Three input methods were taken off the shelf： refusing to provide personal information, unable to use expressions and other functions.
On June 11th, sogou Input Method, iFLYTEK Input Method and QQ Input Method were removed from the shelves of several application stores because they did not fully meet the rectification requirements of the National Network Information Office on May 1st regarding the notification of personal information collection violations.
On June 12th, Beijing News Shell Finance reporter searched Huawei App Store for sogou input method and Xunfei input method, and the installation options were displayed in gray, marked with "Service adjustment, download is not available for the time being, please forgive me." QQ input method cannot be searched in Huawei App Store. According to the report of the Internet Information Office, the reasons for the removal of the above three input methods are related to the unfinished rectification of the problem of "collecting personal information unrelated to the services provided by them".
On the same day, Shell Finance reporter downloaded the above three input methods through the browser and found that QQ input method prompted users to choose "complete experience mode" and "basic typing mode" without collecting any information, but the latter could not use expressions and other functions. IFLYTEK input method means "we can use our basic business functions without providing personal information", but "some functions other than basic business functions need to provide personal information". In contrast, sogou Input Method lists the information that may be collected in the privacy policy, indicating that "if you refuse to provide it, you will not be able to enjoy the corresponding extended business functions and services."
As of press release on June 13th, three input methods have not been put back on the shelves.
Incomplete rectification,Three input methods were removed from the shelves.
It is understood that three input methods, namely, sogou input method, iFLYTEK input method and QQ input method, have been removed from the shelves, which is related to the "Notice on the Illegal Collection and Use of Personal Information by 33 Apps" issued by the National Network Information Office on May 1, which is the first time that the National Network Information Office has issued such a notice from the ministerial level. According to the notification requirements, 33 App-related operators, including the above three input methods, should complete the rectification within 10 working days from May 1, and report the rectification to the Network Data Administration of the National Network Information Office. If the rectification is not completed within the time limit, the National Network Information Office will dispose of it according to law.
The Beijing News Shell Finance reporter noted that the notification involved a total of 15 input methods, and the problems in 13 of them were "violating the necessary principles and collecting personal information unrelated to the services they provided." Including sogou input method, iFLYTEK input method and QQ input method.
How to define "personal information irrelevant to the services it provides"? According to the "Provisions on the Scope of Necessary Personal Information for Common Mobile Internet Applications" issued by the Information Office in March, the basic function services of input method apps are "input of words, symbols, etc.", "You can use basic function services without personal information."
On June 11th, iFLYTEK input method responded to Shell Finance reporter’s statement that the specific reasons for its removal were as follows: after the old version of iFLYTEK input method was upgraded to the latest version of 10.0.20, the old version of Pinyin Cloud input setting option was used, and the user was not prompted to choose whether to open it; After the user selects the close function in the prompt of pinyin cloud input pop-up window in iFLYTEK input method version 10.0.20, a second pop-up window appears, which requires the user to confirm.
According to iFLYTEK Input Method, as of June 11th, iFLYTEK Input Method App has been rectified, and it is being tested by relevant departments to ensure compliance before being put back on the shelves. However, sogou input method and QQ input method have not yet responded.
measure with instrumentsinput method,You can’t use the extension function without collecting personal information.
On June 12th, Shell Finance reporter downloaded sogou input method, iFLYTEK input method and QQ input method through the browser. Among them, iFLYTEK Input Method stated in the column of privacy policy that "you can use our basic business functions without providing personal information." However, "in order to realize some functions beyond our basic business functions, you may need to provide us with your personal information. If you refuse to provide it, we will not be able to provide you with corresponding services."
Shell Finance reporter found that when using voice input, face-to-face translation, voice translation, subtitle phone, Pinyin Cloud and Lenovo Input, iFLYTEK input method needs to collect personal information. For example, Pinyin Cloud and Lenovo Input function need to recommend corresponding words and sentences according to the candidate words and sentences in the cloud or according to the text content on the screen. IFLYTEK input method states that "specific text content will not be recognized."
The privacy policy of sogou Input Method shows that "personal information irrelevant to the provision of services will not be collected, and you will not be refused to use the basic functional services of this application because you do not agree to collect unnecessary personal information."
Sogou input method says, "You can use the basic business functions of’ text and symbol input’ without providing us with any personal information." However, sogou Input Method prompts in the privacy policy: "In order to provide you with better and smarter sogou input method products and services, we may need to collect account information, voice information, text content and image information, contact information, address book information, etc." And indicate: "If you refuse to provide it, you will not be able to enjoy the corresponding extended business functions and services."
On June 12th, when Shell Finance reporter opened the QQ input method, it was found that the pop-up window on the homepage of QQ input method suggested that users could choose "complete experience mode" and "basic typing mode" independently. Among them, the "basic typing mode" does not collect any data, but it will lead to the disappearance of functions such as skin, expression, pronunciation and translation, while the "complete experience mode" will "upload some pinyin, characters and usage scenes to the cloud for" providing you with a more efficient input and expression experience ".
Privacy and conveniencedispute: the helpless choice in free mode?
Shell Finance reporter found that the topic of whether the input method will steal privacy has attracted the attention of many netizens. Previously, Shell Finance collected topics related to privacy protection in Zhihu. Some netizens said, "When talking to friends about microwave ovens, diapers, facial cleanser and other things, I found that there was an input method that automatically pushed advertisements." The screenshot provided by the netizen shows that when chatting with friends on WeChat about the content of "most afraid of changing diapers", the input interface of sogou input method pops up "Children are prone to diaper rash to see the countermeasures!" Advertising pop-up window.
In this regard, some professionals said that although the basic function of the input method is typing, at present, if there are no additional functions such as emoticons and semantic associations that make users feel more "convenient", the input method will not be competitive, which is the contradiction between privacy and convenience.
"In fact, as long as the input method with cloud thesaurus function needs to collect user data, because only collecting user input habits can optimize the input experience of the input method, and the cloud thesaurus function is almost an essential function of mainstream input methods. As for whether the input method will sell information to third-party companies, it also needs to look at the specific agreement and the consciousness of the input method. " Relevant persons engaged in network development told Shell Finance reporter.
Shell Finance reporter found that besides pop-up advertisements on the input interface of input method, more people complained about the existence of pop-up advertisements on the PC side of sogou input method, and sought a solution to close the pop-up advertisements in sogou. In addition, the reporter found in January this year that when using sogou input method to search keywords in search engines, sogou input method will automatically jump to sogou search.
"In fact, this is all caused by Chinese people’s unwillingness to pay for software. Doing so will only make the behavior of seeking benefits hidden, so that it is easy to be unscrupulous." "Chinese people are not willing to pay for software. For application developers, there will always be ways to make you spit out the money," said the netizen "Nianhan", who was certified as the owner of the niche input method development workshop in Zhihu.
In this regard, the industry told Shell Finance reporter that the input method advertisement, like other free App advertisements, is a helpless choice under the current free mode. "Microsoft Smart ABC has no advertisements, but who do you think uses it? If you need convenient functions and emoticons that Lenovo can pop up, you need some expenses. At this time, you can only make the input method profitable through advertising and other means. On the other hand, free is the most expensive. "
Netizen Red Apple Sweet malic said that at present, the input methods with advertisements are generally intelligent input methods, so you must have a cloud thesaurus and log in to an account. "Intelligentization costs money. For example, when different professionals input a word, the input method can put the professional-related vocabulary in a quite front position according to your previous input habits and characteristics, which is convenient for you to input. Compared with the off-line input method, this part of the overhead still has some influence. Of course, there are few input methods that people pay for, so it depends on advertising. Although it is annoying, it is regarded as the price of intelligent input method. "
Beijing News Shell Finance Reporter Luo Yidan Editor Wang Jinyu Proofread Wei Zhuo
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