Chinese smartphone maker Realme allegedly collecting Indian citizen data illicitly

Following the exit of Realme's CEO Madhav Seth, the company is now facing scrutiny from the Indian government over allegations of capturing users' personal data without consent. A tweet claiming that Realme's 'Enhanced Intelligent Services' feature automatically collects call logs, SMS, location information, and more has caught the attention of Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for IT & Electronics.

He assured that the matter would be investigated and tagged the Ministry of Electronics & IT's official Twitter handle.

The tweet, posted by Rishi Bagree, highlighted that Realme smartphones have this data collection feature enabled by default, hidden deep within the settings. Users are often unaware of its existence. Concerns were raised about whether this data is being shared with China, as Realme is a Chinese company.

Furthermore, other users mentioned similar features being found in OnePlus devices, which is a subsidiary of Oppo, under the parent company BBK Electronics Corporation.

Realme holds a significant market share of around 14.5% in India and is quite popular among consumers. However, this is not the first instance of a Chinese smartphone manufacturer facing allegations of collecting user data without consent. The United States previously imposed restrictions on business dealings with Huawei in 2019, citing national security concerns related to the company's involvement in supplying network infrastructure equipment.

The government's involvement in investigating Realme's data collection practices reflects the growing awareness and concerns regarding user privacy and data protection. The outcome of the investigation will shed light on whether Realme's 'Enhanced Intelligent Services' feature is in violation of user consent and data privacy regulations.