Over the past few months I have been very excited about the release of the Silent Circle smartphone app that encrypts communications so you could actually have some privacy in this new age of government wiretapping.
Silent Circle was a bit out of my price range, but I expected that it was only a matter of time before other people started developing their own versions, further decentralizing the ability to encrypt messages and giving people the power to take back their privacy, at least to some extent.
Little did I know at the time that this had already happened, a variety of encryption apps had already been developed, and there is a combination of two that will allow you to have private, encrypted voice and text conversations for no charge at all!
As of right now the apps are only available on Android smartphones but it is likely that they will expand to serve other networks as well.
The first app to download is RedPhone, which allows for secure voice calls between two people who both downloaded the app.
more here:
http://intellihub.com/2013/03/16/free-open-source-smartphone-apps-to-encrypt-communications-now-available/