(Minghui.org) I have been working in the field of telecommunications for many years. My job allows me to be in contact with mobile phone businesses and telecommunication providers. The following are my thoughts on cell phone security.

Currently, technology is in the age of Big Data. As a matter of fact, the common applications (apps) made in China for our cell phones and computers have back doors, which are nodes to collect data. For example, Taobao is able to recall what products you have browsed and recommend similar products to you. Why? Because Taobao collects your information and analyzes your data.

Another example is the 360 Safeguard software. Although it's called a safeguard, it was actually a former hacking software. In other words, a former thief can easily catch thieves, so the software was well liked and spread for its Trojan horse scanner capability. It has now been turned into an Internet security product. It started collecting user data in its early years. In one case, a company's confidential product information was divulged because it used 360 Safeguard. Another company stole their product design and started selling the exact same product a month before the original company released it.

We live in a world under surveillance. What we do is completely transparent, and we are monitored at every moment.

When I first started working in telecommunications, there were no smart phones. However, China Mobile and China Telecom could still locate anyone with a phone accurately through their cell phone towers. China Telecom later developed its Skynet Project. The 20 million surveillance cameras are very powerful, equipped with facial recognition capability. These cameras can capture the image of a driver's license clearly from 200 meters away.

Reading the Minghui editorial “What All Dafa Disciples Must Know,” I thought, “It's not limited to these apps. Taobao, Alipay, 360 Safeguard, QQ browser and many other software that we use in daily life are in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).”

Even if you use an old-fashioned cell phone with no smart features, the CCP can still find your exact location. The SIM card in your phone can be used to tap into your phone.

For fellow practitioners in China, uninstalling apps isn't the goal. The key is to eliminate our attachment to these apps and truly follow Master's teachings regarding security issues. Offering salvation to sentient beings with attention to our own safety and the safety of our fellow practitioners is what we should do.

We should uninstall these apps, because technically, WeChat, QQ, and other apps are much more convenient and low-cost forms of surveillance than Skynet's facial recognition. If some apps can't be spared at the moment, you may consider switching to an Apple cell phone (older models are priced as low as a few hundred Yuan). I'm strongly against using any cell phone with the Android OS, because it is easily customized and the back door is difficult to remove.

Other security measures include turning off any GPS location services, turning off access to the phone's camera, microphone and photographs. Only turn on the needed access when you want to use it, and turn it off after you are done. If you use an Apple phone, you can turn off all these settings under Privacy, and turn them on only when you need to use them. Let's do our best to offer salvation to sentient beings under the premise of staying safe and never leave any loopholes for the old forces to take advantage.

If you think you aren't good at tweaking technology, please keep in mind that your cell phone is an eavesdropping and tracking device. You must not take your cell phone with you when you do anything related to your cultivation or activities for validating the Fa.