Realme recently faced allegations of collecting personal user data through a feature called “Enhanced Intelligent Services” in Realme UI 4.0. This feature explicitly gathers information such as device details, app usage statistics, location data, calendar events, and SMS and call statistics. The controversy arose because this feature was enabled by default.
Commenting on the development, Rajeev Chandrashekar, the Union Minister of Electronics and Technology, announced that the government would investigate the claims. Realme clarified that the feature was intended for optimization purposes, and the data in question was stored and processed locally. As a resolution, Realme has released a new update for the recently launched Realme 11 Pro 5G and Realme 11 Pro+ 5G models, which disables this option. The firmware versions for these updates are RMX3771_13.1.0.524(EX01) and RMX3741_13.1.0.524(EX01).
The update not only enhances system stability but also optimizes camera power consumption. To avoid further controversy, the update has revised the description of the “Enhanced Intelligent Services” feature and turned it off by default. The new description emphasizes that the feature solely aims to enhance the user experience by analyzing device usage patterns. Additionally, the optimized charging functionality will now utilize local data and app usage statistics directly on the device, while requesting permission for location information.
Realme is also planning to roll out an identical update for other devices that are pre-loaded with Realme UI 4.0. You can expect a similar update for OnePlus and Oppo devices running Android 13. This forthcoming update will modify the feature’s description language and disable it by default. User reports suggest that this feature has been observed on devices from these brands.
