Today the internet flooded with articles questioning about Xiaomi sending user data to Chinese servers and spying on their users. People who owns Xiaomi phones doesn't need to worry. Hugo Barra the Vice President of Xiaomi has answered all the questions raised by people all over the world about the security threat.
Commenting on this issue Hugo says:
"Online articles recently referred to some privacy issues with the Redmi Note, claiming that photos and text messages are sent to China secretly. Are they true?
A: An article severely misinterpreted a discussion thread asking about the Redmi Note's communication with a server in China. The article also neglected to refer to a Chinese version of this Q&A already posted on the Xiaomi Hong Kong Facebook page
MIUI does not secretly upload photos and text messages. 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.
Q: Does Xiaomi upload any personal data without my knowledge?
A: 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.
Q: Can I turn Mi Cloud off?
A: Yes. Just go to Settings > Mi Cloud to turn it off. If you would like to use a cloud back up service from another provider, there are options from Google, Dropbox and many others.
Q: Why should I believe you?
A: 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.
So now Xiaomi made it clear that they are not spying on their users. They are legally backing up users data in their server by the users permissions. Only the people who want to save the data in cloud will be able to share their personal data with Xiaomi servers which is not misused or shared with public. This a relief to all Xiaomi users and the people who are willing to buy the Redmi Note.
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