Researchers scrutinized OnePlus 9R, Xiaomi Redmi Note 11, and OPPO Realme Q3 Pro
The phones come pre-installed with a large number of system and vendor apps with dangerous privileges enabled by default. This allows them to collect and transmit identifiable information related to a device’s persistent identifiers, location, user profile, and and owner’s social relationships.
These phones are potentially sending information unique to your device and you such as:
- device identifiers like IMEI number and MAC address
- location identifiers such as GPS coordinates which can reveal your current location
- settings and information associated with you such as phone number, app usage patterns, and app performance data
- socials data such as call and SMS history and contact numbers
This data can easily be de-anonymized to identify a person and used for tracking. The Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is sent to device vendors, Chinese network operators (regardless of whether you have a SIM inserted), and service providers like Baidu.
The analysis was conducted on mobile devices sold in China which run local Android distributions, so consumers in international markets need not worry. Consumers who bought their devices in China, such as business travelers and students, should be wary though, as the study found that the data collection behaviors do not change even when a user leaves the country.
The Chinese versions of Android overlays have three to four times more preinstalled third-party apps than international versions intended for consumers in Europe and elsewhere and are granted eight to ten times more permissions.
For all the latest Technology News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
