Reliance Jio might have won the hearts of Indians in creating a value for money network operator, but it might not be doing the most ethical company behind the scenes. Jio has literally shaken up the telecom industry as it announced its prices at groundbreaking rates.
However, the picture is not as rosy as it seems. According to the Anonymous hacktivist group, Reliance Jio is still selling user’s call data in US and Singapore for direct advertising. According to Anonymous, two specific applications My Jio and Jio Dialer, are sending user information to an ad network called Mad-Me.
Although Reliance Jio refutes this information and says that user’s data security is their top priority and the data is collected internally only for use within the company. However, this might be false as Anonymous seems to have proofs to support their claims.
Reliance Jio hasn’t learned in the past year… this time sharing call info with third parties https://t.co/ZStwZYpu5c pls rt @YourAnonNews
— AnonIndia (@redteamin) September 22, 2016
Anonymous group had made similar claims last year as it tried to unearth the sharing done by Reliance Jio. Back then, Jio was sharing user’s location with China. Now, the company is sharing calling data with international organisations to improve its targets ads.
Here is a screenshot
The problem with Reliance Jio sharing user information is more than just at the ethical level. Firstly the company should not share user information without informing the users and getting the required consent from the Government.
Secondly, Jio might be putting its users to risk by letting out information related to calls, messages and location. Hackers around the world would be able to sneak into your conversations and hack your smartphone. If this information is true, then Reliance Jio should immediately notify its users and block such services until a conclusion is made.
What does it mean for users?
Anyone using Reliance Jio should be cautious of their data, and probably install secure chatting applications. Although Anonymous says that the Jio apps now are a lot more secure than last year, the possibility of Jio sharing user’s chat log is quite high.
If you’re using MyJio and Jio Caller apps, it is better to switch to alternate applications instead of continuing with these, unless you’re fine with your data being shared. Anonymous can be relied on leaking such information as they have done similar stuff in the past.
Ideally we should wait for Jio’s response to Anonymous, although it is quite apparent that they will come out with negation to this. In any case, the Government might interfere in the matter if it escalates to that level and the judgement would be out in a few days following that. Till then, be wary of Jio’s apps and check for alternatives to them.
