Some Low End Android Phones have had their Text Messages and other data Sent to China

photo crd: Dailymail

Software that has been installed on some Android phones, mostly low end ones have apparently been secretly monitoring users, sending keyword-searchable and full-text message archives to a Chinese server every 72 hours.

All this is according to a security firm called Kryptowire who conducted research into the matter.

The software has done a fair bit more also tracking users’ location data and call logs and was written by the Chinese company Shanghai Adups Technology Company.

The grand plan though be it state surveillance or advertising is unknown. “This isn’t a vulnerability, it’s a feature,” Kryptowire vice president of product Tom Karygiannis said speaking to online news agency The Verge.

According to Adups, they have the software running on more than 700 million phones and have partnered with some major manufacturers like Huawei and ZTE.

At least one US manufacturer, BLU Products, was affected, with 120,000 phones reportedly running the tracking software.

“BLU Products has identified and has quickly removed a recent security issue caused by a third party application which had been collecting unauthorized personal data in the form of text messages, call logs, and contacts from customers using a limited number of BLU mobile devices,” the company said in a statement.

The scope of the Adups problem “is far more extensive,” according to Karygiannis. He added that Adups logs more specific information on users without their knowledge, and through pre-installed software.

Adups have so far not said anything on the matter.