6 votes

New study raises fresh ‘privacy concerns’ about data sharing from Android mobile phones

2 comments

  1. [2]
    Comment deleted by author
    Link
    1. riQQ
      Link Parent
      Sorry for the repost, I missed this topic.

      Sorry for the repost, I missed this topic.

      3 votes
  2. riQQ
    Link

    They found that even when minimally configured and the handset is idle, with the notable exception of e/OS, these vendor-customised Android variants transmit substantial amounts of information to the OS developer and to third parties such as Google, Microsoft, LinkedIn, and Facebook that have pre-installed system apps. There is no opt-out from this data collection.

    Amongst the key findings from the study were, with the exception of e/OS, all of the handset manufacturers examined collect a list of all the apps installed on a handset.

    The Xiaomi handset sends details of all the app screens viewed by a user to Xiaomi, including when and how long each app is used. This reveals, for example, the timing and duration of phone calls.

    On the Huawei handset the Swiftkey keyboard sends details of app usage over time to Microsoft. This reveals, for example, when a user is writing a text, using the search bar, searching for contacts.

    While, Samsung, Xiaomi, Realme and Google collect long-lived device identifiers, e.g., the hardware serial number, alongside user-resettable advertising identifiers.