Silent Circle, a company known for mobile apps designed to thwart government surveillance, is introducing on Thursday a secrecy-cloaking phone service that lets customers make and receive private phone calls for as little as $12.95 a month. The secure, fixed-rate voice and data calling plan works on Apple iOS and Android smartphones and, eventually, on Windows Mobile systems, the Geneva-based firm said. For while Silent Circle undercuts major competitors' roaming costs in many countries, the service's basic attraction lies in its distinctive security features. While no one is immune to such snooping, Silent Circle offers customers a secure means of encrypted communications that disposes of all records of calls, texts or emails.

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