Can Motorola/Lenovo be trusted?

[dlalonde]

This may seem like a strange question but I've seen this reply on XDA:

It's not only chinese companies like lenovo, but do you think chinese communist party is democratic ?
If it's currently admited that google work with NSA, don't you think Chinese autorities wouldn't like to use all these smartphone made in china and sold all around the world
If you don't trust MS as you said, it would be a little bit naive to trust chineses companies

But i'am afraid we have to live with it. when i see the download number of facebook on playstore i think most people don't care anymore about privacy , so why governments or big companies would care to not spy us.
Even on xda a lot of people continue to use supersu (closedsource and chinese owned) rather than magisk-phh opensource, most people simply don't care.

Spy Software Found Preinstalled on Lenovo, Huawei, and Xiaomi Smartphones
https://eandt.theiet.org/content/ar...a-smartphones-spy-on-users-researchers-found/

lenovo laptops :
Report: Pentagon Warns Against Use of Lenovo Computers over Chinese Spyware - Breitbart
Military Warns Lenovo Poses Cyber Spy Threat
Lenovo Caught (3rd Time) Pre-Installing Spyware on its Laptops

And we don't talk about qualcomm "bug" that could be an usefull backdoor : Bug leaves 900 million Android devices vulnerable to attack

That kind of got me worried. Can Motorola be trusted? Surely someone would have figured out by now that the stock ROM is stealing information without us knowing, no? Is this merely FUD?

Thanks!

 

[Guytronic]

Not sure myself...
Now after LeEco acquired Vizio the story surfaces about Vizio gathering user data without approval.
Looks like a trend.

I'm an Honor and Lenovo user so this is very disheartening to me.

 

[dlalonde]

Not sure myself...
Now after LeEco acquired Vizio the story surfaces about Vizio gathering user data without approval.
Looks like a trend.

I'm an Honor and Lenovo user so this is very disheartening to me.

I was kind of afraid that my question would be seen like I'm a tin hat kind of guy! I'm happy it's not.

Since I've seen this I've been running Cyanogemod 13 but there are things I miss about stock. But given their history I'm a little worried.

 

[dlalonde]

Then again we've yet to see independant research on the matter. It's mostly AV companies (which would benefit from us downloading their app) and old reports that could very well be outdated now.

 

[Aquila]

More or less than their peers in the same country?

 

[dlalonde]

More or less than their peers in the same country?

What do you mean?

 

[Aquila]

What do you mean?

There's a lot of buzz going around about OEM's based in China; I'm wondering if Lenovo is any more or less trustworthy than the rest of that bunch.

 

[dlalonde]

There's a lot of buzz going around about OEM's based in China; I'm wondering if Lenovo is any more or less trustworthy than the rest of that bunch.

Indeed! (Un) Funnily enough this dropped today:

Vizio: The spy in your TV | ZDNet

 

[Guytronic]

Just for grins and thanks to another member here on AC I had been running an app called "Spy Monitor" for a while on 2 of my active devices.

Fortunately it doesn't reveal any direct routing back to anywhere other my own country.
I have heard of some users seeing connections to a few locations that might prove unsavory.

Spy Monitor is here:
https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...tails?id=com.radioopt.netstats&token=xcSEbFpA

 

[dlalonde]

Just for grins and thanks to another member here on AC I had been running an app called "Spy Monitor" for a while on 2 of my active devices.

Fortunately it doesn't reveal any direct routing back to anywhere other my own country.
I have heard of some users seeing connections to a few locations that might prove unsavory.

Spy Monitor is here:
https://forums.androidcentral.com/e...tails?id=com.radioopt.netstats&token=z6xRlu11

Oh that's nice I'm going to try that! Thanks!

 

[Guytronic]

Thanks!

No probo
Be advised the phone battery may take a small hit.

 

[dlalonde]

No probo
Be advised the phone battery may take a small hit.

Ooh! I just installed it and I already like it! Super easy to use!

 

[zuben el genubi]

Moto isn't the only phone to use Qualcomm.

Since I have no social media, or any apps that can slightly be the same, I don't care. I don't do banking on the phone, either.
I don't want most of any OS's crap on the phone, either. I'll buy an app that suits me better. My phone belongs to *Obscenity. Since it's my phone, I try to be offensive. If you are offended, you shouldn't be snooping. I don't have Google's location enabled, only carrier, so they would have to have the software hacked from the carrier or the gov't. GPS is enabled. Weather and astronomy.

I have 95% of Google disabled, the same with Moto. I don't need "experiences" I don't know how much of the carrier info they could get from the SIM.

I used Color OS for a couple of years with no problem. I like the way Chinese phones are built anyway. After a Nexus 4, the Oppo felt good in the hand. I hated the 4. I liked Color OS. I also dislike Samsung for all the crap, so any phone that lets me disable most of it is welcome.