Last month, it was discovered that some BLU phones had software that would transmit data from texts, call logs, location info, and more to Chinese servers. Now BLU is working to make things right.
BLU said today that it’s swapping the data-transmitting Shanghai Adups Technology Co. software on its phones for official Google OTA software. Any new BLU devices that launch from December and later will include the Google firmware app.
BLU CEO Sammy Ohev-Zion said that in the future, his company won’t install any third-party apps that it doesn’t have the source code for and doesn’t understand its behavior. BLU also plans to write up a privacy policy to explain exactly what data its phones collect.
Ohev-Zion also touched a bit on what happened with Shanghai Adups Technology Co. and its data that ended up on BLU phones:
"We have an email history with Adups saying we did not want that functionality on our devices, and they violated our request. We are a hard-working, American, family-owned business, and we are the last people on Earth that would engage in anything that would abuse our hard-earned customer relationship."
BLU’s CEO also revealed that his company has signed a deal with Kryptowire, the security group that originally disclosed data-transmitting app, to have it keep an eye on its phones for one year to ensure that it avoids a repeat of this situation.
BLU has made a name for itself by offering low-cost, unlocked Android phones, but the recent news that several of its phones — including the popular R1 HD — came loaded with this Chinese data-transmitting software likely hurts its reputation. Now BLU is working to repair its image, and while we'll have to wait and see how consumers respond, signing a deal with Kryptowire and opting for official Google software is a good start.
