Pinduoduo, one of China's most popular shopping apps, may be spying on its users. Several cybersecurity experts have recently published about this. Per month, Pinduoduo sells to more than 750 million users.
According to researchers, the app can bypass users' cell phone security to monitor activity on other apps. The app can also monitor notifications, read private messages and change settings. Once installed, Pinduoduo is difficult to uninstall.
Multiple experts have found malware on the Pinduoduo app that exploits security vulnerabilities in Android operating systems. According to company insiders, the exploits are used to spy on users and competitors. Allegedly to boost sales. "We have never seen such a mainstream app trying to increase its privileges to access things it should not have access to," said Mikko Hyppönen, Chief Research Officer at WithSecure, a Finnish cybersecurity company.
These discoveries also draw more attention to Pinduoduo's international sister app, Temu. This app tops U.S. download lists and is growing in other Western markets. Both are owned by PDD. This is a Nasdaq-listed multinational with roots in China. U.S. lawmakers are concerned that any company operating in China could be forced to cooperate in security activities. The revelations follow Google's suspension of Pinduoduo from its Play Store in March. At the time, malware was found in versions of the app.
