Image Source: Visual China

Beijing, July 11 (TMTPOST) – WPS, Microsoft Office and Google Docs’ challenger in China, is accused of modifying local files without users’ consent, according to a news report by Hongxing Zibenju.

It was reported by some WPS users on social media that WPS might have some word-detecting mechanism that looks for sensitive words. Once sensitive words are detected, WPS will lock the local files containing these words, users claimed. Some users suspect that WPS has violated their privacy. On social media, some users who primarily write to make a living said that they are considering switching to Microsoft Office.

The controversial became the most trending topic on Chinese social media Weibo.

Beijing Kingsoft Office, the owner of WPS, told Hongxing Zibenju that WPS does not scan users’ local files.

The company said on its Weibo page that a shared document recently shared by a user was suspended of violation of rules and that WPS banned other users from accessing the link in accordance with relevant rules and regulations. The matter was misinterpreted as WPS deleting users’ local files, the company said.

“WPS has been in the market for over 30 years. We always consider user experience and the protection of user privacy as our priority,” Kingsoft said in an announcement. “The report of us deleting local files of user is a misleading misinterpretation. We would seek to protect our legal rights through legal measures.”

Hongxing Zibenju discovered that WPS said in the user agreement updated on May 24, 2022, that it would collect the content and file information (including file type, size, pages, modification time and location, etc.) to provide online services that involve the uploading of files, images, voice recordings and records, etc.

WPS Office is an office suite for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and HarmonyOS developed by Zhuhai-based Chinese software developer Kingsoft. It also comes pre-installed on Fire tablets. WPS Office is made up of three primary components: WPS Writer, WPS Presentation, and WPS Spreadsheet.