Are Xiaomi Devices Sending User Data to China? The Company Clarifies

There are several reports mentioning that Chinese company, Xiaomi’s devices are sending user data to China. As per the reports,  Xiaomi RedMi was found to be secretly sending photos and texts to China servers.

Xiaomi Sending Data To China?
Xiaomi Sending Data To China? [Image credit:http://en.ocworkbench.com/]
So what is being sent to the servers?  What surprises the tester is that even if you root the phone and flash it with another firmware, the background transmission continues. It seems that the process is hard coded into the phone.[Via]
Xiaomi (India) has clarified this privacy issue on its Facebook page.

MIUI requests public data from Xiaomi servers from time to time. These include data such as preset greeting messages (thousands of jokes, holiday greetings and poems) in the Messaging app and MIUI OTA update notifications, i.e. all non-personal data that does not infringe on user privacy.

Does Xiaomi upload any personal data without my knowledge?
Answer: No. Xiaomi offers a service called Mi Cloud that enables users to back up and manage personal information in the cloud, as well as sync to other devices. This includes contacts, notes, text messages and photos. Mi Cloud is turned off by default. Users must log in with their Mi accounts and manually turn on Mi Cloud. They also have the option to only turn on backup for certain types of data. The use and storage of data in Mi Cloud fully respects the local laws of each country and region. Strict encryption algorithms are implemented to protect user privacy.

And Importantly, Why should one believe Xiaomi?
Answer: Xiaomi is serious about user privacy and takes all possible steps to ensure our Internet services adhere to our privacy policy. We do not upload any personal information and data without the permission of users. In a globalized economy, Chinese manufacturers’ handsets are selling well internationally, and many international brands are similarly successful in China – any unlawful activity would be greatly detrimental to a company’s global expansion efforts.

Ofcourse, you can switch off MiUI Cloud off in settings.