Nokia 7 Plus user data controversy - HMD claims no personal data was sent
newsFriday, 22 March 2019 at 13:08
HMD Global - the home of modern Nokia phones has responded to a report that is currently floating around the web about a number of its devices sending user data to a server in China. Although the Finish watchdog is yet to issue statements on its findings, HMD Global has swiftly responded claiming that no personally identifiable information was sent to the Chinese server on the batch of affected Nokia 7 Plus handsets.
We can confirm that no personally identifiable information has been shared with any third party. We have analysed the case at hand and have found that our device activation client meant for another country was mistakenly included in the software package of a single batch of Nokia 7 Plus. Due to this mistake, these devices were erroneously trying to send device activation data to a third party server. However, such data was never processed and no person could have been identified based on this data. This error has already been identified and fixed in February 2019 by switching the client to the right country variant. All affected devices have received this fix and nearly all devices have already installed it.
The brand further stated that collecting a few user data is an industry practice need for one-time device activation when the phone is taken first time into use. The data enables phone makers to activate the device warranty. HMD Global takes the security and privacy of its consumers seriously. The Nokia licensee said it has since fixed the issue with affected devices by in February 2019 by routing the client to the right country, though a few number of affected devices are yet to get the update installed.
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