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posted by Fnord666 on Monday October 16 2017, @03:52PM   Printer-friendly
from the just-taking-after-the-leaders dept.

Submitted via IRC for Bytram and SoyCow1937

OnePlus mobiles are phoning home rather detailed information about handsets without any obvious permission or warnings, setting off another debate about what information our smartphones are emitting.

Software engineer Christopher Moore discovered that the information collected included the phone's International Mobile Equipment Identity, phone numbers, MAC addresses, and mobile network among other things. Moore further found that his OnePlus 2 was sending information about when he opened and closed applications or unlocked his phone to a domain at net.oneplus.odm.

OnePlus, for the uninitiated, is a Chinese smartphone manufacturer that specialises in developing and marketing Android phones, recently launching a higher-end model. Its earlier models gained a lot of cachet from their by-invitation-only status.

[...] Privacy-focused users have the option of stopping these data collecting system services every time they boot the phone or removing these via ADB (Android Debug Bridge utility), a process that wouldn't require an initial rooting of the device.

Source: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/10/12/oneplus_privacy_concerns/

According to The Verge,

Chinese smartphone manufacturer OnePlus is collecting data from its users and transmitting it to a server along with each device's serial number, according to security researcher Chris Moore. In a January blog post (which has gained newfound attention this week), Moore detailed how OnePlus devices running OxygenOS record data at various points, including when a user locks or unlocks the screen; when apps are opened, used, and closed; and which Wi-Fi networks the device connects to. That's all relatively standard.

But OnePlus also collects the phone's IMEI, phone number, and mobile network names, so the data sent is identifiable to you personally with little to no effort required, which is what makes this very problematic. According to Moore, the code responsible for the data collection is part of OnePlus Device Manager and OnePlus Device Manager Provider. Moore says in his case, the services had sent off 16MB of data in 10 hours.


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  • (Score: 2) by coolgopher on Tuesday October 17 2017, @01:27AM (4 children)

    by coolgopher (1157) on Tuesday October 17 2017, @01:27AM (#583247)

    Or you could configure your local DNS server to deal with those resolutions for all devices on your network. Just make sure you redirect any traffic to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 to your DNS server.

    Starting Score:    1  point
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  • (Score: 2) by kazzie on Tuesday October 17 2017, @01:11PM (3 children)

    by kazzie (5309) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday October 17 2017, @01:11PM (#583441)

    That'll help at home, but what about cellular data when aout and about?

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 17 2017, @02:18PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 17 2017, @02:18PM (#583470)

      there's not much stopping your celluar data problem. perhaps don't use cellular data except for emergencies and stop relying on it as a convenience?

      it's possible to also get a cheap phone for actual phone usage and then a wifi only device for data usage.

      i realize some people can't live the dream when requiring they apply mental filters like that, but really it's their behavior that fueled this fire to begin with. click next to continue agree, free app won't pay for anything except within the app itself and click like/share contact list with some company to "share" with friends instead of purposefully emailing a link no one will trace (depending on your email service anyway)

      ignorant people ruined the internet and allowed commercial interests to take over.

      if you dont want commercials I guess the best option is not to tune in. you cant put your phone in tin foil and still hope to get calls, so maybe it is better to use different devices to achieve various purposes.

      all-in-wonders have drawbacks. sometimes it helps to not sync it all together into one magical device that can lie to you and sell you out as it profits off your secrets. better to control what it knows

      or get a cheap android like the one reporting to china... and just dont put your entire life into it. just use it for specific purposes. no reason to reject it all.. just be careful with what you do with these toys.

      • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 17 2017, @11:50PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 17 2017, @11:50PM (#583730)

        > there's not much stopping your celluar data problem.

        He could install Orbot. https://www.guardianproject.info/apps/orbot [guardianproject.info]

    • (Score: 2) by urza9814 on Thursday October 19 2017, @12:39PM

      by urza9814 (3954) on Thursday October 19 2017, @12:39PM (#584507) Journal

      That'll help at home, but what about cellular data when aout and about?

      Install a VPN server in your router and run your cellular data through the VPN so everything resolves through your home servers.