Popular Photo App Meitu Is Asking For Very Strange Permissions

If you’re starting to see your friends post bizarre photos onto Facebook or Twitter where they look like they’ve been given a makeover, there’s a good chance that they are using a new photo app called Meitu which seems to be giving users anime-like makeovers thanks to its built-in filters.

However if you’re thinking of hopping on board the bandwagon, maybe you shouldn’t. It seems that the app has been requesting for rather strange permissions for what it does. The permissions themselves are normal, but it’s strange that a simple photo app is asking for them. On top of that, it seems that the app has also been taking the information it has gathered and is sending them to remote servers for storage.

This includes information about your phone such as the device’s model, resolution, Android OS version, MAC address, and IMEI, just to name a few. This has been spotted by several developers and websites and they have all been confirmed. It is unclear as to why the app is collecting this data, but there’s a good chance it could be for targeted marketing/tracking purposes.

Of course you’re more than welcome to download the app, but note that you’ll basically be consciously installing spyware on your phone. If funny selfie filters are what you’re after, there are plenty of alternatives out there that won’t collect data on you.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: Apps, Security