Africa's most popular phones have a tracking problem
Research into Transsion smartphones, popular in Africa, has revealed hidden tracking software that collects user location, app usage, and camera activity. The data is transmitted to company servers using encrypted channels that are easily bypassed by the phone's own software.
Why it matters
This raises significant privacy and security concerns for millions of users whose personal data is being harvested without transparent consent.
Roughly one in two smartphones sold in Africa is made by a company most buyers have never heard of. Transsion , a Shenzhen-based manufacturer, owns the Tecno, Infinix and Itel brands, which together accounted for about 48% of African smartphone shipments in 2025 – more than 40 million of the 84.4 million handsets shipped on the continent last year, according to Omdia data.
New research has decrypted what those phones send back to their maker. An independent security researcher who publishes as Buchodi , working with the mobile security firm NowSecure , took apart the software on a Tecno Spark 40 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 even the moment an app switches on the camera.
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