If you are using an Android smartphone, we bet that it would be a surprise when you know your personal data have been collected to send back to servers located in China. And not only you, but 700 million users might get into this trouble.

Android smartphone: users’ information hacked by China

More than 700 million Android smartphones contain a backdoor secret. As a result of this, the servers in China are being sent  all the information about you, including text messages, call logs, phonebook , the location of your data and applications, within every 72 hours. Security researchers from Kryptowire have discovered a backdoor hidden in the firmware of many cheap Android smartphones which are being sold in the US. This backdoor secretly collects data of the phone’s owner and sends it to a server in China without being detected by users.

According to the first report in the New York Times on Tuesday, backdoor on this firmware developed by a company based in China called Shanghai AdUps Technology. The report also said that, this software has been updated for more than 700 million devices worldwide. Moreover, the company also provides AdUps software to large smartphone manufacturers including ZTE to more than 150 countries and territories. Besides collecting information, AdUps software has the ability to remotely install and update applications on smartphones.

According to Kryptowire, the backdoor was discovered on the BLU R1 HD, which is being sold by a smartphone vendor in Florida, BLU Products. In addition, the company’s products are also sold online to other countries in Southern Africa, through Amazon and Best Buy. After receiving this news, Google then issued a statement saying that they are working with all affected parties to release a fix for this problem.

Does it jeopardize the users’ privacy?

According to the source, the software is designed to help China smartphone manufacturers track users’ behaviors better. Until now, there’s no acute trouble to be detected and affect customers’ experience on their Android smartphone.