14 DAY TRIAL // BLU confirmed during the weekend that all its Android smartphones can be purchased from Amazon once again, as the spyware alert proved to be just a false alarm and all its devices are completely clean.
Amazon stopped selling BLU phones after claims of spyware on a number of devices, explaining that temporarily pulling the potentially affected devices was a measure needed to keep customers secure.
Security firm Kryptowire first discovered spyware on select BLU devices in November 2016, with user data being collected from phones and transmitted to servers in China using an application created by Shanghai-based Adups Technology.
The affected BLU Android phones came with the infected firmware pre-installed and were sold in a number of large markets, including in the United States.
Just a false alarm
BLU quickly responded and removed the data collection features from the software, but claims of possible spyware reappeared recently at the Black Hat 2017 security conference in Las Vegas. Kryptowire said data was still transmitted to servers in China, with BLU replying that only critical telemetry information and diagnosis data was collected.
“The data that is currently being collected is standard for OTA functionally and basic informational reporting. This is in line with every other smartphone device manufacturer in the world. There is nothing out of the ordinary that is being collected, and certainly does not affect any user's privacy or security,” BLU explained.
Amazon and BLU worked together on resuming sales of the targeted devices, and the two companies have confirmed that all impacted Android phones are once available up for grabs.
“If we receive information that could potentially impact our customers’ experience, we may temporarily make a product unavailable for purchase. Based on communication with the manufacturer, BLU Products, we have resumed selling BLU devices on Amazon.com,” Amazon said in a statement.
BLU describes the whole case as “a false alarm,” emphasizing that nothing has changed since it first updated the Adups software to address the original spyware complaints.