Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has been accused of sending user information back to servers in Mainland companies in Beijing and Guangzhou. The privacy authority of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government has launched an investigation on the Chinese phone maker, Apple Daily reported earlier this week.

Information security company Nexusguard Consulting, which brought the case to the surface, claims that the WhatsApp downloaded from Xiaomi's pre-installed App market could have been modified to send user information back servers on the mainland, while the Google Play version sends info to the US.

These servers belong to - among others - the state-owned telecommunications company China Unicom, and two internet companies based in Beijing and Guangzhou, the report added.

Xiaomi could not be reached for a comment.