Tech Central published on 24 July 2026 an article titled "Africa's Most Popular Phones Have a Tracking Problem" by Fanie van Rooyen.
Of the 84 million smartphones shipped to Africa in 2025, more than 40 million were made by China's Transsion, a Shenzhen-based manufacturer that owns the Tecno, Infinix, and Itel brands. New research has decrypted the phones and found a built-in tracking system that reports a user's precise location, which apps they use, how much data each app consumes, and the moment an app switches on the camera. These data are tied to roughly 14 permanent device identifiers that a user cannot reset. This creates a common thread linking every captured event back to the exact same handset over its entire lifespan.
While other smartphones also collect data, Transsion has not been transparent in what its handsets are doing.
