After increase scrutiny of Chinese companies by the Indian government, Realme has become the latest brand to face challenges, as accusations of collecting personal user data have surface.
Realme has recently face allegations of collecting user data through a default-enable feature.
The feature known as “Enhanced Intelligent Services,” in Realme UI 4.0, the operating system running on many Realme smartphone models.
The concerns were raise by Twitter user, who highlight that this feature, which is enable by default, gathers various types of data such as device information, app usage statistics, location data, calendar events, and statistics related to SMS messages and calls.
This information is explicitly mention in the description of the feature, leaving little room for speculation.
In response to the allegations, Twitter users question the purpose of the default-enable service and raise concerns about where the collect data was being sent.
The tweet gain attention when Rajeev Chandrashekar, Union Minister of Electronics and Technology, share it, expressing that the government would investigate and verify the claims.
Given the Indian government’s past actions of banning numerous China-based apps due to data privacy concerns, this situation could potentially escalate into a significant issue for the Realme brand.
Realme has promptly respond to the allegations and provide a statement, addressing the concerns regarding the functionality of the app and the security and privacy of Realme users.
Realme said :
Realme’s official statement emphasizes that the data collection process is intend solely to enhance the user experience, assuring that all collected data remains store locally on the device.
So, due to the recurring history of significant data allegations associated with Chinese companies, it is understandable that users have raise concerns about data privacy and security.
Twitter users have also discover a similar feature on OnePlus devices, suggesting that this issue might not be limit to Realme alone.