INVISV PGPP allows consumers to control their personal data

INVISV announces its launch and the public beta rollout of its mobile privacy service, PGPP (Pretty Good Phone Privacy). PGPP delivers location and metadata privacy, as well as end-to-end security of Android devices, without major changes to consumer mobile usage.

The average consumer will automatically agree to a company’s privacy policy regarding their personal data in order to use products or services, giving up privacy and opening all that information up to data brokers who then sell that information again and again.

The selling of metadata is a huge business. Despite consumers’ best efforts around cache-clearing, cookie blocking, and VPN software, tracking techniques continue to advance in a race to override those efforts because there is simply too much money in metadata.

INVISV – founded by network security experts Paul Schmitt and Barath Raghavan – provides consumers with a way to limit leakage of their data and metadata and enjoy the technology devices and services without sacrificing privacy. Built on patent-pending technologies and services that focus on People First Privacy, PGPP decouples identifiers and increases mobile privacy by preventing networks from being able to link users’ network identities to their data.

PGPP’s privacy and security benefits are enabled by a layered solution that uses a dual-hop architecture in partnership with Fastly. When a user accesses the Internet using PGPP Relay, the network traffic – including the name of the site and any data sent or received – is encrypted using Transport Layer Security.

In the first hop, neither INVISV nor the Internet Service Provider knows where the request is going or what it contains. In the second hop, CDN partner Fastly connects the request to the user’s destination but does not know who the request is from. PGPP Relay brings Android Internet privacy to a level previously only available on iOS.

“Privacy-minded smartphone users know that there is only so much that can be done with VPNs and the like, which still are able to tie identity to data,” said Paul Schmitt, co-founder of INVISV. “INVISV brings back the element of trust and privacy to Android with its PGPP Relay and Mobile Pro/Core plans.”

PGPP also goes beyond Relay, enabling Android to leapfrog privacy settings available on any other mobile platform. PGPP offers Mobile Pro and Mobile Core mobile data plans that protect users’ location and mobile identity from mobile operators and invasive cell phone surveillance that may be collecting and selling mobile location data. These mobile plans go a step beyond even the Relay plan that works with existing phone services.

PGPP Plans and features:

PGPP Relay is a supplemental privacy service for existing connectivity that brings Android Internet privacy up to the level of iOS.

• Internet privacy utilizing a dual-hop architecture – In partnership with Fastly, this plan ensures your IP address and network usage on both WiFi and mobile data are decoupled. Browsing activity is also hidden from connectivity providers, including INVISV and Fastly.

Mobile Core includes the features of PGPP Relay, as well as high-speed mobile data with location and metadata privacy.

• Mobile location and metadata privacy – Thwarts location tracking by the mobile network and hides unique descriptive information that pinpoints user’s communication and Internet activities
• Mobile ID changes – Provides 8 random mobile ID (IMSI) changes per month, using peer-reviewed, privacy-preserving cryptographic authentication during changes. This decouples a user from each ID their phone is given, and neither INVISV nor the mobile provider know which ID a user has received.
• Moderate amount of high-speed mobile data – High-speed mobile data capped to 300 MB / day, 9 GB / month. Includes travel roaming across 36 countries (US/EU/UK).

Mobile Pro includes the features of PGPP Relay and Mobile Core, as well as unlimited high-speed mobile data.

• Mobile ID changes – Provides 30 random mobile ID (IMSI) changes per month instead of 8, using peer-reviewed, privacy-preserving cryptographic authentication during changes.
• Unlimited high-speed mobile data – Includes travel roaming across 36 countries (US/EU/UK).

The company also announces it has raised $850,000 in pre-seed financing with participation from Pathbreaker Ventures and Atypical Ventures.

Founded in 2021, INVISV is built upon deep patent-pending technology developed at Princeton University and University of Southern California. INVISV is advised by security experts Bruce Schneier and Jon Callas and is launching with established partnerships with Fastly and mobile operators.

“We are thrilled to be part of INVISV as they launch Pretty Good Phone Privacy to the world’s largest smartphone ecosystem,” said Chris Wake of Atypical Ventures. “Privacy and security are essential for consumers and enterprises alike. INVISV is building the privacy infrastructure that both deserve.”

“Pathbreaker Ventures invests in companies that solve dynamic engineering problems with global impact,” said Ryan Gembala at Pathbreaker Ventures. “Privacy is one of the top issues that consumers and enterprises are grappling with and INVISV’s breakthrough technologies offer highly effective solutions.”