Xiaomi has already made clear that it uses the ‘aggregated data’ from the browser’s incognito mode ‘for internal analysis’ and it does not link any personally identifiable information to this data.
A couple of days ago researchers found that Xiaomi’s Mint browser has a ‘backdoor’ functionality that sends users’ browsing data to remote servers hosted by Alibaba and rented by Xiaomi. What came as a surprise was that the data was being captured even while browsing in the Incognito Mode inside the browser. However, Xiaomi India chief Manu Kumar Jain was quick to reply and confirm that Xiaomi does not collect data (which is encrypted) without consent. But if you are a Xiaomi smartphone user and are still sceptical about your data being stored or not, Xiaomi is rolling out another solution for you. It is now possible to toggle on/off the aggregated data collection functionality in the Incognito Mode.
“By 01:30, May 4, GMT+8 in Beijing, the software updates had been available for our browser products including, preloaded Mi Browser, Mi Browser Pro on Google Play, and Mint Browser on Google Play,” says the Mi blog post. “These software updates include an option in incognito mode for all users of both browsers to switch on/off the aggregated data collection.” Also mentioned is that the latest version of Mi Browser/Mi Browser Pro and Mint Browser are v12.1.4 and v3.4.3.
Xiaomi has already made clear that it uses the ‘aggregated data’ from the browser’s incognito mode ‘for internal analysis’ and it does not link any personally identifiable information to this data.
Interestingly, based on the social media posts by users, the toggle is switched off by default, meaning it sends your browsing data to Xiaomi servers by default. You can switch it on and stop the aggregated data from being collected by navigating through the browser Settings > Incognito Mode settings > Enhanced Incognito Mode.
