Wiko

Wiko (/ˈwɪkoʊ/ WIK-oh) is a French company,^[1] fully owned subsidiary of Chinese mobile phone manufacturer Tinno Mobile.^[2]

Wiko

Headquarters	London, United Kingdom
Area served	France Switzerland United Kingdom Belgium Greece Spain Portugal Malaysia Philippines Indonesia Thailand Vietnam Sri Lanka
Key people	Laurent Dahan
Parent	Tinno Mobile
Website	https://fr.wikomobile.com/

History

Wiko was established in February 2011 by French businessman Laurent Dahan.^[2] Its head office, design and marketing teams are based in Marseille, France.^[2]

Wiko shipped 2.6 million devices overall in 2013, mostly dual-SIM Android smartphones.^[2] That year, it sold 1.7 million smartphones in France,^[3] i.e. 7 % of the French market^[2][4] and it was the country's second largest selling smartphone firm after Samsung.^[5]

In 2014 Wiko entered the British market.^{[citation needed]}

In 2018 Wiko was present in more than 30 countries in: Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa and had around 30 million users, twice the number of two years earlier.

Privacy data collection

In November 2017, it is revealed that pre-installed application within phones from Wiko (a Tinno Mobile subsidiary) would transmit technical data monthly to Tinno without customer consent. The company confirmed the existence of such information collection system and said updated version of those applications will no longer collect geographical information of devices.^{[6][7][8][9][10][11][12]}

Remote shut down

A vulnerability was identified that allows anyone to remotely shut down a phone using a "=" text message, the flaw could be in hardware, rather than software.^[13][14][15]

See also

• BQ (company)

• Technology portal
• Companies portal

References

1. "French smartphone brand Wiko now in the Philippines". bworldonline. June 9, 2022.
2. Daniel Thomas, Telecoms Correspondent (June 16, 2014). "Smartphone maker Wiko challenges big players". Financial Times. Retrieved November 27, 2014. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
3. Vive La Tech (August 7, 2014). "Wiko: Meet the Chinese smartphone maker with a French twist that's set to conquer Europe". ZDNet. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
4. "Mobile phones: The rise of the cheap smartphone". The Economist. April 5, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
5. "Wiko gears up to challenge big players". Gulfnews.com. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
6. Sebastien (20 November 2017). "Wiko nous confirme l'envoi de données techniques à Tinno et annonce du changement".
7. "Wiko accusé d'envoyer des données en Chine sans l'accord de ses utilisateurs". 20 November 2017.
8. Heuillard, Romain (23 November 2017). "Affaire Wiko : les mesures du fabricant, insuffisantes pour la Cnil". Frandroid (in French). Retrieved 4 March 2021.
9. "Would you give up your privacy for a cheaper smartphone?". NextPit. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
10. "Wiko Reacts Unreasonably to Data Collection Allegations". 24 November 2017. Archived from the original on 2021-02-27.
11. "Wiko Smartphone Transmits Data to Chinese Servers Without Permission". 23 November 2017. Archived from the original on 2021-02-27.
12. "News | Wiko". Archived from the original on 2018-01-25.
13. "Wiko Mobiles Can be Remotely Crashed with a Text Message". The Hacker News. Archived from the original on 2021-01-17. A vulnerability has been identified in Wiko Mobiles that could allow anyone to remotely force it to shut down abruptly with a text message only...the flaw could be in Wiko Mobile Hardware, rather than software.
14. "Une faille qui fait planter les téléphones Wiko à distance". Korben (in French). 13 June 2014.
15. Korben. "Comment faire planter un téléphone Wiko à distance". youtube. Retrieved 5 March 2021.