Vivo NEX Users Report Unauthorized Camera Actions While Using QQ Browser App

Users of the new Vivo NEX smartphone reported to unauthorized camera movements when they try to visit certain web pages with the mobile QQ browser app. The camera undergoes a up-and-down movement, like it is taking a quick peek at what the user is up to.

Users are suspicious of the automatic camera movements and concerned about their privacy as the movements resemble the action of photo-taking. The problem only surfaced due to Vivo NEX’s unique camera design, and would likely go unnoticed if the app initiated the same camera actions when being used in other phones.

The QQ browser team released an official statement after the news broke out, explaining that this suspicious pop-up action will not initiate the camera, nor will the camera engage in any photo-taking or recording. It was also stated that the mobile QQ browser app would never gather any private user information.

Vivo NEX users are apparently concerned about another feature – Baidu Input. The Baidu Input received user feedback from Vivo NEX users that when using the language input feature to type, it will show that Baidu Input is recording. Baidu Input soon clarified that it is actually the optimization of speech recognition that makes the smartphone system “think” that recording is taking place when it isn’t.

It is not uncommon to see news on the breech of personal data and information at this era of interconnectivity. As CNNTech reported, these vulnerable information can include location data, search queries, websites visited and ID numbers tied to users’ devices.