It’s not easy staying private while playing games online – least of all when the game you’re playing is accused of sending data to the Chinese government. So, is Krafton’s new version of PUBG Mobile for the Indian market safe to play? Let’s find out.
Does Battlegrounds Mobile Send Data to China?
According to a report by IGN India from back in June, BGMI did send data from Android devices to China Mobile Communications Corporation. And yes, the company is state-owned, so you can see where the accusations of sending data to the Chinese government come from.
The same report also discovered that the game would ping a Tencent server in Beijing upon start-up. Not only that, but BGMI communicated with a cloud computing platform and anti-cheat servers run by Tencent as well.
Fortunately, Krafton addressed these concerns and announced that it would take steps to remedy any problems. The company is also committed to monitoring and preventing unauthorized data transfers to “restricted IP addresses.”
So Is Battlegrounds Mobile Safe to Play?
For the most part, any security concerns regarding data transfers to Chinese servers have been alleviated. That doesn’t mean Battlegrounds Mobile is 100% safe to play, of course. You still need to take your own precautions when gaming online.
Read on for some cybersecurity tips on how to protect your account and keep your data safe from hackers.
Safeguard Your Logins
You might be surprised to hear, but hackers don’t really like working hard. Not when trying to steal individual accounts, at least. The less they have to work on making a quick buck, the better. As such, keeping your logins safe isn’t a difficult process either.
Follow these steps and you’ll be way ahead of the curve when it comes to keeping hackers at bay:
- Use password managers to create and keep track of strong, unique passwords for all your emails, sensitive accounts, and game logins. Not only will this make it impossible for hackers to guess your password, but it’ll also prevent you from inputting your account details on phishing sites. Two for one – not bad!
- Create a separate email for your gaming and other non-essential accounts. In the event that one of them gets compromised by a hacker, you won’t need to rush to reset all your passwords and sensitive logins. You can use free email services like ProtonMail and Tutanota so you don’t have to share any personal details, either. Say, a phone number or other identifiers.
- Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on all your accounts, especially if you log in through social media. Here’s how to do so for Twitter, Facebook, and Google Play. Linking more than one social account to BGMI lets you have a backup login option in case you get hacked as well. Twitter login got compromised? Login with Google Play and reset everything.
Protect Your Data on Public Wi-Fi
Public hotspots usually aren’t password-protected, which is great for those of us that love free Wi-Fi. However, keep in mind that hackers do so, too. They can easily eavesdrop on hundreds (if not thousands) of users every day, in an attempt to harvest login data.
To prevent that from happening, we recommend using a Virtual Private Network (or VPN) app on your smartphone. The app will encrypt your data, or scramble it until it becomes impossible to read by eavesdroppers. That includes any Internet providers looking to spy on your online activity.
Not only can VPNs keep your data safe from hacking and online surveillance, but it can also help you bypass firewalls as well. Firewalls are basically Internet rules set up by network admins to stop you from accessing certain online services.
Since most workplaces, schools, and universities probably block BGMI on their grounds, you can use a VPN to help you get around that. Just make sure you use your own smartphone. Devices owned by the school or your workplace could be monitored in other ways that VPNs can’t protect you against.
Don’t Share Your Account
Sharing your Battlegrounds Mobile account may sound good on paper. When you’re busy, a friend or sibling may sign in to grab your daily rewards and do some daily missions. You both get to have fun and keep that daily streak going. Double the playtime, double the loot, right? Of course, that also means double the chances to get hacked.
If you’ve listened to all the advice above, you’re pretty well equipped to deal with the most common threats. However, hackers can be pretty crafty nowadays. You never know when either you or your friend may fall for a legitimate-looking phishing campaign. The promise of free goodies in BGMI can be quite tempting, after all.
In fact, that pretty much goes for any other game out there – so stay vigilant!
Article Submitted By Community Writer