Xiaomi phones collect a lot of sensitive data, what do you think?
Xiaomi has been discredited because researchers find that phones collect a lot of data from users and then store it on Chinese servers. Xiaomi collects more and more sensitive data than other manufacturers. What do you think of that?
Xiaomi’s data hunger
Xiaomi has been criticized by Lithuanian security researchers for collecting more and more sensitive information from users compared to competitors. Xiaomi phones forward all surfing behavior on the built-in web browser in real time to their own servers. Furthermore, the built-in news app forwards which articles you read and from which media they come, according to Follow the Money (FTM).
But the brand’s data hunger would go even further. The built-in media player forwards the names of the songs and videos you play with it, both online and offline. In addition, the brand also collects information about the apps on your phone, when you use them, how long your screen is active and when you text. Earlier it was also known that Xiaomi can remotely censor content with a filter, even though it is not active on phones by default.
More and more sensitive data
All phone manufacturers, including Apple and Google, collect data from us. The point is that Xiaomi goes very far in that data aggregation and also brings together more sensitive info. The data also ends up on Chinese servers and in China the government has the right to view that data.
“People often only look at their own privacy. They often supposedly don’t care that their data is shared,” Cybersecurity expert Gabriel Cirlig told FTM. “But the danger is not even in the personal data of an individual, but of all the people in your neighbourhood, your street or your city. That bundled data can be used to influence public opinion and even elections in a country or region. ” He cites Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election as an example.
AW Poll
In this AW Poll we would like to ask how you view these findings of researchers. Are you concerned about the information your Xiaomi smartphones collect and what happens to that data? Maybe you don’t care at all about the data that your phone manufacturer collects about you. Cast your vote in this AW Poll and clarify your opinion in the comments at the bottom of this article.
