Over the past few days, reports have surfaced online claiming that the much-beloved OnePlus is collecting way too much data from its users than it should. The Chinese manufacturer collects the data through its OxygenOS built-in analytics app. Collecting basic usage data is common practice as it allows manufacturers to identify and fix any software issues that may arise during your time of use.
However, OnePlus took their analysis a little too far as it was discovered that the company is collecting user identification information and not just usage stats, including:
- User’ phone number
- MAC addresses
- IMEI and IMSI code
- Mobile network(s) names
- Wireless network ESSID and BSSID
- Device serial number
- Timestamp when a user locks or unlocks the device
- Timestamp when a user opens and closes an application on his phone
- Timestamp when a user turns his phone screen on or off
The worst part is, there is no way to disable this data collection unless you are rooted since the app doing the collection is a system app. However, Jakub Czekański, an Android developer, today introduced a permanent solution to disable telemetry tracking practice even without rooting your smartphone.
All you need to do is:
- Connect your OnePlus device in USB debugging mode to a computer
- Open adb shell
- Enter this command; pm uninstall -k –user 0 net.oneplus.odm
After which, your device should be free of all forms of OnePlus’ excessive data collection.
