HMD Fuse: The World's First Smartphone Designed to Block Nudity

A new phone is on the way that can block nudity, but it won’t tell parents when it’s happening. HMD prepares to release what it calls a world-first: a phone that can block nudity. In short, it’s a mobile designed to deal with kids and teens faced with sexting, potential bullying, and manipulation scams involving nudity. As a technology journalist and a parent, I’ve found that with the HMD Fuse, I may have met my match: a gadget I not only disagree with but also one that raises significant questions about parental supervision.

How HarmBlock+ Technology Works

HMD is blending AI and device supervision to an extreme level. The HMD Fuse comes with a piece of technology called “HarmBlock+”, a subscription based filter that will be free for the first year, but eventually cost money, blocking not just pornography, but essentially any nudity on the phone. Owners of an HMD Fuse won’t be able to browse elicit imagery or videos, with the screen essentially popping up with a blocked message when it happens. Trained with AI on over 22 million images, the system will also prevent the camera from capturing nudity, meaning you can’t take nude photos or videos with the phone when HarmBlock+ is being used. If you’ve been sent a picture with nudity, like family members in a bath, it will also delete files with nudity in them. The system can’t be bypassed when activated, and is baked into the phone.

Hardware Specifications and Pricing

The phone itself isn’t an exciting phone, though, running low-end hardware with a large screen. The HMD Fuse includes the following technical specifications:

  • Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 4 Gen 2
  • Memory: 6GB RAM
  • Storage: 128GB
  • Display: 6.56 inch HD+ 1612×720 display
  • Rear Camera: 108 megapixel
  • Front Camera: 50 megapixel
  • Price: $799 in Australia

At this price, the hardware should be on the level of a Pixel 9a, not a cheap mid-range piece of kit. It does feel as though parents are paying a premium for a low-end phone designed solely to block nudity.

The Problems and Limitations of Blocking

One of the problems with this service, however, is it treats nudity as if it’s the problem. Blocking nudity and explicit imagery won’t stop younger people from wanting to explore or engage in these ways. Technology isn’t that difficult to overcome, and the simple reality is if a teenager wants to circumvent HarmBlock+, all they need to do is find another phone, a tablet, or a computer. Every single one of those devices has a camera built in, as well. This won’t be a difficult task, as they probably have a Chromebook nearby or a laptop from school that won’t have HarmBlock installed. If anything, HMD’s blocking system actually stops short of being useful to parents by not telling them when nudity is detected.