Oppo (Photo : Reuters)
Samsung and Oppo have been charged by Shanghai Consumer Rights Protection Commission in separate cases for preloading PUPs (Potentially Unwanted Programs) aka bloatware on their smartphones. The consumer protection group from China claims that the bloatware provided are far too many that could not be removed easily.
The two smartphones that are under the scanner are the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 with model number SM-N9008S and the Oppo Find 7 with model number X9007, the China Consumers Association reported. Tao Ailian, the executive deputy secretary general of the consumer group said that the group filed lawsuits against Samsung and Oppo only after investigating complaints from the end user about unwanted apps.
A study was conducted over 20 devices by the watchdog group to check for the handsets that carried numerous unwanted apps. The evaluation revealed that the non-removable apps on the Oppo Find 7 were 71 and on the Galaxy Note 3 were 44, Shanghai Daily reported. Neither Samsung nor Oppo informed customers about the presence of preloaded apps such as games and online shopping apps on their respective smarpthones, the Note 3 and the Find 7.
Ailian stated that the action taken by the company would compel smartphone makers to end the practice of preloading unwanted apps on the devices without the consent of the user. The lawsuit filed by the Shanghai Consumer Rights Protection Commission seeks a ruling that would force Samsung and Oppo to clear mention about the preinstalled apps on the box of their smartphones along with the details on how to uninstall them.
The regulatory body also wants smartphone makers to inform the buyers on how much storage space the preloaded apps take up on the device. Samsung and Oppo have been provided a time period of two weeks to prepare their defense after which the trial may begin.
