Battlegrounds Mobile India: Krafton acknowledges concerns over data handling, says 'concrete actions' to address the issue taken

As Krafton released an early access to Battlegrounds Mobile India on 17 June, the game’s downloads crossed the five million mark in just days’ time. However, the developers of the game soon found themselves in a soup after a report on Monday suggested that the early access APK of the mobile game has been **sharing and receiving data of Android users with China servers** . Krafton has now responded to these claims and has acknowledged the issue. Krafton said in a statement that it is “fully aware of the recent concerns over data handling” in regard to Battlegrounds Mobile India Early Access test. The developers said that it is “implementing the industry’s toughest standards for data security and is working to overcome any shortcomings throughout the Early Access testing period, for the official launch of Battlegrounds Mobile India”. [caption id=“attachment_9649401” align=“alignright” width=“1280”]  Battlegrounds Mobile India.[/caption] The developers say that they have been “working on the Early Access test of Battlegrounds Mobile India  to offer a distinct battle royale experience in a safe and secure environment. And with privacy, player data safety and protection being our top priority, Krafton is taking the concerns raised very seriously and has taken immediate, concrete actions to address this issue." Krafton explains that similar to other mobile games and app, Battlegrounds Mobile India “uses third party solutions to provide unique game features. In the process of using these solutions, some game data was shared to third parties."   To clarify, Battlegrounds Mobile India’s privacy policy  fully discloses that the app may transfer some user data, with users’ consent to the privacy policy and choosing to migrate their accounts. No data has been shared in violation of the privacy policy. “Data shared to third parties are ONLY to enable certain game features. In the meantime, Krafton will continue to closely monitor and protect any data being transferred to unexpected and restricted IP addresses prior to the official launch,” Krafton clarified. This comes after PUBG Mobile India was **banned in the country** in August 2020 for ‘stealing and transmitting users’ data to servers outside India’. In September last year, PUBG Corporation said it would  **no longer authorise _PUBG Mobile_ franchise to Tencent Games** in India. In May 2021, Krafton announced the reveal of Battlegrounds Mobile India, which is essentially PUBG Mobile in a new avatar.