Xiaomi issued a statement in response to the report, saying it only collects data after receiving explicit consent. It also makes the data used anonymous and encrypted. The collected data is only used for internal case and does not have any personally identifiable information. The company noted that this is a common system among internet companies around the world, used to improve the overall user experience of various products, while safeguarding user privacy and data security.
The company said that as an internet company, internet security, safety and user privacy were its core principles and that the data goes to data centres where local user privacy protection laws and regulations are strictly followed.
Xiaomi added that it will however further strengthen its practice by including, in its next Mint Browser and Mi Browser software update, an option in incognito mode that will enable users to switch data collection on or off. The software updates were submitted to Google Play for approval on 3 May.
