Cheetah Mobile is Snake Oil?

Droid_Guy · Nov 15, 2016

I have been told by someone on another forum that Cheetah Mobile products are no good? I have CM Security, CM Backup, Clean Master, CM Browser and Battery Doctor and they seem to do a good job, so can someone tell me what the problem is with CM products?

makaiguy · Nov 15, 2016

Here's just one of many posts: http://androidforums.com/threads/cleaning-new-android.1082821/#post-7414988

Thom · Nov 15, 2016

Uninstall all of them. What I tell everyone ...

Android apps report false results and send your personal data to facility in China– do not install
AnTuTu Benchmark – compare your device to other devices – AuTuTu Tools
Boat Browser – internet browser
Clean Master – optimizer, speed booster. and anti-virus – Cheetah Mobile
Dolphin Browser – internet browser
File Manager – manipulate device and cloud folders and files – Cheetah Mobile
File Manager HD – manipulate device and cloud folders and files – Cheetah Mobile
QuickPic Gallery – photo gallery – Cheetah Mobile

I was an avid Clean Master user. I thought I was doing everything great. Every time it ran it told me I had made great amounts of space available. I ran it one day and it told me I had freed up 1.2GB. I tit absolutely nothing for 24 hours and ran it again. It told me I freed up 1.2GB.

Snake Oil doesn't start to describe it.

... Thom

Dannydet · Nov 15, 2016

Listen to Thom... And the rest of us... Do yourself a favor and uninstall them all.
Nuf said.

Droid_Guy · Nov 15, 2016

How about All-In-One Toolbox?

Droid_Guy · Nov 15, 2016

How do I delete my account and data from CM Backup?

Thom · Nov 15, 2016

I don't really know. What would you trust to do it?

I assume the damage is already done and the only thing you can do is change passwords to something new.

... Thom

Droid_Guy · Nov 15, 2016

Thom said:
I don't really know. What would you trust to do it?

I assume the damage is already done and the only thing you can do is change passwords to something new.

... Thom

Before I uninstall it I would like to remove my personal data

Thom · Nov 15, 2016

I know the feeling .... all too well ... assume it was stolen.

Here's your problem ... when you know someone is a liar why would you ever ask them to do anything?

Change the passwords and accept the loss.

I stonily recommend that you never put any data on a phone that ...

Is not duplicated somewhere else.
You would not like in the hands of your worst enemy.

So ... a list of passwords maintained on your phone is a no-no.

... Thom

psionandy · Nov 16, 2016

To be fair to cheetah mobile... If you read their privacy policy on the Play Store, they are very honest about the fact that they are taking data from you... And by using their applications you've agreed to let them.

Which is why people really need to read privacy policies....

Having read them and realised what information I'd be letting them have access to, there's no way I'd let their software anywhere near my device)

dontpanicbobby · Nov 16, 2016

It's hard to be fair to a company that buys up popular android enthusiast apps and turns them into spying machines. Every one of those products Thom listed was great until Cheetah Mobile acquired them.

psionandy · Nov 16, 2016

It did seem a bit strange writing the phrase I'll admit...

Jhayzone · Nov 16, 2016

Man, it is probably too late for that. What they already have is their and you won't be able to take it from them. Just uninstall all their stuffs to prevent future data mining. Same goes for all DU stuffs.

Hadron · Nov 16, 2016

dontpanicbobby said:
It's hard to be fair to a company that buys up popular android enthusiast apps and turns them into spying machines. Every one of those products Thom listed was great until Cheetah Mobile acquired them.

Presumably with the exception of Clean Master, which I think was always Cheetah Mobile.

Yeah, I was really pissed when they bought QuickPic. Very sneaky as people won't necessarily spot when the developer name changes.

Thom · Nov 16, 2016

psionandy said:
To be fair to cheetah mobile... If you read their privacy policy on the Play Store, they are very honest about the fact that they are taking data from you... And by using their applications you've agreed to let them.

I just reread the Privacy agreement for Clean Master and it seems rather "creative" to me.

They extract personal information but do not store it and warn that since it is crossing international borders it might be compromised. They also warn that a third-party app that they transfer control to while in Clean Master might extract your personal information.

Non-personal data they extract and store ... like your IP address.

Also ... something I never knew ... the app Live.Me is available for iPhone and Android. Play Store lists Cheetah Mobile as the developer. It's Privacy agreement is similar.

... Thom

psionandy · Nov 16, 2016

Ahh Nuts.... looks like they've changed it

Last time I read it, it was clearer, and I'm sure there wasn't a denial that the collected personal information.

Droid_Guy · Nov 16, 2016

What do you guys use to 'clean' your phone? Please don't say an alcohol wipe

Thom · Nov 16, 2016

SD Maid – System Cleaning Tool – remove junk from SD cards – free version
SD Maid Pro - Unlocker – unlock paid

... Thom

Thom · Nov 16, 2016

psionandy said:
Last time I read it, it was clearer, and I'm sure there wasn't a denial that the collected personal information.

It really needs a lawyer.

Cheetah Mobile doesn't do it but that expose the data to others who might do it.

How about a Cheetah Mobil wholly owned subsidiary that only processes "found" data?

As was pointed out on Morning Joe this morning ... any data going into China should assume to be in the hands of the Chinese government.

If they aren't going to use it why do the transfer it from your phone to their office?

... Thom

Dannydet · Nov 16, 2016

SD maid pro is also what I use

psionandy · Nov 16, 2016

Droid_Guy said:
What do you guys use to 'clean' your phone? Please don't say an alcohol wipe

I don't.

I used to... I'd get lag problems.. and worry about things.. run clean master and then suddenly it would be all right again. then a day later, I'd need to run it again... I was convinced that CM was doing a great job... and it was making things better. Then someone suggested that CM might be the problem. So I wiped the device, installed the same software (except clean master) and THERE WAS NO SLOWDOWN. I didn't need to clean it at all. So i stopped... unless you're on a device with very limited storage <16 GB, i think you should be OK. No need to clean, or worry about anything, it should look after itself

Thom · Nov 16, 2016

I use SD Maid Pro occasionally. The deletions are minor. If you are developing stuff you can leave trash around. It tidies up.

Under Android 3 it was a big issue. Under Android 6 it is mostly unneeded.

... Thom

Droid_Guy · Nov 18, 2016

I reset my phone and so far I have SDMaid, Adguard and Zemana for my AV... It takes a few hours to charge which is very slow compared to when I used battery doctor so what battery app do you all recommend?

mikedt · Nov 18, 2016

Droid_Guy said:
I reset my phone and so far I have SDMaid, Adguard and Zemana for my AV... It takes a few hours to charge which is very slow compared to when I used battery doctor so what battery app do you all recommend?

I put it to you that "free" Battery Doctor was telling you porkies, while at the same time it was data mining your stuff to the CM servers in China, and consuming battery power constantly downloading and serving you ads.

Battery Doctor is bad medicine for your phone, and will make it sick.

Thom · Nov 18, 2016

I use the system control panel and turn Location off when not needed.

I do not use the Facebook app.

Both of these consume a lot of battery even when I think they are not in use.

... Thom

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