Slashdot Mirror
Lumia Phones Leaking Private Data To Microsoft
New submitter Albietta writes "Two independent sources inside Nokia have confirmed that Nokia Lumia phones send private information to Nokia and Microsoft servers around the world. Location data, SMS-messages and browser identification is uploaded. The Nokia leadership has known about the privacy violation since 2011 when the Lumia phones were introduced. In spring 2013, after suspicions of leaks and during the negotiations for selling off the mobile phone branch to Microsoft, the Finnish state communications department sent an inquiry to Nokia regarding leaking of private data, asking Nokia to assure that users' private data is not leaked. Nokia did not want to (or could not) provide an assurance due to the delicate business negotiations. After two more inquiries with narrower demands, Nokia assured that the phone, excluding third-party software such as the operating system, did not violate Finnish privacy laws. Microsoft is apparently also following Lumia user accounts. On one occasion a parent's Lumia account was closed without warning when they uploaded pictures from the phone displaying their kids playing naked on the beach at their summer cottage."
That looks like it is deliberate.
Had it only gone to Nokias servers then it could have been an accident - not removing certain debugging code for instance used to tracing.
But sending to Microsoft servers as well as Nokia servers... that is more like a deliberate action.
Nokia assured that the phone, excluding third-party software such as the operating system, did not violate Finnish privacy laws.
How much non-3rd party software does a Nokia phone ship with? I mean, if you aren't including the OS on the phone as Nokia's responsibility, than what exactly are they responsible for?
On one occasion a parent's Lumia account was closed without warning when they uploaded pictures from the phone displaying their kids playing naked on the beach at their summer cottage.
This says more about the hysteria in certain industrialized markets where all nudity is considered sexual for the purposes of zero tolerance regulations against production of alleged child porn. See also prosecutions of parents who photograph their children in the bathtub.
A sieve doesn't leak, it does what it's designed to do
I recall that it was stated in clear language that SMSes will be uploaded if I choose some option during initial setup for my Lumia.
And if they mean skydrive onedrive account as "Lumia user account", then I wouldn't be surprised that Microsoft screens uploaded (public?) pictures. Similar like Google screens youtube videos.
There's also a side story in this scoop which involves Nokia allegedly handing over user data to Finnish police without a warrant.
YLE Uutiset - Police chief to look into Nokia phone spying claims
This looks like a mountain being made out of a molehill. From TFA: "Lumia phones do not ensure the user’s privacy – at least no better than the phones of other big manufacturers"
When you use a WP8 device, you are signed in using a Microsoft Account. Features like SMS backup, location services such as "Find My Phone" etc need to send data back to MS in order to work. In fact when you first sign into a phone this is made explicitly clear, as it is during the install of any apps on the phone that require, say, location based services. So whilst the implication of this article appears to be that there's something shady and underhand going on, until someone shows me a wireshark trace that shows it, I'm calling BS.