A Chengdu repair-shop owner opened a customer's photo album, files and chats after receiving the unlock code. He was detained 7 days and fined RMB 700.
Tags:He Left His Phone for Repair in China — Then Found His Photo Album Open for 15 Minutes
Image from the original Sichuan Online report
Handing over your phone password for a repair does not mean giving someone permission to explore your private life.
A recent case in Chengdu has drawn attention after a customer discovered that a repair-shop owner had opened his photo album, files and chat applications while the phone was being serviced. The shop owner was later detained for seven days and fined RMB 700.
He checked the phone’s usage records
The customer, identified by Chinese media as Mr. Chen, took his faulty phone to a repair shop and gave the owner his password so the device could be inspected.
One day later, after collecting the phone, Chen checked its usage history. He found records showing that several private applications had been opened during the repair.
His photo album alone had been used for 15 minutes. Files and chat applications also showed activity.
Concerned that his personal information may have been accessed, Chen reported the matter to the police.
The customer described what he found in his phone records. Image: Sichuan Online / Shenzhen Evening News
The repair-shop owner said he was “just curious”
According to Sichuan Online, police investigated and imposed seven days of administrative detention and a RMB 700 fine on the shop owner.
After completing the detention, the owner was asked whether he had done anything similar before. He gave unclear answers and said that he had not transferred files from Chen’s phone.
The report did not say that any of Chen’s private material had been publicly distributed.
However, viewing private photos, files or messages without permission can itself constitute an invasion of privacy — even if nothing is posted or forwarded.
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A password is not unlimited permission
The important distinction in this case is consent.
Chen provided his password for one specific reason: to allow the shop to diagnose and repair the phone. That did not authorize the owner to browse unrelated photos, conversations or personal documents.
Phones may contain identity documents, banking information, medical records, work files and years of private conversations. A repair worker’s access should therefore be limited to what is reasonably necessary to complete the repair.
Why the owner was punished
Sichuan Online noted that Chinese law protects personal photographs, conversations, identity documents and other private information stored on a phone.
Providing an unlock code for a repair authorizes access needed for that repair. It does not give a technician unlimited permission to inspect unrelated content.
The report cited China’s Public Security Administration Punishments Law, which allows detention or a fine for peeping into, secretly photographing, eavesdropping on or distributing another person’s private information. More serious cases can result in detention of five to ten days as well as a fine.
In Chen’s case, the phone’s own usage history became the key sign that applications unrelated to the repair had been opened.
For anyone leaving a phone at a repair shop, the simplest precaution is to ask whether the unlock code is necessary and use the device’s repair or maintenance mode if it has one.
Source: 四川在线
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