Skip to main content

HMD Global is moving all Nokia user data to Finland to better protect it

Nokia 4.2 Review
Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

HMD Global wants its Nokia users to feel a little more secure when it comes to their data. To that end, the company announced it is partnering with Google Cloud and consultancy firm CGI to move data like phone activation data and device performance data to the Google Cloud Region in Hamina, Finland.

The data will begin being stored in Finland starting with the new Nokia 4.2, Nokia 3.2, and Nokia 2.2, after which data from previous devices will be stored in Hamina after Android Q is released to the public. Nokia anticipates that all the data will have been migrated to Finland in 2020. Previously, user data from Nokia phones was stored in HMD Global servers in Singapore, which was managed by Amazon Web Services.

“Google Cloud and CGI were natural choices to be our strategic cloud partners thanks to our pre-existing close collaborations with them, which ensures that we’re implementing our leading data security and analytics technology at a global level. We want to remain open and transparent about how we collect and store device activation data and want to ensure people understand why and how it improves their phone experience,” Juho Sarvikas, chief product officer at HMD Global, said in a statement.

Data security and privacy are increasingly becoming an issue for tech companies as the public becomes more aware of the importance of data safety. It’s important to note that Nokia is making good steps to make user data more secure, but that doesn’t mean that all user data is safe. After all, different apps and services handle their own data differently and some are less savvy about it than others. Not only that, but while performance data and install data might be shielded from some, Google still has access to that data.

The movement of the data will also benefit Nokia, which says that by moving the data to the new data center, it will be able to fully leverage data analytics to “benefit Nokia phone fans around the world.”

It’s probably not a coincidence that the news is announced a few weeks after Nokia admitted it had been sending some user data to China. According to Nokia, the issue was a software bug and has since been remedied.

Editors' Recommendations

Christian de Looper
Christian’s interest in technology began as a child in Australia, when he stumbled upon a computer at a garage sale that he…
Nokia’s new, cheap X100 gives T-Mobile customers 5G for just $252
The Nokia X100 on a table

HMD Global is launching a new cheap 5G phone exclusively for T-Mobile and Metro, the company announced on Tuesday. Known as the Nokia X100, this phone combines 5G, a big screen, and great speakers for the low price of $252 for the 6GB RAM/128GB storage configuration.

Like most of Nokia's new phones, it's a big one. There's a 6.67-inch Full HD screen (no 90Hz at this price range) with Nokia's OZO Audio technology for an immersive audiovisual experience. There's a quad-lens camera with a 48-megapixel main camera and three other cameras that'll probably disappoint you, and all-day battery life brought by a combination of Android 11's adaptive battery and a 4,470mAh cell.

Read more
Nokia’s new G300 may be the most affordable 5G phone in the U.S.
Image of the Nokia G300 filming.

HMD Global is releasing the Nokia G300, its most affordable 5G phone yet, and possibly one of the cheapest ones to ever launch in North America. Releasing on October 19, the phone will cost $199 and come in a charcoal color. However, it can only be purchased from the sellers Tracfone Wireless and Straight Talk Wireless. Nokia's already announced and released six other phones across three series in 2021.

“We take pride in creating life-proof phones that you can keep for longer thanks to the durability of our devices inside and out," said Cristian Capelli, vice president, North America, HDM Global. "What we have achieved with the Nokia G300 is an elevated yet affordable 5G smartphone with a two-day battery life, meaning you and your family don't need to be chained to a charging cord, and you’ll have more time for the things that matter."

Read more
Nokia gets back in the tablet game with the $250 Nokia T20
The back of the Nokia T20 tablet.

The Nokia name is back on an Android tablet --for only the second time in its history -- with the arrival of the Nokia T20. HMD Global, which owns the rights to the Nokia brand name for mobile devices, says the T20 is everything you’d expect from a Nokia smartphone, but in a tablet. This means long battery life, durability, and software longevity.

The last time we saw an Android Nokia tablet was with the N1 in 2015, and the company was very different at the time. Nokia the smartphone brand had recently been purchased by Microsoft, but tablets were apparently still fair game for the Finnish company to make, so it partnered with manufacturer Foxconn to do so. The N1 used Android and Nokia’s own Z Launcher interface.

Read more