Communications provider Silent Circle announced Thursday that it is offering users the ability to make encrypted calls to friends and family.
The company said it is expanding its "Outer Circle Calling" feature internationally so consumers can make and receive calls to people who aren't subscribed to the service, according to PC Magazine. A 10-digit Silent Phone Number will be sent to people enrolled in Silent Circle's encrypted international calling plans and will allow them to talk with friends in 79 countries, free of roaming charges.
Calls are encrypted from the Silent Phone app through the company's servers, and can be made on both mobile phones and landlines. However, Silent Circle's encryption ends when the call between a subscriber and a non-subscriber reaches the phone or landline, Tom's Guide reported.
Silent Circle said the feature is helpful for people worried about someone listening in on their conversations. When a traveler in a foreign country calls someone from home, the call would be encrypted on their end of the conversation and wouldn't be monitored, even if it wasn't encrypted at the home end of the line. However, both callers would need to use Silent Phone instead of phones or landlines if they want both ends to be encrypted.
Outer Circle Calling is available for $12.95 for 100 minutes. Additional offers include $19.95 for 250, $24.95 for 500 minutes, and $39.95 for 1,000 minutes. Users can also get unlimited member-to-member calling and texting messaging.
"Silent Circle's Out-Circle encrypted international calling plans are a major step forward in bringing private encrypted communications capabilities to all corners of the world," said Mike Janke, CEO of Silent Circle. "Outer-Circle Calling provides a low-cost, private alternative to traditional mobile calling plans that everyone from your neighbor to traveling multinational executives can use."
Consumers can automatically subscribe to Silent Circle by buying the upcoming BlackPhone, a mobile phone created by Silent Circle and Spanish hardware developers Geeksphone for private calls. The company is using Outer Circle Calling to compete with Skype, Viber, and other Voice over IP services. Both Viber and Skype already let users make calls to mobile numbers and landlines with the service.
The Silent Phone app can be downloaded now for free at the iTunes and Google Play stores.
