The company behind the viral photo-editing app Meitu denied allegations that the free app is deviously collecting user information more than what it is supposed to.
Meitu Inc. clarified reports that it broke the conventional practices of other apps by collecting sensitive user information such as phone numbers. In a statement obtained by the Global Times, the company clarified several issues that have been circulating regarding its requirement of private data, specifically the user's IP address, location and mobile service provider.
"The IP address is meant to prevent cheating in business, the national code to approximate the country where the user is located, and the GPS to identify areas for the company's different advertisement strategies," Meitu told the Global Times.
In a report last week, CNN said that Meitu "quietly shares" the users' IMEIs to servers in China. IMEI is a unique, 150-digit number used to identify and track a handset.
CNN cited a blog post written by known technology activist Matthew Garrett, who said that "the app can obtain various bits of information about your phone including those unique IDs and whether you're currently on a call." Meitu clarified this by saying that it is "impossible" for them to "bug any phone communication or block phone calls."
The controversy-laden company also denied rumours that it is relocating its servers outside China over security concerns, stressing that such moves are only for "technology purposes."
The Chinese developer stressed that it is not selling user data and is only using collated information to enhance the app's performance.
A security expert interviewed by Wired said that the app does not pose anything "overtly evil," although some of its aspects are enough to pique someone's interest.
"It's mostly par for the course junk. I didn't see anything overtly evil, but that doesn't mean there's not something more serious in there," said Jonathan Zdziarski, an iOS security researcher, in an interview with Wired.
"The thing [that's noteworthy] is the number of different analytics and ad tracking packages they've loaded into the app. I counted at least half a dozen different packages in there. You don't generally need that many unless you're selling data," added Zdziarski.