To recall, one of the major reasons why PUBG Mobile was banned was due to its Chinese connections. The Indian government felt that too much info was sent back to servers in China and as such, the game was a bit of a security risk. In order to ensure that the same thing does not happen, PUBG’s parent company, Krafton Inc., made a pretty big deal about cutting its Chinese ties before launching Battlegrounds Mobile India. However, a report by IGN India seems to suggest that some data is still being collected and sent to servers in China.
The publication notes that readers had reached out stating that data was being sent and received by the game from China Mobile Communications servers in China, as well as Microsoft Azure servers located in India and Russia. IGN India said that it was able to replicate these claims by using a data packet sniffer app on its Android phone to check where data was being sent.
The report notes that one of the servers where data was being sent was run by China Mobile Communication, and the server was located in Beijing. It also notes that device data was being sent to this particular server. Further, the publication’s sources also note that Battlegrounds Mobile India also pings a Tencent server in Beijing.
Digit has reached out to Krafton Inc. for a comment and will update this piece once we get a response.
To recall, Krafton had severed ties with PUBG Mobile’s developer, Tencent, in India following the game’s banning in the country. Instead, the game’s parent company decided to publish the game itself in India. Krafton had announced that it would be working with Microsoft to ensure personal data protection through Azure. The company noted that Azure offered state-of-the-art security and the most comprehensive set of compliance offerings of any cloud service provider. It also noted that all data collection and storage will be in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations in India. Krafton initially planned to launch the game as PUBG Mobile India around November last year. However, things didn’t work now. Now though the game has finally been released as Battlegrounds Mobile India.