DHAKA: US president Barack Obama admitted Wednesday he was not allowed to have an iPhone owing to security fears, explaining why he is sometimes seen with a bulky super secure Blackberry.

‘I’m not allowed for security reasons to have an iPhone,’ Obama told a group of young people at the White House for an event promoting his health care law, The Straits Times publishes this report on Thursday.

He added that his daughters Sasha and Malia spend a lot of time on their iPhones.

Blackberry is renowned for its strong security encryption - one reason why it is still popular in official Washington, even as the device loses market share to other smart phones including those manufactured by Apple.

BDST: 1320 HRS, DEC 05, 2013