Why did foreign media claim that Meitu Xiuxiu stole user privacy and sent it back to China?

Introduction:

The Chinese national photo editing mobile app "Meitu Xiu Xiu", which has been extremely popular overseas recently, has encountered some troubles. Some foreign media claimed that "Meitu Xiuxiu" has suspicious code that may steal user privacy and transmit relevant data back to China. Depending on the data collected, Meitu may also monitor users’ communications. In response to this, Meitu responded to a reporter from the Global Times on the 22nd that Meitu has always strictly abided by the security provisions of major platforms, strictly protected user privacy, and has not stolen user information for any illegal purposes.

Details:

CNN stated on the 20th that Meitu APP is collecting user information for commercial purposes. On Apple mobile phones, the Meitu APP can track and monitor the user's location, information carried on board the aircraft and IP address, and generate a unique code to track the user. For Android users, the Meitu APP can obtain the user's IMEI code and transmit the relevant data back to a server in China. It is understood that IMEI is a 15-digit serial number that can determine the origin and model of a mobile phone.

“This information can be used to monitor users and their communications,” investigative news website The

Intercept

security expert Linaris was quoted on the 21st The information collected will be used to "pair a phone with an individual and use the appropriate device to clone the phone or intercept phone calls and text messages," the company said. Linaris said Meitu could sell information to individuals or institutions that have the tools, means and interest in cloning phones.

In an interview with a reporter from the Global Times on the 22nd, Meitu responded to the above accusations by saying that on the iOS platform, Meitu did not apply for permissions other than those allowed by Apple’s developer manual. On the Android platform, because Google Play is not available in the Chinese market, Meitu uses third-party and its own statistical systems to count software installation and activity.

In a statement to the Global Times, Meitu said the company did not obtain sensitive information such as user phone numbers. Among other data obtained, the IP address is obtained to prevent commercial fraud, the SIM card country code is used to roughly locate the country, and the GPS positioning is intended to distinguish countries and regions as a delivery standard for the advertising system. As for the IMEI code that foreign media are very concerned about, Meitu said it is only used to identify the user's device and cannot be monitored, let alone intercepted calls. "Collecting user information is very common in mobile phone software, and Meitu is not a special case." Legal expert Johntan Stizarsk interviewed by CNN also said that the mechanism is very common, just like being tracked by web ads when browsing on the Internet. .

Regarding reports that Meitu will move servers out of China in response to security concerns, Meitu told the Global Times reporter on the 22nd that due to technical needs, Meitu servers are in many parts of the world. There is deployment. There will be no difference in server performance depending on location.

These reports from foreign media have not affected the continued popularity of "Meitu Xiuxiu" overseas. Many foreign netizens who have never seen beautification effects before are attracted by the cartoon editing style of this software. Politicians Trump, Hillary, Hollywood star Chris Evans, Facebook founder Zuckerberg, etc. have all become popular beauty targets on social media.