OnePlus allegedly collecting user data without consent

If you are using a smart phone or any mobility devices, you need to be smarter else nothing is secure in this digital world and this is getting proved. Security researcher claims OnePlus is gathering critical data such as serial number, IMEI number, wireless network IDs and timestamps for the screen on and screen off. Here’s how to keep your data secure. A million dollar question is on which Mobile phone brand to Trust or it is simple that don't keep any data inside the mobile phone ?

OnePlus phone maker is allegedly collecting user data without users' consent and is deleting related queries from its own community forum. The Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus has allegedly been collecting user data without their consent. A UK-based software engineer Christopher Moore shared on his personal blog how the phone maker is stealing user’s data.What amazed him was, he was shocked by the fact that, they even tracked which apps he used and when.

It is also reported that, when the engineer contacted the Shenzhen-based smartphone manufacturer OnePlus’s online team via microblogging site Twitter he got a suggestion of troubleshooting his device and later silence. Another question arises can the phone gallery inside the also can be copied or deleted by someone.

Christopher Moore, the engineer who has claimed that OnePlus is constantly collecting user data, found out that his OnePlus 2 was sending across information including unusual reboots, screen on/off, and unlocks to open.oneplus.net. On deeper investigation, Moore found out that this domain points out to an Amazon AWS instance.

In a statement to Android Police on the issue, OnePlus said, “We securely transmit analytics in two different streams over HTTPS to an Amazon server. The first stream is usage analytics, which we collect in order for us to more precisely fine tune our software according to user behavior. This transmission of usage activity can be turned off by navigating to ‘Settings’ -> ‘Advanced’ -> ‘Join user experience program’. The second stream is device information, which we collect to provide better after-sales support.

It is fact that, smartphone makers of OnePlus, Oppo, and Vivo are all owned by the same company- all three brands are subsidiaries of one Chinese mega company. Meet BBK Electronics and it is interesting to note how each brand has tested the waters and settled into different smartphone segments competing with one another, or at least it is what it seems to the general public and the consumer.

Vivo - Entry range smartphones

Oppo - Mid range smartphones

Oneplus - High end smartphones

Barrier between the entry level and mid level devices is thin. That's why Vivo and Oppo are competing with each other. It becomes a question as the technology owner is same, what about the security of user’s data and many more…

It is a platform where OnePlus smartphone users post their experience and share pictures and queries related to the phone. However, when we tried looking into the post, the message pop-up was the requested thread could not be found. It is still not clear why the smartphone manufacturer is deleting the posts, and several users in the group said, “OnePlus is trying to hide something.

According to Bombay High Court Lawyer and Cyber Policy Expert Prashant Mali, “Collecting data amounts to a violation of privacy and also is a cognizable offense as per section 43(b) read with Section 66 of The IT Act 2000. If customers file class action suits for compensation and damages across the country then that can bring down whole company, a huge legal risk.

Tags: OnePlus, oneplus collecting user data without consent, imei number, wireless network ids, timestamps, Christopher Moore, Amazon server, oppo, vivo, Vivo Entry range smartphones, Oppo Mid range smartphones, Oneplus High end smartphones, varindia