Trump’s phone replaced with more secure device

Future of his tweeting habit is in question

President-elect Donald Trump has turned over the Android phone he used for tweeting and will use a more secure phone with encryption capabilities that was approved by the Secret Service, according to news reports.

A Trump spokesman could not be reached to confirm the reports. The New York Times, citing people close to Trump, also reported that he was given a different phone number.

Throughout his campaign and transition, Trump would often take calls from reporters, politicians and world leaders on his Android device, the Associate Press reported. His reputation as a frequent tweeter has become legendary.

Trump's accessibility with his phone raised concerns by security teams, much the same as when President Obama came into office in 2008. Obama wanted to keep his BlackBerry, but had to switch to a more secure device, the Sectera Edge, which was eventually replaced with another phone.

In November, Trump reportedly was concerned that he would feel “isolated” without his Android, which was directly connected to his famous Twitter account.

It's unclear how often Trump will tweet in the future, either because of the stronger security on the new device or just to comply with some concerns by his wife, Melania, and others that he tweets too often.

Trump also has been criticized for tweets that are off-the-cuff and non-presidential, but he has defended his tweeting and other social networking activity as a way to connect directly to his millions of followers.

In August, when he was criticized for his Twitter habit, he said, “Don’t use Twitter anymore, why? I got 22 million people between that and Facebook and Instagram. I’m a very modern person in a way, right?”

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