We live in an age where your phone is less a tool and more a tracker, quietly siphoning every habit, purchase, and conversation into corporate databases that answer to advertisers and, too often, to Washington. Conservatives have long warned about the surveillance state growing hand in glove with Big Tech, and it’s past time Americans had serious, dependable alternatives that respect privacy and sovereignty.
Enter Unplugged’s UP Phone, backed by Erik Prince and led operationally by CEO Joe Weil — a device pitched as privacy-first, running a stripped-down Android fork, with a built-in firewall, a no-logs VPN, and a hardware power disconnect to cut off all data flow when you want real privacy. The company charges a premium, with hardware and subscription components, because true independence from Google and Apple’s data farms is not free.
What should make patriotic Americans sit up is Unplugged’s promise to bring more of the manufacturing and testing home, reducing our reliance on adversary supply chains and creating jobs here. That message — put America first in technology — resonates with anyone tired of foreign dependence and the cozy cartel of coastal elites who profit off surveillance. Whether you’re skeptical of marketing or not, the idea of rebuilding parts of our tech stack domestically is worth supporting.
Skeptics and security researchers are right to probe claims that sound too tidy; critics have labeled the project overhyped and raised valid concerns about long-term software support, the challenges small firms face in patching security holes, and the tone of earlier marketing. Conservatives don’t worship slogans; we want robust, durable solutions, not novelty patriotism slapped on underpowered hardware. Those concerns must be answered honestly by Unplugged if they’re going to earn lasting trust.
Still, it’s telling that the mainstream tech establishment reflexively attacks any serious bid to unplug Americans from their data harvesters while continuing to defend a surveillance economy that monetizes private life. Erik Prince and Joe Weil are positioning this product as a direct rebuke to that model — no ad IDs, no tracking pipelines, and an emphasis on minimizing logs and data retention. If the claims hold up under independent verification, this is precisely the kind of disruptive, freedom-oriented entrepreneurship conservatives should back.
Practical conservatism means scrutinizing the product, demanding transparency about updates and security audits, and supporting companies that put national security and individual liberty ahead of ad revenue. If Unplugged can prove reliable updates, honest support windows, and real domestic assembly, Americans deserve to buy a phone that treats privacy as a feature, not a marketing bullet point. Until then, voters and consumers should insist on evidence, but also refuse to cede the field to Big Tech and the surveillance status quo.
