Realme is facing scrutiny over its data collection practices, following a recent setting on the company’s smartphones during product reviews. The description of the feature on the handset states that it will collect personal information such as calendar events, SMS and call logs and device and usage statistics along with the location of the smartphone. After a screenshot of the feature was shared on Twitter, the Center announced that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) would test and investigate the claims made by the user.
There was a setting option call Enhanced Intelligent Services speckled During the review of the recently launched video by YouTube channel Trakin Tech Realme 11 Pro+ 5G smart fone. Twitter user Rishi Bagri shared a screenshot of the video on Twitter on Friday, reiterating the claims made in the video that the feature collects call logs, SMS and location details.
Soon after the Enhanced Intelligent Services feature on Realme smartphones was highlighted on Twitter, Minister of State for Information Technology and Electronics Rajeev Chandrasekhar tweeted the user’s post and said that MeitY would test and investigate it.
Realme, like other smartphone manufacturers, collects data from its users in order to provide various services and features. The Chinese smartphone maker’s description of the feature in the Settings app states that the feature optimizes the device’s functions based on how the device is used.
This feature is enabled by default, which means users will need to navigate to find the setting. Adjustment , additional settings , system services , Advanced Intelligent Services, Gadgets 360 was able to confirm that Enhanced Intelligent Services was enabled by default on Realme smartphones running Realme UI 4.0.
realme replied
The smartphone maker on Monday said that the Enhanced Intelligent Services feature does not collect data on SMS, phone calls and calendar data. The company also said that the data is encrypted and processed on the user’s device. Realme also said that the company abides by local laws and regulations.
“Specific to the issue raised, we wish to clarify that the enhanced intelligent services feature is linked to optimizing device usage to ensure consumers get better battery life and temperature performance. However, unlike the current description, we do not collect any data on SMS, phone calls, schedules etc.
All data processed in this service is encrypted and stored in encrypted hardware within the user’s device in compliance with Android security mechanisms. This data is stored entirely within the device and is not shared anywhere else or uploaded to the cloud. We place great emphasis on user privacy protection, the Enhanced Intelligent Services feature can be manually turned on or off depending on the needs of the consumers.”