Volla Phone solves a major problem of the information age. The start-up ensures that sensitive data does not fall into the hands of strangers and can be securely put to its intended uses.
Airline tickets, covid test results, messenger services – the smartphone combines many functions in one mobile device. Hardly anyone wants to or can do without it anymore. But the fact that data protection is becoming a farce in view of cloud, apps and the predominantly American service providers is causing unease, especially when it comes to sensitive data. This is because U.S. software is not subject to the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and is therefore not data protection compliant.
Independent of cloud and app
This is something that German philosopher, journalist, and entrepreneur Dr. Jörg Wurzer did not want to come to terms with, so he developed Volla Phone, an alternative to the data-driven smartphone business model. It is based on a free (open source) Android and is independent of Google and the cloud as well as Google Apps and Google Play services. As a result, it allows users to protect their data. Wurzer’s Volla Phone also solves other problems associated with the smartphone, such as its increasingly complex application and short battery life.
Open source alternatives
“For security reasons, we have replaced Google apps with alternatives and removed Google services. Many Android apps do not require Google services, but to support apps that do require them, we recently added microG software to the Volla OS. microG is an alternative implementation of the Google services interfaces, for example, to enable notifications through these services. Users can optionally enable it,” Wurzer explains.
The first series of the Volla OS was launched in 2020. Since then, Würzer has already sold thousands of smartphones in over 55 countries. In the process, the alternative device also seems to generate a sense of belonging: its fan base regularly gathers for Volla Community Days, where, among other things, new features are introduced.
The product portfolio is constantly being expanded, and in 2021 the more robust Volla Phone X appeared, which primarily addresses nature lovers, craftsmen, and rescue workers. In 2022, the second generation appeared with Volla Phone 22.
Open source
The Volla system is open source and Wurzer has worked collaboratively from the very beginning. So it was only a matter of time before the possibility of providing data protection also aroused the interest of organizations from the healthcare and emergency services sectors. After all, they are faced with the need to communicate in a data protection compliant manner. In addition, Volla Phone offers the option of adapting the operating system to the respective area of application. “Patient data is very sensitive and requires special protection, which is not possible if a smartphone is inextricably linked to an Apple or Google cloud. Healthcare organizations also have strict hygiene requirements for a device to be waterproof so it can be disinfected,” Wurzer explains.
Health app
Now he plans to bring a health app to the Volla Phone in cooperation with Gnu Health, a company owned by the non-profit organization Gnu Solidaro. Gnu Health is an open-source software suite for clinics, labs, and patients and takes a distributed data approach. In this approach, patients own and retain ownership of their health data and decide for themselves who can see or use what data. For example, they can decide whether and which data should be visible as emergency information. “This is only possible if we adapt the operating system. With Android’s standard, users can only store emergency contacts,” he explains.
Patients on Gnu Health also have the option of making their data available to research in anonymized form – available as public domain and verifiable. This means that the data does not become the property of a pharmaceutical company, a health insurance company, or a government and can be used equally by all research institutions.
Development work is already advanced. The app is available for Linux desktop and the mobile variant of the popular OpenSuse operating system. For the Volla OS, a port to Android is currently underway.
Digital rescue card
The collaboration with Safety Brands was one of the first and has now already proven itself in practice. The emergency information service of the 112-login.com platform provides vehicle drivers with a digital rescue card. Among other things, it contains important type-specific vehicle information and is linked to the vehicle via its license plate number.
Firefighters can access the platform and retrieve the information while still driving to the scene of an accident to prepare for the operation. This helps save valuable time when it comes to extricating people from a vehicle. Features like airbags and seatbelt pre-tensioners make cars safer, but make rescuing injured people much more difficult. For safety brands, the ability to customize the Volla operating system means making their own platform data protection compliant. Video and information about the concept can be found here.
Immediate operation
In addition, Wurzer and his team are preparing a speech-to-text version, which is already undergoing internal testing as an alpha version. The company uses the latest artificial intelligence methods to do this. Unlike Alexa, Cortana, Siri, or Google Assistant, the translation from speech to text takes place on the smartphone itself. “The voice files don’t go to a cloud for evaluation. What a user speaks into their smartphone is nobody’s business. Our app not only guarantees privacy protection, as opposed to the aforementioned services on the market, but also provides protection against a significant security risk. Voice files in the cloud could be used for unauthorized monitoring and identification of a voice,” he explains.
The option to speak to the smartphone is attractive not only to people with impaired vision but to all smartphone users, he adds. The intuitive and immediate form of operation will be one of the core elements of the new operating concept and serve as a replacement of the app-centric paradigm of mobile operating systems, he said. “You type something and the smartphone recognizes what you want to do and offers appropriate functions. That’s how innovation and Volla’s basic idea of simplicity and security come full circle,” he explains.
