UPDATED 23:50 EDT / OCTOBER 15 2017

APPS

OnePlus responds to privacy concerns with change in how it collects data

Semipopular Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus has partially caved in to consumer pressure about its data gathering practice, which includes spying on user activities, by offering a more transparent opt-out process and dropping the collection of personally identifiable data.

The drama surrounding OnePlus came to light last week following a post by software engineer Chris Moore, who detailed at length how he had discovered that OnePlus’ OxygenOS, its custom Android build, was harvesting and uploading personal information without his consent. That data, which included identifying information such as a phone’s IMEI number, serial number and MAC address, tracked user behaviors across multiple apps and then uploaded the data to an Amazon Web Services Inc. server controlled by OnePlus, complete with a time  stamp for good measure.

OnePlus initially justified spying on its users, describing it as “usage analytics” it collected to “more precisely fine tune our software according to user behavior.” But it has since back down to an extent, writing that users will now be asked permission if they want to participate in the program and they can opt out at any point.

“We take our users – and their data privacy – very seriously,” the company wrote in a blog post. “While data collection is a standard industry practice, we realize that our users have the right to understand how and why it is done. Please know that we take this matter seriously and will proactively take steps to improve going forward.”

In particular, the company continued: “At any time, users can opt-out of usage analytics collection by navigating to ‘Settings’ -> ‘Advanced’ -> ‘Join user experience program'” they advised, before adding that at “no point have we shared this information with outside parties. The analytics we’re discussing … which we only look at in aggregate, are collected with the intention of improving our product and service offerings.”

Sharing the good news, the post added that “by the end of October, all OnePlus phones running OxygenOS will have a prompt in the setup wizard that asks users if they want to join our user experience program. The setup wizard will clearly indicate that the program collects usage analytics. In addition, we will include a terms of service agreement that further explains our analytics collection. We would also like to share we will no longer be collecting telephone numbers, MAC Addresses and WiFi information.”

That OnePlus is dropping the personally identifiable information from its “usage analytics” program is a positive, as is its commitment to be more transparent about what it’s doing. But the extent of their data gathering is still broad, meaning that those concerned about the privacy aspects may be entitled to remain concerned.

Picture: Maurizio Pesce/Wikimedia Commons

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