Xiaomi makes its cloud messaging service optional for users following security concerns

  • 10 August 2014
  • 4 replies
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Userlevel 7
Badge +54
If this is a fast growing smart phone comapny, having the phones send data such as contacts and text messages back to a server in China was not the best idea, good job there is now an opt out.
 
 
By Jon Russell
 



 
"Fast-growing Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi is making the cloud messaging service that is automatically activated on its devices optional for users, following security concerns raised during the past week.
The MIUI Cloud Messaging service works much like Apple’s iMessage. It routes SMS sent between fellow MIUI device owners via the internet, meaning that they can message each other for free.
However, a recent report from F-Secure highlighted that the service appears to share a range of information with a server in China — including the device’s IMEI number, customer’s phone number, phone contacts and text messages received. The idea of sharing such data to a server in China, where it could be open to access from the government, naturally raised some concerns, particularly since there was no way to opt out."
 
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Userlevel 7
Privacy is still at a premium, this is a good example how data is being sent to a outside sever in this case China, and on top of it no way to opt out.
Userlevel 6
"opt out"  good option and should be there without question. Personally I prefer "opt in" if I want it.
Userlevel 7
Badge +54
August 11th, 2014, 21:33 GMT · By Ionut Ilascu
 
On August 10, an apology was issued to Xiaomi phone users, as a result of independent researchers finding that the devices collect personal information entered by the user and send it to a remote server.
Hugo Barra, Xiaomi global vice president, took it to Google+ to deliver the apologies to the users, informing them that the data leak was due to the Cloud Messaging service, which is automatically enabled when the device is turned on.

“MIUI Cloud Messaging uses SIM and device identifiers (phone number, IMSI and IMEI) for routing messages between two users, in the same way as some of the most popular messaging services,” said Barra in the post.
 
 
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Userlevel 7
The following article is a update

(China’s Xiaomi moves user data offshore, citing performance, privacy concerns)

By  Stephen McBridePublished  October 23, 2014
 
Chinese budget smartphone vendor Xiaomi today revealed it is shifting some data from its Beijing-based servers to the US, citing performance and privacy concerns, Reuters reported.
 
The data to be moved is on non-Chinese users and will be moved to Amazon Inc servers in the US and data centres in Singapore, according to a Google Plus blog post by Xiaomi vice president Hugo Barra.
 
Xiaomi has become China's top smartphone vendor in just three years of operations, but has faced accusations from security researchers over inappropriate use of private data.
 
Moving data offshore "better equips us to maintain high privacy standards and comply with local data protection regulations," Barra wrote in the blog post. "This is a very high priority for Xiaomi as we expand into new markets over the next few years."
 
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