UAE-born mobile brand Four has launched its latest offering, the K500 smartphone, which is specifically designed to guard against spyware risk by completely removing the camera and GPS.

“There is a very real concern that your mobile phone could be hijacked by malware, photographing you, friends and family, spying inside the home or workplace,” said Four’s founder and CEO, Faisal Al Bannai.

“This can happen by downloading a seemingly innocent app onto the phone, but within the app are a series of permissions, allowing access to cameras, GPS location and so on, that transform the camera into a spy device. The app is the so-called Trojan horse that installs surveillance software onto the device, and brings intruders into your private environment.”

A significant concern would be ‘peeping Tom’ malware, allowing hackers to collect personal images, via the device’s camera. Combined with GPS, images can become a become a real threat to personal safety and privacy.

With intrusive malware so simple to create and distribute, the most effective means of protection is to ensure the devices the malware exploits do not enter secure environments. The Four K500 helps achieve this by omitting features that malware depends upon – camera and GPS – while otherwise being a full-featured smartphone.

“The K500 is tailored towards organizations that wish to absolutely eliminate the risk of being spied upon,” said Al Bannai.

“There is no camera, and there is no GPS, which are the two key features that allow spyware to record a physical environment. Some workplaces are requiring such devices for reasons of site security, but we believe they can also play an important role in personal safety, and can be of great value to parents concerned about the safety of their children.”

With the exception of camera and GPS, the K400 is a fully connected smartphone, with features including a quad-core processor, 3G connectivity, the latest Android 5.1 Lollipop operating system, 1GB RAM, 8GB memory, and 1900 mAh battery. It comes with two screen protectors and a free flip cover inside the box, along with a one-year warranty from axiom Telecom.

It is priced at Dh299 ($81).

“The Four K500 is designed to fill a very specific need in the market, but it still includes essential features that customers value,” Al Bannai. “And it has a very important additional feature – the confidence that your privacy is protected.” – TradeArabia News Service