The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society urged representatives of the electronics company Oppo and its subsidiary Realme to clarify allegations of illegal data collection from built-in loan apps found on their smartphones.
A technology-focused social media influencer, known as คุณลุงไอที (Khun Lung IT, meaning IT uncle), took to his official Facebook page to warn Oppo and Realme smartphone users about the safety of their personal and financial information.
According to the page, some smartphones from the two brands were pre-installed with loan applications called Fineasy and สินเชื่อความสุข (translated as happy loan). These applications could not be uninstalled and reportedly had access to users’ locations, contacts, and other personal information entered into the phones.
The influencer suspected these applications of collecting users’ personal data and financial information without users’ consent, which could potentially benefit criminal gangs, such as call centre scams.
Several netizens shared their experiences in the comments section. One Thai man revealed that he attempted to delete the two applications but failed, as they reinstalled themselves each time.
A Thai woman reported being unable to access her mobile banking application because it detected the pre-installed loan apps as risky and threatening. She had to block the two loan applications to regain access to her United Overseas Bank (UOB) mobile banking app.
Most of the users shared that what they could do was block the applications but they were unable to remove them permanently.
In response, Oppo and Realme issued an official statement apologising to their customers and promising that users would soon be able to delete the loan applications. They also invited users who wished to remove the applications immediately to contact staff at their service centres.
As a result, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society has called on the companies’ representatives to meet with officials and provide clarification on the matter as soon as possible.
The companies’ actions are believed to violate the Personal Data Protection Act but details of the specific violations have not yet been disclosed.
Meanwhile, many netizens announced boycotts of the two smartphone brands, stating their intention to switch to other devices for safety reasons.
The story Built-in loan apps raise data security fears for Oppo and Realme users as seen on Thaiger News.
