Samsung Is Making Repair Shops Upload Your Personal Data
Samsung works personally with independent repair shops that require access to official documentation, tools, and parts for repair. Before these companies can work with the Korean manufacturer in such a capacity, they need to sign a contract, and thanks to 404 Media, the public now has the chance to look at this contract, which contains some shockingly dirty moves as a part of it.
If you get your Samsung phone repaired at any of the stores that have an arrangement with Samsung, you can bet that your name, phone number, email, address, IMEI, and the details of your complaint will be uploaded into Samsung’s database. It doesn’t matter whether you’re getting your display replaced or your USB-C port fixed; the contract stipulates that the repair shops upload the details of every repair they do, at the time that they do them.
The company can do a lot of talking about Samsung Knox and how they protect this and that, but it still finds its own way to be anti-privacy, which is highly disappointing.
If You’ve Got Aftermarket Parts In Your Galaxy Phone, Samsung Will Make Shops “Disassemble” Them
There’s another stipulation in the contract that is so wild that I’m not even sure whether to believe it is true or now. OEM parts are expensive, so a lot of the time, when repairing a smartphone, aftermarket or generic parts might be the cost-effective option. When I replaced the battery and screen in my Google Pixel XL, I used aftermarket parts that I bought off eBay.
Well, if you were to take a phone with aftermarket parts to one of these independent repair shops that have signed a deal with Samsung, your phone would be “disassembled”. Just to make that clear, a repair shop that sees non-OEM parts in your phone will effectively destroy it without your consent, regardless of what kind of repair you were taking the device in for.
It doesn’t matter whether your screen was the aftermarket part and you’re there to replace the battery. As long as they see an aftermarket part in your phone, the contract stipulates immediate disassembly, and after that, your device’s use of aftermarket parts will be reported to Samsung.
Maybe This Contract Is Dated; Maybe
It’s been suggested that the contract dates back to 2023 which isn’t that long ago, but there’s always the possibility that the contract has been updated or certain language has been modified. However, it seems pretty certain that the excerpts seen are authentic and Samsung, at least at one time, requested all of this from repair shops.
That’s sleazy stuff from the electronics giant, and if you’ve repaired your phone with any of these shops, your personal details are probably already in Samsung’s hands. Apparently, the company refuses to be associated with good repairability practices.
