MyPhone MYA2

January 2018, a Privacy International member of staff travelled alone to the Philippines to meet with one of our partner organisations. Arriving in Manila, they realised her phone was broken - a fairly big problem for someone who's on their own, 6,666 miles from home. They when to buy the cheapest phone they could find, a brand new MYA 2, a smart phone by MyPhone.

We decided to take a closer look at the MYA 2, once our colleague returned back to the UK. We were particularly interested in the phone's pre-installed apps (often called "bloatware"), what permissions these app make use of, and how they behave. The full case study and technical data can be found below.

About this phone, from Pinoy Techno Guide:

"The MyPhone myA2 is a smartphone launched in December 2017. It features a 4.0-inch screen, quad core processor and Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system.

It also has a 5 Megapixel camera, 3G connectivity and a 1500mAh battery. The official price of the MyPhone myA2 in the Philippines is ₱1,899.00."

 

Long Read

Research by Privacy International shows that cheap smartphones come with a hidden cost: pre-installed apps that can't be deleted and that leak your data.

Frequently Asked Questions
Privacy is a fundamental right and shouldn’t be a luxury. But if you have a cheap phone, your data might be at risk.
Explainer
Abstract Over the past few years, smart phones have become incredibly inexpensive, connecting millions of people to the internet for the first time. While growing connectivity is undeniably positive, some device vendors have recently come under scrutiny for harvesting user data and invasive private