3 ms·

For a project concerned with privacy and anonymity the news subscription form is asking way too much. Also, why is domain on .ch ?

troels 13y ago
I believe the company is Swiss.
- huhtenberg 13y ago
  Doesn't seem to be. Domain name: blackphone.ch Holder of domain name: Geeksphone S.L. Geeksphone Rodrigo S calle Manuel Silvela 1 ES-28010 Madrid Spain It's just very curious that they feel like they need to pass for a Swiss company.
  - robin_reala 13y ago
    It’s not that curious: Switzerland through their history and neutrality policy have a reputation for being secure and unlikely to bow to foreign influence.
    - huhtenberg 13y ago
      No, I realize that. I just don't understand what they are trying to gain by using .ch domain name. That people who are interested in privacy and security wouldn't notice that they are a Spanish company and proceed to think of them of a Swiss project? Seems pointless at best and misleading at worst.
jey 13y ago
I think it's just a (clever) part of their branding; Switzerland has long had an explicit policy of neutrality. Not a super-reputable source, but succinct: http://www.wisegeek.org/why-is-switzerland-regarded-as-a-neutral-country.htm http://www.wisegeek.org/why-is-switzerland-regarded-as-a-neu... Official Swiss propaganda, but has more info: http://www.vbs.admin.ch/internet/vbs/en/home/documentation/publication.parsys.0008.downloadList.9934.DownloadFile.tmp/neuteebook.pdf http://www.vbs.admin.ch/internet/vbs/en/home/documentation/p...
- rodh 13y ago
  There's also a strong branding presence of Swiss products in UAE and China (including some brands you'd never hear of in Switzerland itself), there seems to be a very strong association of "Swiss Made" with luxury product. I've even seen opticians advertising "Swiss Glass"(?) in Hong Kong. Thinking back to a talk by the founder of Virtu, I wouldn't be surprised if the middle and far east are key markets for this type of product.
mweibel 13y ago
I wondered that as well, could entirely just clever branding because of neutrality. They state in the video: "Blackphone is a Swiss joint venture between Silent Circle and Geeksphone"... Still doesn't reveal much, as both companies in this joint venture aren't swiss and in the swiss company register I couldn't find an entry for them.
RegW 13y ago
"The company itself will be based in Switzerland due to that country's strict privacy rules." http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/15/encrypted_blackphone/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/15/encrypted_blackphone...

troels 13y ago

I believe the company is Swiss.

huhtenberg 13y ago
Doesn't seem to be. Domain name: blackphone.ch Holder of domain name: Geeksphone S.L. Geeksphone Rodrigo S calle Manuel Silvela 1 ES-28010 Madrid Spain It's just very curious that they feel like they need to pass for a Swiss company.
- robin_reala 13y ago
  It’s not that curious: Switzerland through their history and neutrality policy have a reputation for being secure and unlikely to bow to foreign influence.
  - huhtenberg 13y ago
    No, I realize that. I just don't understand what they are trying to gain by using .ch domain name. That people who are interested in privacy and security wouldn't notice that they are a Spanish company and proceed to think of them of a Swiss project? Seems pointless at best and misleading at worst.

jey 13y ago

I think it's just a (clever) part of their branding; Switzerland has long had an explicit policy of neutrality. Not a super-reputable source, but succinct: http://www.wisegeek.org/why-is-switzerland-regarded-as-a-neutral-country.htm http://www.wisegeek.org/why-is-switzerland-regarded-as-a-neu... Official Swiss propaganda, but has more info: http://www.vbs.admin.ch/internet/vbs/en/home/documentation/publication.parsys.0008.downloadList.9934.DownloadFile.tmp/neuteebook.pdf http://www.vbs.admin.ch/internet/vbs/en/home/documentation/p...

rodh 13y ago
There's also a strong branding presence of Swiss products in UAE and China (including some brands you'd never hear of in Switzerland itself), there seems to be a very strong association of "Swiss Made" with luxury product. I've even seen opticians advertising "Swiss Glass"(?) in Hong Kong. Thinking back to a talk by the founder of Virtu, I wouldn't be surprised if the middle and far east are key markets for this type of product.

mweibel 13y ago

I wondered that as well, could entirely just clever branding because of neutrality. They state in the video: "Blackphone is a Swiss joint venture between Silent Circle and Geeksphone"... Still doesn't reveal much, as both companies in this joint venture aren't swiss and in the swiss company register I couldn't find an entry for them.

RegW 13y ago

"The company itself will be based in Switzerland due to that country's strict privacy rules." http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/15/encrypted_blackphone/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/01/15/encrypted_blackphone...