OnePlus Is Collecting Your Data Without Asking

[DroidModderX]

Normally if a company wants to collect some data it is practice that they tell you what they will be collecting and give you an option to opt in or out. It appears that OnePlus is gathering data and sending it back to their severs. A developer made the claim after discovering his data was being gathered on his OnePlus 2. Christopher Moore is a software engineer. Some of the data collected included when he used certain apps, what networks he was connected to, and the activities he performed inside those apps along with other data. The data was time stamped and contained his phone's serial number.

OnePlus has responded and claims the first stream of data includes usage analytics that you can opt out of, and the second stream of data you are unable to opt out of. Here is what OnePlus had to say.

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 FINE TUNE OUR SOFTWARE ACCORDING TO USER BEHAVIOR. THE SECOND STREAM IS DEVICE INFORMATION, WHICH WE COLLECT TO PROVIDE BETTER AFTER-SALES SUPPORT

What are your thoughts? Should phone companies be able to track what you are doing on your phone without your permission in the name of creating a better user experience?

via Chris Moore's Blog

 

[danDroid]

This isn't good practice at all. There should be something that prompts the user during the initial setup about this.

 

[Dusty]

Back up. Here comes a rant...

No one should track anything you don't want. But that's never the case. Even when you opt out on the surface you're still in, because then it's just done behind your back.

In the past couple of years my style of "geeking out" has changed from rooting/modding my devices to monitoring, encrypting, and blocking everything I can. Mobile, in my home, where ever I can, within reason.

I'm just tired of the metrics, data, samples, and lists that get scraped up everyday, every minute of every hour. I just don't need things sold to me all of the time. It's like companies only see each of us as nothing but a fish that puts a dollar on a hook if they can get the bait juuuust right. I'd bet that more research and study has been done in the name of marketing and sales than there has been for the elimination of heart disease or cancer. To investigate medical illness you need a PhD. To formulate marketing and sales techniques you just have to want money.

I'll just leave this here...

 

[JandN2639]

Absolutely not! Users should be able to opt out of all data collection, except what could be legitimately requested from law enforcement.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[me just sayin]

and this is another thread about some company taking data without permission for its own enrichment. it is happening too often these days, just about everyone is doing it.

 

[kinfolk248]

Data sold to Equifax...

 

[kinfolk248]

Back up. Here comes a rant...

No one should track anything you don't want. But that's never the case. Even when you opt out on the surface you're still in, because then it's just done behind your back.

In the past couple of years my style of "geeking out" has changed from rooting/modding my devices to monitoring, encrypting, and blocking everything I can. Mobile, in my home, where ever I can, within reason.

I'm just tired of the metrics, data, samples, and lists that get scraped up everyday, every minute of every hour. I just don't need things sold to me all of the time. It's like companies only see each of us as nothing but a fish that puts a dollar on a hook if they can get the bait juuuust right. I'd bet that more research and study has been done in the name of marketing and sales than there has been for the elimination of heart disease or cancer. To investigate medical illness you need a PhD. To formulate marketing and sales techniques you just have to want money.

I'll just leave this here...

Isn't an encrypted device still available for data dump to some degree? What I mean is, isn't there always a way in/out...

 

[liftedplane]

what do we do to stop it?

I'm tired of searching google for something only to be inundated with ads regarding that item I looked at once, four months ago. constantly, on EVER single page I visit that doesn't have adblock.

 

[Sajo]

what do we do to stop it?

I'm tired of searching google for something only to be inundated with ads regarding that item I looked at once, four months ago. constantly, on EVER single page I visit that doesn't have adblock.

There's only one way to stop it....off the grid.

That is a good question though.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[kinfolk248]

what do we do to stop it?

I'm tired of searching google for something only to be inundated with ads regarding that item I looked at once, four months ago. constantly, on EVER single page I visit that doesn't have adblock.

Go to the library and use a book...

Not trying to be funny but yea that's where we're headed

 

[liftedplane]

Go to the library and use a book...

Not trying to be funny but yea that's where we're headed

Yeah until they have ai that knows everything you're doing, even what you're reading in a book.

Also books are become woefully inadequate at keeping up with the constant changes.

Sent from my VS988 using Tapatalk

 

[Dusty]

Isn't an encrypted device still available for data dump to some degree? What I mean is, isn't there always a way in/out...

Right now I use a raspberry pi with pihole installed so at home all ads get scrubbed and blocked at my home router. I also set up a personal encrypted VPN for all of my mobile devices. The VPN tunnels back to my home network where all web traffic is scrubbed. So all anyone sees from public hotspots are encrypted packets to my home IP. That still doesn't stop data mining directly by the device.

I figure that's all I can do until someone hosts a decent internet VPN.

 

[liftedplane]

Right now I use a raspberry pi with pihole installed so at home all ads get scrubbed and blocked at my home router. I also set up a personal encrypted VPN for all of my mobile devices. The VPN tunnels back to my home network where all web traffic is scrubbed. So all anyone sees from public hotspots are encrypted packets to my home IP. That still doesn't stop data mining directly by the device.

I figure that's all I can do until someone hosts a decent internet VPN.

Hmmm, I may have to do something like this... How hard was the setup?

Sent from my VS988 using Tapatalk

 

[Miklb58]

what do we do to stop it?

I'm tired of searching google for something only to be inundated with ads regarding that item I looked at once, four months ago. constantly, on EVER single page I visit that doesn't have adblock.

No matter what I do a search for shows up for weeks on my wife's Facebook ads.
And I've never bought something as a result of an ad.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[Dusty]

Hmmm, I may have to do something like this... How hard was the setup?

It's really simple. If you know how to root using command line you can build a Raspberry Pi and set up pihole and piVPN. You might screw up, but all you have to do is try again. A Raspberry Pi3 with everything you need (case, quality SD card, power supply, case) can be had for $70 or less.