Anti-Google Phone Murena 2 With A Privacy Kill Switch Gets Over $160K On Kickstarter: Here's Why It Matters

Privacy-focused and anti-Google phone Murena 2 has scooped up over $160,000 on Kickstarter, which is over six times its initial goal of $26,707.

What Happened: The Murena 2 is a privacy-centric, anti-Google phone that now comes with two physical privacy switches for times when you really want to up the privacy level to the top.

See Also: Samsung’s Next Flagship Could Pick Up Some Of Pixel 8’s Top AI Features

Alphabet Inc.'s GOOG GOOGL Google is not among the top favorites of privacy advocates. That's the target audience for the Murena 2, which runs on a completely de-Googled operating system.

The Murena 2 runs on /e/OS – it is a fork of the Android operating system that does not come with any Google app or service. Murena, the company behind this phone, has custom-made apps for email, phone, messaging and more.

Users can also download Android apps from the built-in App Lounge, an app store that can be used without logging into a Google account.

The first physical privacy switch disconnects the cameras and microphones – a feature that we've seen on a few laptops already. The second privacy switch enables the Airplane and Do Not Disturb modes.

Coming to the hardware, the Murena 2 sports a 6.43-inch Full HD+ display, 8GB of RAM and 128GB storage, a 4,000mAh battery, and a MediaTek Helio P70 chipset. It has a 64MP primary camera on the back, along with a 13MP telephoto camera and a 5MP wide-angle snapper. It has a 25MP camera for selfies and video calling on the front.

Why It Matters: Modern smartphones are a privacy sink – Android phones, for instance, are home to Google servers 90 times an hour, or about 2,160 times a day.

On the other hand, Apple Inc.'s AAPL iPhones are relatively better, at 51 times an hour or 1,224 times a day.

On the other hand, Murena 2 promises to be privacy-friendly with no trackers or ads. If you value privacy enough, you can head to the Kickstarter page to learn more details.

Image – Murena

Check out more of Benzinga's Consumer Tech coverage by following this link.

Read Next: Tired Of YouTube Ads But Don't Want To Pay For Premium? Windows Phone Could Come To Your Rescue