TikTok's owner ByteDance has moved to tighten its control over smartphones equipped with artificial intelligence after some of China's most widely used apps restricted voice control features.
ByteDance said in a statement on Friday that it will prevent the Nubia M153 AI phone from claiming incentives aimed at active human users.
We also disabled the Assistant's interactions with financial apps, such as banking and payment services, and suspended AI features in competitive games to maintain fair play.
The move follows moves by a number of major platforms to restrict Doubo's operations, including payment app Alipay, which is owned by Ant Group, an affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding, which also owns the South China Morning Post.
Launched as a trial product, the device attracted strong interest from early adopters by offering a way to control the device without touching the screen. For example, users can enter verbal commands into their phones to automatically publish social media posts.
Nubia M153 user and freelancer Chen Tang, 21, said Pinduoduo, Alibaba's Taobao and Alipay, and Ele.me cannot be operated through Doubao, which is built into the phone's operating system.
