Did you know companies such as Realme, OnePlus, and Oppo are collecting some of your personal data to improve user experience and optimize your phone? Well, you don’t need to panic about this because there is a way to disable it. There is a feature called “Enhanced intelligent service,” which, by default, is enabled on phones by the above-mentioned companies. The privacy-conscious users can simply turn it off in the phone’s settings section.

The issue of data collection came to light after a user on Twitter shared a screenshot of this feature claiming to obtain your SMS, call, and other data to improve your smartphone experience, the company responded to it saying that the data is completely stored within the device and that it is not shared anywhere else or uploaded on the cloud.

“We would like to clarify that the enhanced intelligent services feature is linked to optimizing device usage to ensure that consumers get better battery life and temperature performance. However, contrary to the current description, we do not connect any data on SMS, phone calls, schedules, etc. All data processed in this service is encrypted and stored in encrypted hardware within the user’s device strictly in compliance with Android security mechanisms. This data is completely stored within the device and is not shared anywhere else or uploaded on the cloud. We place great emphasis on user privacy protection, and the enhanced intelligent services feature can be manually turned on or off basis the needs of the consumers,” Realme said.

Step 1:You first need to go to your phone’s settings.

Step 2:Tap on Additional Settings and select System Services.

Step 3: Now, simply toggle off (disable) Enhanced System Services option.

Step 4: Restart your phone. You are all set now.

What to keep in mind?

Every time you buy a new Android phone and set it up, there are several options that you see. One of them asks for your permission to collect phone information and other data to improve the phone’s performance or user interface. But, if you are not comfortable with sharing your personal data, then you should simply disable the options like “Send usage and diagnostic data” for Google services. Google says that this is to improve your experience, but a lot of people are not comfortable with it and so, it gives the option to disable it. Similarly, smartphone OEMs also offer options to improve the overall performance and battery life of the phone.