OnePlus accused of stealing crucial user data without consent: Report

Company says it transmits analytics in two different streams to improve user experience, and the user has the option of switching the function off

OnePlus, a China-based smartphone manufacturer, has been accused of collecting user data information from deviceswithout the user's consent. This is not the first time a mobile phone manufacturer has been found to be collecting user information without consent. But OnePlus is, apparently collecting more than analytics data, so the concern is much more grave.

The Chinese company has been accused of collecting details like phone number, IMEI number, IMSI number, serial number, MAC address, mobile network names and more from their active devices, according to technology blogger Christopher Moore, who spotted the transmission from his OnePlus 2.

Moore also noticed that OnePlus was collecting timestamped details like the time a user opens an app, when he locks or unlocks its and when the device reboots.
 

OnePlus has been quick in responding to the allegations. According to Android Police, OnePlus stated, “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 finetune our software according to user behaviour. 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.”

Another Twitter user, Jakub Czekanski, tweeted that the data transmission can be disabled permanently using ADB tool with USB debugging enabled on the device. The process responsible for sending data to OnePlus can be disabled, but there is a chance that it could also affect the phone's functionality, so users are advised to go ahead at their own risk.