The funding round was led by Founderful, with contributions from the ETH Zurich Foundation, Venture Kick, and prominent cybersecurity experts. 

The company aims to give governments, enterprises, and individuals adequate management over smartphones, turning everyday devices into auditable, secure infrastructure.

Smartphones are one of the last digital sovereignty frontiers. Today, Android and iOS top the market, yet they are essentially black boxes. 

A single faulty update or hidden vulnerability can disrupt millions of users. Soverli addresses this by allowing multiple operating systems to run simultaneously and independently on the same device. 

Users can switch between Android and the sovereign OS instantly, keeping full functionality without compromise.

The company has demonstrated Signal running inside its sovereign OS. By isolating the app from Android, the system reduces the attack surface by 500×, keeping messages safe even if Android is compromised. 

Essentially, Soverli works with existing devices and requires no hardware modifications, making high-level security widely accessible.

“Availability is mission-critical, yet organisations still rely on operating systems they cannot control or audit,” said Ivan Puddu, co-founder and CEO of Soverli. 

“We built a fully auditable smartphone sovereign layer that stays operational even when Android is compromised. It’s a paradigm shift: instead of hoping the OS never breaks, Soverli guarantees continuity if it does, without forcing users to give up the modern smartphone experience they expect.”

Soverli’s technology has attracted attention from governments, public institutions, and enterprises. Early pilots focus on emergency services and critical infrastructure, where phone availability is essential. 

If the main OS fails due to an attack or misconfiguration, Soverli keeps vital apps and workflows running, supporting police, firefighters, EMTs, journalists, and human rights workers. 

Enterprises are exploring the system for secure bring-your-own-device programmes, allowing employees to run private and business environments on the same device safely.

“People deserve phones they can actually trust, and OEMs must deliver it,” said Antonia Albert, Investor at Founderful. “Soverli’s Swiss-made sovereign layer is the kind of breakthrough that can rewrite the rules of mobile security.”

The bigger context sees Europe and other regions racing to achieve digital sovereignty. Cloud and network infrastructure are already moving toward independence, but smartphones have lagged. 

Soverli fills this gap, enabling institutions to enforce security policies on consumer-grade hardware without compromising usability.

The new funding will expand Soverli’s engineering team, extend device compatibility, improve mobile management integrations, and scale partnerships with OEMs. 

The company’s long-term goal is to make true digital sovereignty available to all smartphones, ensuring both security and convenience for everyday users.

The rollout started yesterday and will continue in stages depending on the user’s carrier and region.

The company confirmed the release in a note to users, stating: “We have started to roll out the monthly software update for December 2025.” It added that owners will receive a notification once their update is ready and encouraged users to upgrade promptly.

A Broad Patch Covering Multiple Generations

Every Pixel from the Pixel 6 series to the new Pixel 10 range gets this month’s patch, with Google issuing different build numbers for global, EMEA, Japanese and Verizon variants. 

The update brings fixes to long-running issues across audio, display, Bluetooth, battery management, the user interface, and telephony.

Pixel 10 users, who have faced a series of frustrations since launch, receive a particularly heavy set of corrections. The update targets freezes, sudden brightness drops, flickering and black-screen glitches that affected several apps and games. Foldable models also get a correction for inner-display flicker.

Across older devices, Google is addressing memory leaks linked to splash screens, fingerprint unlock failures, missing notification sounds, and crashes within system UI elements. Some emergency calling issues affecting the Pixel 6 line have also been resolved.

Android 16 QPR2 Lands with New Features

Alongside the bug fixes, this month’s rollout coincides with the arrival of Android 16 QPR2, the second major quarterly release of 2025. It points to Google’s focus towards more frequent, feature-rich updates rather than relying solely on annual operating-system jumps.

This build adds new tools across personalisation, productivity and security. Users will now see AI-powered notification summaries designed to condense busy group chats into quick snapshots. A new Notification Organiser can silence low-priority alerts automatically, helping reduce the daily flood of pings.

Customisation options have also expanded with more icon shape controls, a wider dark theme that reaches apps without their own dark mode, and enhanced parental controls that let adults manage app access and screen-time limits directly.

On the security aspect, the December bulletin resolves over 100 vulnerabilities across two patch levels, including several tagged “Critical”. Google also lists 28 additional Pixel-specific fixes covering emergency calling stability, fingerprint reliability and display behaviour.

Google Pushes a New Update Strategy

Google is currently focusing more on an aggressive update cycle. In pushing features through QPR builds, Pixel users receive new capacity much faster, placing Google’s hardware at the centre of its software strategy. 

It aligns with Apple’s approach of rolling out smart and needed improvements throughout the year instead of waiting for a single annual overhaul.

While the December update addresses many long-standing issues, some reports state that video stutter on the Pixel 10 Pro’s telephoto camera still appears for certain users, despite Google noting that the problem has been fixed.

What Pixel Users Should Expect

Users can expect better device stability, stronger network performance, improved Wi-Fi on the Pixel 8 series, sharper camera reliability and fewer UI interruptions across gestures, notifications and animations. Once the update reaches each device, installation should begin automatically after user approval.

The full list of fixes are available from Google’s bulletin, referenced in its message to users: “Details of this month’s security fixes can be found on the Pixel Security Bulletin.”

By signing up for a service, registering for an app, or even confirming your identity online, you become vulnerable to spam lists and data brokers who could compromise your personal information.

This is why privacy-conscious users are switching to temporary mobile numbers so they can receive SMS online without necessarily exposing their actual number.

These numbers are not merely a means to anonymity; in 2025, they will be an actual protection mechanism against contemporary spamming methods. They assist the users, professionals, and businesses in keeping their primary numbers undisclosed and yet receive the one-time passwords (OTPs) and verification codes safely.

The Hidden Cost of Using Your Real Number

Whenever you enter your actual phone number on a website, it is stored somewhere. It is sometimes a resource in secret, but it is frequently disclosed to advertising networks or sold to a third party. This is followed by an avalanche of advertisements, fraud, and robocalls.

In most instances, data leaks expose millions of phone numbers to the public. When your figure is out, the horse is stolen, and the rest can never be recovered.

This can be a serious distraction to individuals employed in marketing, sales, or traveling, that is, where frequent registrations and communication are required.

The temporary mobile numbers eliminate that risk. They provide a shield between your actual personality and the online services with which you are transacting.

What Temporary Mobile Numbers Are

A temporary mobile number is a cloud-hosted number that lets you receive SMS online. It does not need either a physical SIM card or a mobile device.

All you have to do is choose a country, obtain a temporary number, and use it to verify or sign up. After you are finished, the number can either be discarded or changed.

These numbers are normal numbers that one uses to receive a text; the numbers only exist as long as you need them.

They’re commonly used for:

• Registration with new platforms and apps.
• Authentication of social media.
• Getting region-lockout services.
• Blocking spamming and robocalling.
• Undertaking anonymous testing or market research.

Through a disposable line, you are not becoming a member of any marketing databases or leak lists since they use your real number.

Why Temporary Numbers Block Spam Effectively

1. They Break the Cycle of Tracking

Spam begins when your number is entered into marketing databases. It is placed on another list with every new form, app, or subscription. There is a break in this trend for temporary numbers. Marketers cannot do the same to them after they expire, since they cannot be used again to promote the same product or resold to other people.

2. They Shroud You Until You Die

Spam is not only irritating, but it is also harmful. Fraudsters tend to exploit polarized messages to obtain sensitive information. Provisional figures serve as cushions. Not being connected to your actual name, address, or payment options provides anonymity and helps avoid identity-based targeting.

3. They Sift through Unwanted Communication

This is due to the fact that you are able to receive a temporary number, which you choose when to activate and for how long, and therefore, spam does not have time to accumulate. When the number is verified, delete it and prevent any further messages or calls.

4. They Are Cost-Effective

There is the cost of keeping several physical SIM cards. The temporary numbers are a third of the price and may be purchased as and when needed. You only pay when you require one, which is conducive for individuals as well as those leading teams with many sign-ups.

5. They Work Across Borders

The laws on spam vary from country to country. Some areas are more or less stringent, while others are not. Some temporary numbers help you work in other places around the world without exposing you to using the real number in areas that are not that secure.

How SMS-MAN Simplifies Spam Protection

SMS-MAN is one of the most effective means of controlling temporaries. It has access to more than 100 countries and supports the verification of platforms such as Telegram, WhatsApp, Facebook, Google, and TikTok.

This is the way SMS-MAN makes your mailbox spam-free:

International Networking: Selecting international numbers is a way to get listed on global numbers.

Fast SMS Delivery: Get verifications within a few seconds on a secure dashboard.

Privacy: You and only yourself will be able to view your messages; they are not posted or made public.

Flexible Use: You can purchase a time number to verify it for short-term use, and rent a number for long-term projects.

Spam Prevention: When you have finished using the number, delete it —the spam does not reach your actual line.

For professionals with multiple accounts or travelers registering for local services, SMS-MAN offers a platform that provides privacy, control, and convenience.

Best Practices for Maximum Protection

To make the best out of temporary numbers, a few rules are worth adhering to:

• It is always possible to use encrypted services, such as SMS-MAN, instead of free public SMS sites.
• Do not use the same temporary number on several platforms.

To protect sensitive accounts such as banking or payments, it is better to use official numbers or 2FA apps.

You should also clean up your temporary number history on a regular basis to avoid overlapping of data.

The Future of Spam Prevention

People are using disposable, temporary numbers even more since online platforms are strengthening verification mechanisms.

These provide users with the flexibility to enjoy services without leaving personal information on commercial networks. In the age of rogue data-tracking devices, these enable one to protect their privacy and that of their business with minimal effort.

A temporary number will be as common as VPN when it comes to sign-ups in the near future. It is blistering, safe, and privacy-first.

Conclusion

Your digital fingerprint is your phone number. When it spreads everywhere, everyone will do anything with it, and there will be no way to control its use. Perfect control is as easy as having temporary mobile numbers.

With reliable services such as SMS-MAN, one can register on any platform, receive OTPs immediately, and walk away without exposing their real number to spam or scams. Convenience is no longer the question with modern users; it is about digital hygiene.

Have you ever won a “N5 million giveaway” from a number you’ve never dialled? Or been warned that your BVN would be “blocked in 24 hours” unless you click a link? If you never fell for these, then congratulations, you’re a part of Nigeria’s club named, The National Association of Spam SMS Survivors.

That’s not a real club though, but seriously, in 2024 alone, fraud in Africa surged by 21%, with phishing and SMS scams responsible for nearly half (48%) of all incidents.

As revealed by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), the country’s financial sector lost over N52.26 billion to fraud, a 350% increase, over five years.

This tells us that mobile networks are no longer used as just channels of communication, they are becoming active fields for criminals.

This is why Airtel’s launch of a Spam Alert Service in March 2025 couldn’t have been better timed. It is a commendable effort that also signifies in mobile security across Africa. It is beyond merely reacting to fraud; it appears to be preventing it in real time.

The Scale of the Problem

Nigeria is ranked 7th globally for spam SMS. Research shows that 87% of mobile users in the country receive unsolicited messages, many of which are fraudulent.

Airtel itself reported that its internal analysis showed that 60% of its customers were receiving spam monthly.

These are not just annoying messages, they open the gates to fraud, asking users to click dangerous links or share sensitive data.

And while East Africa leads the continent with a 27% fraud rejection rate, West and Central Africa still struggle at 22%. The threat has gone beyond a telecoms issue, we can see it’s now an economic and societal one.

Airtel’s Intelligent Countermeasure

Airtel Africa, with over 150 million subscribers and operations in 14 countries, has responded with a network-level AI-powered Spam Alert Service.

While some members of the public have raised concerns over likely privacy breaches, Airtel has confirmed that the Artificial Intelligence in the backend of the Spam Alert Service does not read user messages. Instead, it analyses over 250 parameters including the frequency of the sender, message volume, link patterns, and geographical spread.

At its core, the service simply identifies and flags suspicious SMS messages in real time, labelling them as “Suspected SPAM” and alerting the recipient immediately.

It requires no app download, no user configuration, and is automatically activated for all Airtel users, smartphone or feature phone. It’s a simple, although not easy, solution to a thorny problem.

Using a proprietary dual-layer protection system, one at the network level and another at the IT systems level, Airtel AI Spam Alert Service is reported to process over 1.5 billion messages in under two milliseconds.

Real Time Results

Between it launch in Nigeria on March 13 and May 20, 2025, just two months, the Spam Alert Service flagged 9,667,008 suspicious messages, according to Airtel reporting. That number includes 528,080 sent by users on the Airtel network (on-net) and 9,138,928 sent by users from other networks (off-net).

This staggering number indicates both the scale of fraud attempts and the importance of cross-network security measures.

The Airtel system doesn’t just defend its own users, it monitors the messages entering the network from outside, offering an additional layer of safety for subscribers.

According to Dinesh Balsingh, CEO of Airtel Nigeria, this innovation reiterates the strength of the telco’s AI-driven infrastructure in tackling the threat of spam and scam messages.

“We understand that trust is the cornerstone of digital communication,” he stated, adding that, “This is why the AI is constantly learning, so as to keep pace with the changes in methods employed by spammers.”

Why This is a Game Changer

• Network-Level Protection: Unlike most solutions that depend on user-side apps, Airtel’s service operates within its core infrastructure; it is always on and scanning, making it harder for threats to go undetected.
• No User Action Required: There are no installations, updates, or settings for users to worry about. Every Airtel user, regardless of their phone type, gets protected by default.
• Real-Time Alerts: The AI flags spam SMS in milliseconds, giving users feedback on potentially harmful messages as the messages arrive.
• Scalable and Inclusive: Whether you’re using a basic feature phone in rural Tanzania or a smartphone in Lagos, you get the same level of protection, and this makes the service replicable in all of Airtel’s markets across Africa.

National Support and Expansion

Dr. Bosun Tijani, minister for Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, endorsed the solution, commending Airtel for aligning with national priorities. He stressed that the Airtel Spam Alert Service demonstrates how artificial intelligence can enhance online security and economic empowerment.

Similarly, Dr. Aminu Maida, EVC/CEO of the industry regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), noted the sector-wide value, pointing out that it boosts consumer trust and directly supports national telecom security goals.

Following its success in Nigeria, the service has now expanded to Tanzania and Kenya, with a rollout planned for all 14 countries where Airtel operates.

Feedback from early users has been overwhelmingly positive. Many have reported improved personal awareness to SMS messages.

According to Balsingh, the AI Spam Alert Service is not a one-off solution, it is embedded in Airtel’s focus on integrating intelligent systems across its offerings while improving user experience. With threats becoming more sophisticated, “so will our solutions,” he said.

The company’s Spam Alert Service is a necessary evolution in how we think about mobile security, proactive, intelligent, and inclusive. Mobile phones are lifelines to finance, communication, and commerce, and this service does more than pinpoint spam, it restores user confidence.

And across the current digital space, confidence is indeed everything.