An upcoming smartphone called Blackphone aims to put privacy in your hands, protecting you from anyone wanting to snoop into your private data — even the NSA.

A Switzerland-based join venture between Silent Circle and Geeksphone, the project is backed by several important figures in the fields of computer security, including Phil Zimmermann, creator of data encryption protocol PGP (Pretty Good Privacy).

Blackphone is powered by a "security-oriented" Android build called PrivatOS. It's carrier- and vendor-independent, and enables users to make and receive secure phone calls and video chats, exchange secure texts as well as transfer and store files.

Exact specifications of the phone haven't been revealed, but Silent Circle CEO Mike Janke claims it'll be a "high-end" smartphone.

The No. 1 priority of Blackphone isn't its specs, however: It's protecting users' privacy, claims Zimmerman.

"Blackphone provides users with everything they need to ensure privacy and control of their communications, along with all the other high-end smartphone features they have come to expect," said Zimmermann.

The two companies behind the project make an interesting match. Silent Circle is a U.S.-based company focused on encryption; Geeksphone is a Spanish company behind Firefox OS developer devices.

Blackphone will be unveiled at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona on Feb. 24.

UPDATE, Jan. 15, 12:01 p.m. ET: Silent Circle's CEO Mike Janke told Mashable that the project will be "open source all the way," and confirmed that the Android OS build that the phone will run will be open source as well.

The company has been criticized before for not providing access to its products' source code in a timely fashion. The company has since published some of its source code on GitHub.

"It may take us a few months to put it all out there, but it will be," he said.

The company is withholding any other details on the project until the phone's launch at MWC.

Additional reporting by Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai

Image: Blackphone