A new study by the Data Center of China Internet claims more than two-thirds of apps running on Chinese smartphones are tracking users' personal data. The report says it reviewed more than 1,400 apps in China and found 51% of them are tracking user's locations, even though most have no reason to do so.
In Quartz writer Naomi Rovnik's mind, the DCCI's president Hu Yanping has more sympathetic ties to Beijing than most people realize. The information is disconcerting, but she feels it might tie into a broader government agenda to "unleash unfavorable regulations on Google or Android that will benefit Chinese companies." In other words, it might not be true.
This would seem to make sense, as the country's ministry of finance recently wrote a white paper slamming Android's dominance while praising domestic competitors, such as Baidu.
[via Quartz]
