Realme: Data tracking on Android phones: Why Realme may not be the only one be at fault – Times of India

The Chinese smartphone manufacturer, Realme, has come under the scanner of the government due to concerns about user privacy. The company’s “Enhanced Intelligent Services” feature, which captures sensitive user data such as call logs, SMS, and location information, is automatically enabled on the phone’s setup, as noted by a Twitter user. The Minister of State for Information Technology and Electronics, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, took a note of this matter, saying that the government will investigate it further.
Chandrasekhar retweeted a tweet accusing the Chinese smartphone brand Realme, along with a screenshot, writing, “will have it tested and checked.”
The user’s tweet argues that the “Enhanced Intelligent Services” option is automatically enabled on Realme phones, further adding that the company is captivating users’ data, such as call logs, SMS, and location information without their permission. We at Times of India have verified that on Realme smartphones, the “Enhanced Intelligent Services” feature is enabled by default. Users have the option to disable it if they do not wish to share their data.
However, this feature is not limited to Realme smartphones only, it is present on other Android smartphones as well. Smartphones from OnePlus, Oppo, Vivo, and iQoo, all have this feature, although they all are owned by BBK Electronics. But, a similar feature, “Send Diagnostics Data,” can also be found on Samsung smartphones, which is also turned on by default.
What is “Enhanced Intelligent Services” feature on Realme smartphones
As per the description of the feature, the ‘Enhanced Intelligent Services’ feature enhances users’ device experience by optimising device functions according to their usage patterns. For this, the company collects some of users’ device information, app usage statistics, location information, calendar events, unread SMS statistics, and missed call statistics.

Realme says that to access this information, the operating system requires permission to access location information, connect to the internet, and read your calendar events, SMS messages, and call logs, which is enabled by default.
However, the feature can be turned off, just head over to “System services,” and press the toggle next to “Enhanced Intelligent Services.”
The Enhanced Intelligent Services feature is important for many of the phone’s functions, as indicated in the phone’s settings. For instance, the charging optimization feature requires gathering location information and app usage statistics, while the personalization features such as wallpapers need to collect data on unread messages, missed calls, and other vital information.
Users may not understand how companies intend to use the data they gather from their phones. Also, it is not clear how important this feature is for the products and services provided, and there is no mention of data being shared with any third party.
At present, Realme has not provided any comments regarding the matter.