A new Android-powered smartphone is promising to be the first to give users direct control over their privacy.

Blackphone, which is a joint venture between Silent Circle and Geeksphone, runs a build of Android name PrivatOS that allows users to make and receive phone calls secure, send secure texts, video chat, and transfer and store files.

Details on the device are thin on the ground, with more information expected at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next month, but it promises to be independent of carriers, is unlocked and compatible with any GSM network worldwide.

“I have spent my whole career working towards the launch of secure telephony products,” said Silent Circle co-founder PhilZimmermann. “Blackphone provides users with everything they need to ensure privacy and control of their communications, along with all the other high-end smartphone features they have come to expect.”

The move comes after privacy fears were raised in the wake of revelations about surveillance by US security agencies.