Mrwhosetheboss
TL;DR YouTuber Mrwhosetheboss has exposed two North Korean smartphones, revealing extreme levels of state censorship, from blocked internet access to propaganda-filled apps and banned keywords.
The devices secretly take automatic screenshots, restrict file access, and require government approval for installing even basic apps.
Every part of the operating system is designed to monitor citizens, making personal computing virtually impossible.
North Korea’s smartphones were never meant to be seen by the outside world, but in a rare deep dive, YouTuber MrWhosetheboss has exposed just how the region and its regime rig devices for surveillance, censorship, and propaganda.
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In his latest video, titled “Testing North Korea’s illegal smartphones,” Arun Maini of MrWhosetheboss showcases two smuggled North Korean handsets, including a low-end model and a premium flagship phone conveniently called the “Samtaesung 8.” These North Korean phones aren’t just censored in a way that they don’t give you access to Google services or chat apps everyone in the world uses; they’re Orwellian-level state tools designed to monitor citizens and enforce ideological conformity.
Based on the hands-on investigation (parts of which have also been previously corroborated by outlets like the BBC), North Korean smartphones exhibit striking levels of censorship. If you’ve ever wondered what a smartphone looks like when the government takes control of the entire operating system, this is it.
As the YouTuber demonstrates, trying to type “South Korea” is impossible on these phones and autocorrects to “puppet state,” while alternative wording replaces the name of the country with asterisks. Modern slang or references from South Korean media trigger corrections or warnings, sometimes even converting the phrase to the regime-sanctioned version, and reminding users that certain words are forbidden.
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