Google has the right to seize users’ smartphones

Google has received the right to confiscate users’ smartphones if they were repaired unofficially. Android Authority reports this.

Media journalists referred to YouTube blogger Louis Rossmann, who discovered the corresponding clause in the contract for the service and repair of Google smartphones. It stated that if parts manufactured by third-party OEM suppliers are found in the device, the device may be confiscated.

The authors of Android Authority explained that Google can actually confiscate a customer’s smartphone during repairs at an official service center, but it is unknown whether the company has already applied this right. Journalists noted that many users save on maintaining their devices by repairing them using non-original parts.

The revelation of Google’s renovation contract sparked intense reactions among Reddit users. “Google really hates its customers,” one writer wrote. “They want to control everything we own and dictate our lives,” said another user of the site. Android Authority reached out to Google for comment but did not receive a prompt response.

Previously, owners of Samsung smartphones drew attention to a similar clause in the repair agreement. Journalists from 404 Media suggested that such rules of the Korean company violate the law.