President Obama Explains Why He's Sticking With Blackberry, Can't Get an iPhone

Blackberry phones may no longer be as popular as the Apple iPhone, but the smartphone company still has one very loyal customer—President Barack Obama.

While at a meeting to promote his signature health care overhaul on Wednesday, the president said that the reason why he has held onto his bulky Blackberry is because it is the only phone he is allowed to carry because it is super secure, reports Reuters.

"I'm not allowed for security reasons to have an iPhone," Obama said to a group of young people at the White House, adding that his daughters, Sasha and Malia, are happy iPhone users.

Soon after his inauguration in 2009, Obama fought to keep his Blackberry. He refused to be kept in the "White House bubble," where the majority of the president's communications are filtered by staff and the media.

Obama also reportedly has a personal e-mail address that is limited to about 10 people who include senior officials and close friends. However, neither President George W. Bush nor President Bill Clinton used e-mail during their tenure in the White House.

According to the Agence France-Presse, although Blackberry has hemorrhaged market share to Apple and other tech firms, it has remained popular among Washington officials because of its strong encryption.

On the other hand, Apple was one of several tech companies accused of allowing the National Security Agency (NSA) direct access to servers containing customer data, according to NSA leaker Edward Snowden. All companies have denied such allegations.