These are a couple of bugs out of the many I encountered. These can be reported to Unplugged’s customer service, but as a customer, I shouldn’t have encountered this many bugs in a production environment. Likely, with time, these will get cleaned up by the developers, but in this current iteration, the software is frustrating to use. On the bright side, the phone is extremely responsive and fast. It is running an older chipset from 2021, but it holds up fine in today’s world. The camera is decent but not breathtaking. The camera app is too simple. There aren’t a lot of settings to play with. It's also running Android 14. This is an older version of Android. But what I'm most concerned about is that the last official security update for this phone was back in May of this year (in the Beta version, the latest is in October). This is concerning, as there are likely vulnerabilities on this device that can expose the phone to malware. However, I was able to ask the customer service rep about these concerns, and luckily, Unplugged is aware, and the developers are looking to eventually push out the latest Android with the security updates. But I was not given a timeline. If you are a tinkerer, you can install a Beta version of the OS by heading into the firmware app and clicking the logo several times. =========== CONCLUSION/TLDR: Overall, I cannot recommend this phone in its current iteration. While it does have impressive privacy features and plenty of information in regards to what trackers your apps are using, I found the OS to be extremely buggy and frustrating to use at times. I did enjoy some of the phone's features like the ability to program the shortcut button, an expandable SD card slot, and software switches to disable the camera, mic, and even location at a system level. Unfortunately, the custom-built OS still needs plenty of work for it to be user-friendly. But if you are serious about privacy and are willing to wait for the developers to slowly patch the bugs, patch security flaws with the outdated OS, and update the OS to the latest version of Android, give this a shot. You may find that the phone is more user-friendly and better patched. Otherwise, I recommend sticking with your current phone and researching how to DeGoogle.

--- SETUP --- The phone requires some patience for full setup. In the box, you will find the phone, a USB-C charging cable, and a code to unlock premium apps for a year. It’s easy to charge and charges quickly, but you do need to set up an eSim or a physical sim card with a compatible carrier. The phone is mostly compatible with AT&T and T-Mobile carriers and their Mobile Virtual Network Operators, or MVNOs. Think, Mint Mobile, Boost Mobile, Cricket. However, the box specifies that the phone is NOT compatible with Verizon or its MVNOs, so be aware of that. --- PERFORMANCE AND EXPECTATIONS --- Upon opening the box, charging the phone, and getting started, I was prompted to schedule a call to help me with the phone setup. In trying to do so, the closest time I could schedule a call was about a week and half out. I scheduled it, but decided to give it a go on my own. I opted for a physical sim card, though there is an option for an eSim card. You can do your research and choose the carrier that suits your budget needs. This phone was planned as my second phone to use strictly for my side business, where privacy and security matter more to me. For that reason, the phone fulfills what it promises. To the left of the home screen, you’ll see a quick summary of important privacy information such as how many minutes it’s been since your phone has been unlocked, how many teachers the firewall has blocked that day, and whether your VPN is on or not. For me, all of these features are the reason to get the phone, and it’s great that they are immediately accessible without diving into lots of menus. Additionally, it blocks trackers and pop-up ads in real time. Have you ever gone to a website where you’re trying to read an article and before you finish it, an ad interrupts the article and then you lose the article itself? This phone prevents that from happening and it’s great at it! The VPN is included with the phone purchase and it works seamlessly and easily while you’re browsing. There is definitely a learning curve with the phone, but like any new piece of technology, the more you use it, the more you become accustomed to it. That being said, here are a few things to know about this phone before you buy. You will not have access to traditional app stores such as Google Store, Apple App Store, or the Samsung App store. All the apps are from the app center from Up phone, and though you’ll find a few of the major apps, many of the apps you’re used to will be missing or incompatible with the phone. As an example, I chose to go with Boost Mobile for my carrier. My phone works with Boost Mobile, but I can’t manage Boost Mobile from the phone itself. My experience was that I had to go to my computer to make changes on the website itself, even though I found the boost mobile app in the Up Phone App store and downloaded it through there. There is a way to turn features off to be able to use the phone, but it’s inconvenient and unnecessary for my needs. If you like customization, it’s hard to find cases to fully customize the phone the way you want to visually. That’s just something to note. The options will be very limiting. --- APPROVAL --- It’s hard to recommend this phone to everyone, as it is definitely not accessible. However, if privacy and security is your concern, then this is the phone you’re looking for. If you prefer being able to customize your phone and have it be compatible with almost anything that is put out there, then this is not for you. The phone is good at what it’s market for…privacy.

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!

What's great: -Makes 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/POWER kill switch -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) -Wireless charging -OS Level Firewall (though has limitations that are being addressed in a future update) What could be better: -No privacy-centric payment options for the UP Suite (see screenshot) -Uses Android 14 so does not have the latest Android features -No stated software support duration/software support lifetime on the FAQ's on support.unplugged.com (e.g. The UP Phone 256GB model will receive security and feature updates for X number of months or years) -Limited OS customization options (I can't stand the clock font on the lock screen and cannot change it) -Not as water-resistant as other flagship phones - IP53 vs IP68 as is typical with other current model phones -CPU is 3-4 generations old (originally released in 2021/2022) and uses older LPDDR4 memory instead of the current LPDDR5 -Battery life was surprisingly weak for the capacity; 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 left me questioning bias based on "Top Recommendations" (see screenshot) -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 hardware/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 in the same ball park hardware-wise. This phone is directly aimed at an experience that makes it so you can setup a phone without providing any info to do so (which is cool and something I liked) and the OS is built around privacy. Where it really falls short is in the hardware. You are literally trading the tech under the hood, for the privacy first features that this phone OS is offering including the built-in OS Firewall. 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 the app store or services, and install apps, you’re still handing over personal information much like you would with any other mainstream platform. The privacy VPN functions 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). Again, the benefit of this phone is that the OS/default installed services isn't phoning home with your info by default so if you leave it that way or use the VPN it's good. As a side note, 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 technically 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 options will give you the most privacy and security and allow you to choose without a recommendation from the OS. For it to reach a higher level of privacy, it would need anonymous usernames instead of email addresses, privacy-friendly payment methods for the UP Suite (see screenshot). 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 in all cases, 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, Signal and Turning Point USA. among others. 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. Literally the only ones that could be privacy centric is Telegram or Signal ... and then on the homepage of Unplugged it says the store is not biased... how can someone believe that, when those are the recommendations in the app store when you first open it? That's literally no different than opening the Google or Apple store and seeing their recommendations. I wouldn't "generally" recommend this phone to just anyone because of the dated hardware. If you have a specific need, or just want a "basic" phone that puts privacy first, this works knowing that the hardware is not that great. The privacy first approach works only if you choose not to install any other 3rd party apps or you keep the paid VPN subscription. If you don't keep the VPN and install 3rd party apps then any apps you install defeat the point of getting this phone. I really wanted to see this phone be something that could actually stand against Apple or Google and will be watching for a future version that addresses the hardware shortcomings - to which I would then totally recommend.

I have had my eye on this phone for over a year. I finally needed a new phone and took the opportunity to switch to Unplugged's UP Phone. After about a week of owning it, I wish I had done it sooner. The external SD card storage allows up to an additional TB of physical storage—no cloud at all. This makes me feel much more comfortable with certain files. Additionally, the battery disconnect switch is a total game-changer. Beyond that, it's incredibly satisfying to watch, in real time, the firewall block attempts to harvest data from my device. Unplugged has a huge fan here!

There is a lot to understand about this phone, about what it is and what it isn't. There is a lot of buzzwords and fancy word lingo about privacy and security and how this phone will protect you, and how secure it is. I do believe it is oversold a bit, though it is a noble pursuit of wresting control away from the big tech companies. If you get a phone with Google Android, or an iPhone, they have all sorts of trackers for advertising, analytics, and performance metrics. This IS an Android phone, but it is a custom version of Android that has had every trace of Google removed from it. That means no Google app store, no Google Play services, or any other integrations into the Google ecosystem (for better or for worse). The trouble is, the Google app store is quite comprehensive, and is going to have the latest version of an app that is available. Google app store also (ostensibly) is constantly checking for malicious apps itself and if an app goes rouge, it has the ability to remove it from your phone. You don't get any of this on the UP phone. UP provides their own app store, and it pulls from other app marketplaces such as the "Aurora Store" (which itself can be installed separately). This means that for some apps, Unplugged has to manage keeping the apps in their store up-to-date from the other app sources. This could cause some unintended experiences, and may be harder to find the exact app you want or need. Many apps are depend on Google Play Services for functionality. The UP phone has a compatibility layer to try and emulate what Google would provide, but some apps may not work as expected. But again, all this hassle is to keep those sorts of trackers from reporting back to the "mothership". At the moment it's unclear to me specifically how it works, but it seems to basically be just a DNS deny list. Basically it's just a large list of URLs (or website addresses) that the phone won't allow communication with. As far as privacy and security goes, it's a "good enough" method of blocking trackers, but a determined app can get around it (e.g. directly accessing via IP address, or DNS over HTTPS). The other privacy controls are around peace of mind controls, such as being able to shut off things like camera, bluetooth, microphone, and GPS, which essentially shuts them off at the hardware layer (or at close to that as it can). The only gotcha is the Wifi toggle, which doesn't actually turn off wifi, and only disables access to open (without a password) networks. So that functionality seems a bit misleading. It has a couple other features that are useful, such as "lost mode", basically if the phone has no network for a specified period, or hasn't been interacted with in a specified period, the phone will automatically reboot. What this means is the phone is completely locked and encrypted and nothing is accessible without the PIN being entered. Similarly, you can schedule a reboot to at a set time and day(s) of week (or everyday). It also has an emergency reset pin option, which if configured, and entered, will factory reset the phone. Unfortunately, the phone is on an outdated version of Android (Android 14) instead of the latest Android 16, which would have the latest security patches. However, it would appear they have updated the Kernel with some of the security patches https://doc.unplugged.com/ (although a bit vague). It has a VPN app built-in, but there is no reason for me to believe it is any better or worse than any other off-the-shelf VPN. Oddly, they have an option for a "Liberty Mode" VPN "protocol", which works, but there is not much documentation on what that is, given "Liberty Mode" isn't an actual Internet Protocol (they may be using a couple different protocols combined instead). The phone does lack some polish, lots of typos and unfinished feeling designs. The app store doesn't show the app developer/publisher, so it's sometimes hard to determine what app you are actually looking at (try searching for 'weather' and see a whole list of apps just named 'Weather' with generic weather icon). Overall, it's not a bad phone, maybe already feeling a bit dated, and lacks polish, but does work well at improving your personal privacy and improving some peace of mind and disconnecting from the big tech monopolies. But don't expect it to be a magic bullet of privacy and security, because you are still depending on Unplugged to provide security updates, and maintain the app store, and your own personal security posture of protecting your own data.

I really like the idea of this phone. Having a physical battery disconnect switch is a wonderful idea in an age when "off" doesn't really mean "off." I also like the idea of having a de-Googled Android smartphone without having to mess about with flashing and custom ROMs - it feels more accessible. Some of the features are also really great. I'm a big fan, for instance, of having a special passcode that just wipes the phone instead of unlock it. Biometrics is a strange choice, considering that Unplugged seems to be US-based and in the US, police are allowed to force you to perform biometric unlocks while they cannot force you to give up a passcode. However, I do appreciate that they have an adjustable timer so you can configure how frequently the device requires your passcode anyway. Now that we've discussed the idea of this phone, let's talk about the reality. First off, when I first pulled this phone out of the box, the very first thing that I did was try to find the disconnect switch and toggle it. While trying to slide the switch with my fingernail, I scratched the body of the phone. My fingernail alone gouged through the body of the device. That's not great build quality. Additionally, later on, when I tried to open the SIM tray and install an SD card and a live SIM as part of my testing, the provided SIM tool bent and the door did not open. I was able to get the SIM tray out once, and then never again. What really adds to this is that Unplugged included a phone case with this device - not in the retail packaging, but separately. The retail box did not contain this case. This is highly unusual for the review program I got the device through, and it makes me wonder if they were aware of these issues. In any case, even if the build quality issues weren't a thing, the physical off switch seems a lot less exciting and useful when you realize that it's built to be toggled with a SIM tool. That's not a common thing people carry about with them. Next up, Unplugged offers a complimentary video call to walk you through setup as part of the purchase. I attended this meeting and was walked through the pieces of software that make the Unplugged phone different, and I'll admit it was helpful. One of the things I learned about here was the firewall - there's a built in content blocker, and you can also allow or disable various communication radios on the device with more authority than the Android System itself. I think this is actually really neat, and I do think the video call is a good idea to avoid having to, for example, put in a support ticket because I forgot to enable Wi-Fi in the firewall. The hardware specs are pretty alright. 8GB of RAM paired with a Mediatek Dimensity 1200 SoC and 256GB storage feels like a good enough hardware package to avoid a lot of the issues you typically see in budget Android smartphones. The Dimensity 1200 is also an older SoC, from 2021. It feels like an odd choice for a phone being manufactured in 2025, but I can understand the logic of using an older flagship SoC to build a midrange phone. After all, for what this phone is, you don't necessarily *need* the latest and greatest. If you're buying this phone for privacy, you're probably not going to be doing things like gaming on it. I do also appreciate that this phone has eSIM, and having the extra programmable button on the side is also a nice touch. To get the full use out of this phone, such as using the software center rather than sideloading everything, you'll need to log in with an Unplugged account. You do need to provide an email for this, which doesn't necessarily feel wonderful for the type of product this is, but I'll overlook this for now. Once you're logged in, you're able to use the software center to download apps. However, as of the time of writing, the front page of the software center feels extremely questionable. The very top of it is a "Spotlight" collection with, in order, the following three apps: "X" (formerly Twitter), "Signal Private Messenger", and "Spotify: Music and Podcasts." Having the top app be a social media network is a very strange choice for a privacy-oriented phone, but scrolling down the rest of the front page to see the rest of their curated apps list makes it feel just flat-out partisan. After the top three, the curated apps are as follows: "TPUSA" - the offical app for Turning Point USA, "Telegram," "Grok - AI Assistant," "Reddit," "Waze," "OpenBubbles," "Angel TV & Movies," "Proton Mail: Encrypted Email," "Adobe Acrobat Reader," "Dropbox: Secure Cloud Storage," "Amazon Shopping," "The Epoch Times: Breaking News," and finally, "WhatsApp Messenger." This is an absolutely mind-boggling collection of curated app recommendations for a privacy-focused phone that becomes clearly partisan the longer you look at it. WhatsApp is owned by Meta, one of the big companies known for tracking people as part of advertising. Amazon is also known for their data collection habits. The Epoch Times is a far-right newspaper with hazy ownership. Angel is a heavily Christian-affiliated media group most notably known for the film "The Sound of Freedom." The presence of the Turning Point USA app and two apps from X just add to this feeling of bias, especially considering that social media and privacy are nearly antithetical and yet Unplugged is recommending social media as their number 1 curated app. (I will say, however, that not all of these are bad picks - Signal actually makes perfect sense to be on this list. I think that one was a good pick.) After moving past the curated apps list, however, the rest of the app store is pretty "fine." Various apps have indicators on them to show how privacy-oriented they are, and if they do anything particularly troublesome. Some of the apps have detailed privacy reviews by Unplugged staff, which I do like. One thing I found interesting was that if a particular app needs Google Play Services, the Unplugged phone will emulate it. Some apps show up in the software center but aren't installable and show as "not compatible," however I'm not sure what that's about. I do know that some apps are flagged as "external," however, the software center isn't super good at explaining what it means by that. There are a VPN and an antivirus built into the phone, however, you do need a subscription to use them. (This subscription will also give you encrypted cloud storage space.) This seems fine, but I am a little wary of the VPN. I'm sure it's better than unsecured public Wi-Fi, but I know very little about it. Having the antivirus is nice, though, since I've noticed more Android malware on the rise in recent years. A final thing I'd like to touch on. The bootloader for this device is unlockable, and you can find the source code for this custom version of Android on Unplugged's GitHub. I do appreciate this. It does mean I feel more like I own this device than I do with certain models where there's carrier bloatware I can't get rid of and the bootloader can't be unlocked. Overall, I have very mixed feelings on this phone. The idea is great, but there are several large flaws in the execution of this idea. It also requires you to have a lot of trust in Unplugged as a company. As a privacy-focused device in its current state, I'm not totally sure I could recommend this over one of the alternatives that have been floating around for some years. I do think it does much better than mainline Android, however. I also think that Unplugged can improve and iterate on this device for the next release. So with that in mind, I would recommend it, with the caveat that while I think this phone does better than most Androids, I don't think this phone will give you more privacy than a more technical solution or just using a non-smartphone.

The UP phone by Unplugged does was releases by the company to provide a privacy at all levels as indicated on their website which they have done a fairly great job at. The UP phone features a 6.67 inch Amoled display which is at 90 Hz. In comparing it to my iPhone it does a great job with gaming and media consumption. The phone features a Mediatek Dimensity 1200 6nm 5g processor which is efficient but outdated when you look at the competition. At the current price point I would appreciate a chipset from at least the last year or 2 rather from 2021. The phone also has the ability for dual sim one of which is a physical sim and 1 of which all is an eSIM. The phone is not compatible with Verizon so I am had to purchase a mint mobile sim since the eSIM option did not allow me to add the UP phone. The phone has 256 gb of memorably however it also allows you to add memory via a MicroSd card which is a great way to increase your storage in a cost effective way. The phone also feature wireless Qi charging as well as wired charging at 33 watts. The 3 camera setup is good but in no means is it comparable to an iPhone or pixel. The initial setup requires you to register for an UP account and Unplugged includes a code for 1 year of the premium suite features. The operating system is based upon Android 14 which is a little disappointing since there is no word of Android 15. To credit the Unplugged team my phone did receive 2 Android security updates in the short time that I have had it. Unplugged also did not provide any indication on how long they will support the phone but I do hope they provide updates for at least 3 to 4 years. Connecting to the WiFi was very easy and it gave you the option to use 3 different VPN networks. DNS trackers seem to be completely blocked by the phone and the Brave browser does a great job at browsing anonymously. The phone also features emergency wipe which allows you to wipe the phone with a code. The phone also features a battery disconnect switch which completely disconnects the phone from the battery power, however be sure that the phone is off before flipping the switch. I also like that you could schedule reboots of the phone. The App Store was good however some apps crashed upon launching indicating they were not compatible with this version of android. Hopefully the team can work on the AppStore and continue to improve this de-googled and de—Appled phone. Overall this was a good attempt at making a phone that looks to protect your privacy at all costs.

This phone is designed under an interesting premise, that everyone is looking to get you and our phones are in on it. I don’t necessarily disagree with the idea, but at the same time, there are certain things I know I’m being tracked about and I’ve agreed to it in order to get the service. For this phone they try to take control of the app environment and cut off those that may be watching you. If that’s something you are worried about, then this is the perfect phone for you. Actually setting up the phone wasn’t really difficult at all. It is different than an iOS or android so if you are expecting it to be the same you will need to take a step back and just follow their instructions rather than trying to guess what you think you should do based on your past experience. My phone included a screen protector which was really nice, and I was given a phone case at the same time which was great since it’s a relatively uncommon phone type so it’s a bit harder to find those options. I was also given a phone number/weblink to call customer support and get a free setup guide / appointment. I actually waited until after I had done all I could to set the phone up before I tried to contact them. I’m glad I did because the setup call was only 30 min. and it took so long just downloading and waiting to install the apps I knew how to do as well as updates that I would have wasted most of my setup call on just letting the device auto update. They don’t use the google play store so that they can control what happens with the apps and try to prevent them from tracking you. They have a number of approved apps that work well and alternatives to common apps like gmail that you can bring in any email you have to have access on your phone. Then you can also get access to a number of apps that aren’t really approved and I think are just google play apps you access through their store. Those ones are marked as not being approved and you use at your own risk. Most worked just fine but probably got around the no-tracking features. They have a vpn as part of the phone to further help you from being tracked. Its free for the first year then its paid afterward. I like the idea in theory but the price they are quoting for after the first year is a bit steep. I use VPNs all the time and I can find very good trustworthy ones for a lot cheaper, especially if you catch a black Friday deal or something. Because there are a lot of scams out there that claim to be a VPN but are actually spyware, if you’re not familiar with which companies are good or not, its good for them to give you a trustworthy option with a free year to start. I was hoping to use this phone for my daughter since a minor is the ideal person to not want to be tracked. At this point I ran into an issue and was when I tried to get help from their customer support. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much they could do for me. I really wanted to put a parental control app on the phone so I could keep my kids’ phone from downloading apps that I didn’t think were appropriate, but I couldn’t get any of them to work. Apparently they are fine with this phone being used as the adult’s control phone of another kids’ device, but they don’t want any program to be able to override the maker’s preferences in the OS, so as a result it prevents any parental control app from working. Its unfortunate I couldn’t use it the way I wanted, but it’s a good sign that harmful apps will have a harder time to take advantage of your accidentally downloading it. I was also going to try and use it as my own phone instead and hand down my daughter’s phone. Unfortunately, this device wasn’t powerful enough to really handle everything I needed it to. The specialized OS and older hardware apparently means that it really can’t handle top of the line usages. At this price point it also isn’t a cheap option for most people. I think the ideal use scenario is probably an older less tech savvy person who is worried about their privacy but isn’t interested in using the device to the limits of current technological ability. Ultimately this isn’t a horrible device, but really a very niche use case device.

The Unplugged UP Phone is a bold alternative to mainstream smartphones. It is a big deal and matters to those who want to claim digital privacy and stay away from data-hungry ecosystems. The phone runs on UnpluggedOS, which is built on privacy controls and stops any data breaches. It removes Google services and has a built in UP store for your apps. You can also sideload the apps, but not sure if it serves the full privacy purpose. Some of the specs of the phone are 6.67" AMOLED screen, 108MP main camera, 256GB internal storage, expandable microSD slot, supports physical Sim and eSim, fingerprint sensor, wireless charging, Bluetooth, NFC, and Wi-Fi connections. There is also power, volume buttons on the side. There are two additional buttons, one is the privacy button that can be customized and the other is the kill switch which is used to physically disconnect the battery from the phone. The phone supports fully encrypted cloud storage. It also has built-in VPN and Firewall that can be customized to your liking. The ease of setup and security features are definitely a welcome sign. At the same time, there are some trade-offs like limitations of the ecosystem and not having a seamless integrations, might feel like unreliable. This could get better over time with updates. If you are someone who wants to minimize the digital tracking and value control more than convenience, this privacy focused phone is something you might want to consider.

I've been thinking a lot about my online footprint and how search engines and social media are being continuously more invasive. They exploit your desire for convenience to listen to your conversations and track your movements. This gives rise to enhanced, privacy-oriented products designed to help mitigate the leakage of your persona. Enter a product designed by the founder of Blackwater security, the Unplugged UP phone. It was designed as a secure way to communicate and operate a smartphone without listening or tracking devices that can be used by clandestine service contractors. Originally slated for release in 2023, it got held up due to compatibility issues because of their built from scratch OS and privacy focused approach. They later decided to assemble the phone in the USA to enhance security and have now relaunched the device with it's own app store and thousands of approved apps. This smartphone is, for all intents and purposes, designed with privacy and security in mind, and it delivers quite well in that department. It comes with pre-installed antivirus, VPN software, and anti-track privacy firewall. You won't find Google anywhere on this device, Brave is the browser and it's got its own protections built-in to wipe tracking cookies and search results to prevent sites from figuring you out. Aesthetically, it's quite a sizable phone with a large 6 2/3" Super AMOLED screen, among the sharpest I've seen. It bears an uncanny resemblance to a newer iPhone from both the sides and back, with the signature camera block setup, if it wasn't for the Unplugged logo on the lower half of the silver iridescent backside. Once you delve into the hardware, you see why I put 3 stars, given the price to value ratio. It comes with an old Mediatek Dimensity 1200 chipset which barely competes with the A15 Bionic or a Snapdragon 765 processor of the same era. Adding the outdated camera with a whopping 108 MP main sensor with small 8MP wide angle and 5MP macro lenses. With properly backed software, those cameras should do a pretty good job at capturing, but the installed camera app is terribly limited. Even with one I downloaded, it offered more options, but no image stabilization of any kind, no acceptable low light settings. You could get a gimbal with accessory lighting to remedy that if you're the occasional cinephile. It's running Android 14, which is outdated, but stable. The custom app center has all the apps I already had installed on my other phone, including ones that can be downloaded that have not been vetted so I don't see much of an issue there. There's no facial recognition, but you get fingerprint access. Then there's the "kill switch" which is a dramatic way of saying the battery can be physically disconnected after it's been powered off. It really makes you wonder why cellphone manufacturers stopped making phones with removable batteries and many now have no option to expand memory with microSD cards (which this supports up to 1TB). I don't trust backing up to the cloud, I prefer using physical cards, that includes SIM cards; keeps control in your hands. If you can get past the outdated hardware for the sake of a truly secure handset, then the UP phone is for you. I found no issues with everyday use, operation was lag-free, apps opened and operated without issue, websites and browsing was flawless. The battery lasted for a good 2 days, and the screen is really vibrant and crisp with a 90hz refresh rate and excellent color variation. If I didn't know it was running a 4-5 yr old chipset, I wouldn't be able to tell by using 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.

With all the security issues and data concerns surrounding your mobile devices, makes one wonder when someone would build a phone that's more security oriented instead of flashy colors or huge MP cameras? The UP phone looks to take aim at providing a more secure phone to limit too many peeping Tom's and looky loos from trying to gain access to your phone. Pretty tall task if you ask me but interesting attempt for sure. From a purely phone perspective, it's running an older cut down version of Android 14 with their proprietary shell on top. 256GB storage and expandable up to 1TB, 108MP camera, decent sized battery and 6" screen. It's also compatible on 2G-5G networks and takes all SIM types so it'll work on any carrier. Phone also has a decent bit of weight to it so it feels pretty substantial and not cheap or plastic-y. Decent phone from a spec perspective. The big thing here is the added software included on the phone. Big thing are the firewall and VPN blocker. True, you could download apps like this on your normal Android/iOS device but being geared specifically with/for them allow this phone to better optimize their affect on your phone. The mobile dashboard on the phone can even show you when/if your phone is blocking tracking attempts. The VPN app also allows you to "hide" your own footprint when browsing. Another security feature on this phone is the battery disconnect switch that actually detaches your battery from your phone so that it is actually off. Seems like more companies should have something like this on their phones. Does it all work? I'm sure it does but not phone/system/platform is hacker proof. We all know this. I think this phone does a decent job at mitigating a lot of security vulnerabilities that most users will encounter but definitely not something you'll be seeing used in the next James Bond movie.