The OFF Pocket is a signal-blocking smartphone case for our paranoid times

One of the more fascinating things about our new, scary world of constant digital surveillance is the rise of all the people trying to make money off it.

Take OFF Pocket for example. A signal-blocking smartphone case, the OFF Pocket shields your phone from signals of up to 100dB, making it even more effective than stowing your phone in a refrigerator. (As people like famed leaker Edward Snowden so often do.)

Developed by stealth clothing pioneer Adam Harvey, the OFF Pocket blocks just about every signal your phone emits or receives — including 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS.

The OFF Pocket team says the case ensures that your device is “Untrackable. Unhackable. Undistractable.”

While the OFF Pocket was officially released earlier this year, the team is only now pursuing its first large production order, which it hopes to fund via its Kickstarter campaign. The team hopes to ship the first batch of cases towards the end of September.

In terms of risks the company faces, Harvey points to one above all: the difficulty of convincing people that the OFF Pocket is something they actually need.

Here’s how he puts it:

The reality is that we are offering a product that is fairly new, and we are entering an unsaturated market. This is both a risk and an advantage. The truth is that consumers do not know the value of things they have no experience with, so we have to know all of our facts and convince the masses that privacy has become a luxury and that what we are doing is important!

What’s interesting about the OFF Pocket is that the accessory was initially designed as a permanent pocket in a pair of shorts. However, Harvey found that the concept was tough to reproduce — a realization that led to the creation of the more sensible OFF Pocket case.

My only criticism of the Off Pocket is that it’s pretty ugly — but maybe style is the price you pay for security these days.