Indian Government Launches Probe into Realme’s Alleged Data Misuse

According to a recent tweet, Realme smartphones allegedly have a feature called Enhanced Intelligent Services that gathers device information, such as call logs, SMS, location data, and personal data.

A Twitter user named Rishi Bagree wrote on his handle, “Realme smartphone has a feature (Enhanced Intelligent Services) that stores user data (call logs, text messages and location data) and it is ‘On’ by default. You will only see this ‘on’ by default when you go to Settings -> Advanced Settings -> System Services -> Enhanced Intelligent

Services,”

“Indian users can’t share their data without their consent. This is basically forced consent because it’s on by default.

Will this information be sent to China?” he said.

The tweet caught the attention of Minister of State for Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who assured that he would look into the matter. “Is this a tested and verified @rishibagree copy: @GoI_MeitY,” Chandrasekhar tweeted.

Smartphones and mobile apps often have access to user data, such as location, to improve services and experiences. However, it is worrisome if data is tracked without the user’s knowledge or consent. We also checked the Realme C55 smartphone’s Enhanced Intelligent Services feature and found that the feature detected by Bagree was enabled by default on the device.

When the ReturnByte team contacted Realme India, the company issued a statement in response. The company said: “Realme attaches great importance to consumer privacy and security, and we are committed to maintaining the confidentiality of data security. In particular, regarding the issue raised, we would like to clarify that the Enhanced Smart Services feature is related to optimizing the use of the device so that consumers can improve battery life and temperature performance.

However, contrary to the current description, we do not collect information about text messages, calls, schedules, etc.”

Realme claims that all data processed in this service is encrypted and stored in encrypted hardware on the user’s device in strict accordance with Android security mechanisms. This information is stored entirely on the device and is not shared anywhere else or uploaded to the cloud.

“We invest in protecting user privacy, the enhanced smart service feature can be manually turned on or off according to consumer needs. The company complies with local laws and regulations,” Realme India said in a statement.