China’s Top Android Phone Makers Launch Unified Privacy Platform to Safeguard User Data
- tech360.tv
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China’s five leading Android smartphone brands—Honor, Lenovo, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi—have launched a joint privacy permission platform aimed at enhancing user data protection as artificial intelligence features become more widespread.
The initiative, announced by the Intelligent Terminal Alliance (ITGSA), seeks to standardise privacy controls across Android devices and ensure data access remains transparent and controllable.
The new system will be based on the principle of “minimum and necessary” data access. It will use native API-based system controls and a platform review mechanism to manage permissions.
The platform will categorise privacy permissions into system-level and application-level access. For example, applications will only be able to access photos after users manually select files, and thumbnail previews will not grant file access.
Five high-frequency data use scenarios, including contacts, photos and videos, will be identified and managed under the new system.
Developers will be given time to adapt, with tools and test environments available this month. Full implementation is scheduled for after the fourth quarter of 2026.
The move comes amid growing concerns over data privacy in Android systems, which face challenges due to varied permission systems and numerous third-party applications.
China’s smartphone ecosystem includes Android-based platforms used by Xiaomi and Vivo, Apple’s iOS, and Huawei’s HarmonyOS.
In the April to June quarter, Huawei led China’s smartphone market with an 18% share, followed by Vivo and Xiaomi at 17% each, and Oppo at 16%, according to Canalys.
Earlier this month, Android encouraged developers via WeChat to adopt the Android Photo Picker, which limits access to users’ full media libraries when selecting photos or videos.
Honor, Lenovo, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi launch joint privacy platform
New system to manage data access through native APIs and review mechanisms
Permissions divided into system-level and app-level access
Source: SCMP