(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
TOCA means rubber or trench in Portuguese, and is a fitting name for the new phone case designed by Denis Altschul, Luter Filho and Andre Wakko. The trio makes products that protect people from their own phones, especially from radiation and surveillance. The first version of their phone cases was a great success. The new version, which contains some small improvements, can be pre-ordered and will soon be ready for delivery.
When I met the guys to talk about their product, I began to think about why the need arose. So – what kind of world do we really live in when we even need products that protect us from our phones? After talking to the designer trio, it occurred to me that the phone case is not a product for the few – those hiding somewhere in the woods with aluminum foil on their heads, or people who are criminals and on the run from surveillance. No, rather, this has unfortunately become a necessity for anyone who owns a smartphone.
Plants and aluminum foil. Little research has been done on the effects of radiation on the human body. When mobile phones became a product for the masses in the 1990 century, many talked about the dangers of radiation. It feels like a lifetime ago.
Twenty years later, we still do not know exactly what the dangers of electromagnetic radiation are. Since mobile phones were not widely used until the early 20s, it may take a while for long-term effects to emerge. But since mobile phones (and other electronic devices) are now more widely used and used by young people, the World Health Organization (WHO) has emphasized the need for further research on the topic.
Younger people have thinner skulls, and are thus potentially more at risk. Phone maker Blackberry even recommends keeping the phone at least 25 millimeters away from the body at all times.
What more can you do to minimize the health risk from the electronic equipment you carry close to your body for much of your day? Well, you can build yourself a Faraday cage, invented by scientist Michael Faraday, and spend most of the day inside the cage, protecting you from electromagnetic fields. However, recent research shows that the cage may not be 100 percent safe. And if you still want a social life, limiting the radiation from the equipment itself is an easier solution. It gives you the opportunity to go out, have fun and take the phone with you in a Faraday bag.
FOMO. For many, the phone controls life rather than functions as a useful device. You might get a call while you sit down and write a report, or Facebook sends you a reminder of a party – and before you know it, you're dancing through the night when you've really been looking forward to a quiet night at home.
FOMO, or Fear of missing out (fear of missing out on something) is a widespread phenomenon because the phone constantly reminds us of what we are missing out on. I have friends who have the phone on all night, and wake up by apps and messages at all hours of the day. Deep, uninterrupted sleep is necessary to remove toxins from the brain, so this may not be healthy.
I tried the TOCA case for a week. That was interesting. At night, I usually put the phone in so-called non-interrupt mode, where only selected contacts – for example, my parents – can reach me if they call twice. I put the phone on the other side of the room so I am not tempted to check messages and to be (slightly) protected from radiation.
Last week I was not available at all on the nights. If something had happened to one of my closest friends, I wouldn't have known about it until the morning came. Although this was only a few hours at a time, it reminded me of the time when a letter could be delivered several weeks after a family member had passed away.
It took some time to get used to not being available at night – but getting used to not being available during the day took me even longer. It was hard to use at all at first, but by the end of the week I had grown accustomed to it. And I liked it, actually. I felt like I was in control, I was focused and more anonymous. It was like being in a city where no one knows you.
People have blogged a lot about the benefit of uninterrupted work. Some check the email only twice a day, others turn off the phone to get the creativity going. By turning down expectations among relatives and friends, it is no problem to be "turned off" for shorter periods of time. Most of us have forgotten that the phones are there to support us in life – not decide on it.
If you vile, the mobile phones and apps can of course control much of your life. Just spend the days responding to messages, phones, emails and attending all the events you are invited to on Facebook, rather than doing what you really intended to spend the day – or life – on.
I felt like I was in control, I was focused and more anonymous. It was like being in a city where no one knows you.
Society. The physical and mental arguments may be obvious, but to me, the community we live in is the most important argument for placing the phone into this case. It's possible I wouldn't have felt that way if it wasn't for the lack of control I have over the data being collected through the phone.
Thanks to Edward Snowden, we now know what is being collected and saved about our lives. However, most of us ignore this information – we don't think it is possible that just that vi should be the target of government surveillance. Since we also don't know if our phones are being hacked, we continue to assume we are safe.
Unfortunately, there is no need to be monitored for the metadata to be collected, Snowden explains in the video call "State of Surveillance" with Shane Smith, which can be viewed in full on YouTube. He describes metadata more like a private investigator: a person who may not hear what you say, but follow you all day; He knows who you talk to, how long you do it, and where you go afterwards.
Metadata is not difficult to obtain. It is not even necessary to hack the phone. IMSI catchers can easily handle the collection and are often used by police around the world. IMSI captures are used to intercept phone calls within their radius, so even when an IMSI prisoner is used to track one particular person, the data and phone calls are stored to hundreds of other people at the same time.
In the video, Snowden says that the IMSI prisoner was designed to control missiles against terrorists in war zones, but that after six months of use in Yemen, it began to be used against ordinary civilians in the United States. In Germany alone, digital tools such as IMSI catchers, "silent" text messages and Trojan horses were used 210 times in the first six months of 000. That's 2016 times a day!
The principle that one is innocent to the contrary has been proven previously meant that the authorities needed legal permission before they could conduct telephone interception. Nowadays, technology makes it possible to collect data from ordinary citizens as a by-product of an investigation against a particular person.
Who needs this? Unfortunately, a phone case that protects us from just the phone is useful for anyone who owns a smartphone. The case protects you and your children from telephone radiation, but first and foremost it rejects the idea behind our legislation – that you are innocent to the contrary.
There are other ways to make yourself unavailable (for example, with airplane mode), protect yourself from radiation (for example, with a Faraday cage), or prevent hackers and authorities from spying on you (leaving your phone at home, or switching off camera or microphones inside the phone). This type of phone case, which costs 40-50 euros, is by far the simplest way to use the smartphone's practical tools while protecting itself from the negative sides.
I could also imagine a similar laptop case. And if you want to be sure you're not being monitored when you take your phone out of the case to make a call, check out the new Snowden phone cover, which will soon be available as well.
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