iQIYI China (爱奇艺)

Is iQIYI China safe?

The Chinese iQIYI app, 爱奇艺, is safe enough for streaming dramas and films in China, with no breach or fine on record. The trade-offs are advertising and fairness. Apple's label says it tracks you with your device ID and ad data, all data stays in mainland China, China's cyberspace regulator named it in 2020 over vulgar content shown to students, and courts have twice sided with paying members against changes to VIP rules. We score it 48/100, between Bilibili (42) and iQIYI's international app (52).

This is a different app from the international iQIYI. It is run by Beijing iQIYI Science & Technology, a company controlled by Baidu, and has about 26.2 million ratings on China's App Store, where it was in the top ten in Entertainment in October 2026.

What the app collects

Apple's China label lists device ID and advertising data under "Data Used to Track You". Linked to your identity are your phone number, search and browsing history, customer-support messages, identifiers and product interaction, used for analytics, personalisation and app features. Device ID is shared for third-party advertising.

The basic-function privacy policy, in force since 11 December 2024, is detailed. It collects a long list of device identifiers, your viewing, search and like history, and motion sensors while you use the app. Each time you open the app or bring it back to the front, it reads the clipboard to look for iQIYI share codes and uploads only those. When it sees unusual behaviour, such as a login from a new place or repeated wrong passwords, it collects Wi-Fi lists, GPS, Bluetooth and cell data, checks your common apps on the phone without uploading the list, and looks for processes from apps used by fraud rings.

Contacts, camera, microphone and location are off by default and asked for only when a feature needs them. The ad-management screen describes how ads are targeted and lets you refuse both personalised ads and cross-platform ad recommendations, which tells you the second kind exists. Data collected in China is stored in China.

Regulators and the courts

In summer 2020 the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) ran a campaign on content for minors and named iQIYI's online-class channel among seven platforms that used vulgar, violent or horror content to draw in students. It used summons, rectification orders and suspensions of channel updates against the platforms, depending on how serious each case was. We count this as one order with no fine.

Two later data-protection items stay as context. In May 2025 a national notice under a campaign led by the CAC and the industry ministry (MIIT) listed 65 apps that broke personal-data rules, among them a version of 爱奇艺 pre-installed in Chery cars, cited for five failures including no easy way to withdraw consent. iQIYI said a partner built that 2022 car version; the notice did not name the phone app. iQIYI's annual report for 2025 also says the CAC and MIIT notified "certain iQIYI apps" to improve data protection, without naming them.

The courts matter more to paying users. When "Joy of Life" aired in December 2019, iQIYI charged VIP members extra to see episodes early. The Beijing Internet Court ruled on 2 June 2020 that the new terms did not bind the lawyer who sued, and ordered iQIYI to restore his benefits. In January 2023 iQIYI cut casting to TVs to 480p for Gold members. Shanghai's consumer council criticised the move, iQIYI restored 720p and 1080p for existing subscribers in February, and in a first-instance ruling a court gave another long-time member back his HD casting rights. These were private suits, so they are context in our regulatory score and weigh on transparency and control instead.

Accounts and security

We found no reported breach of iQIYI user data. The company told US investors that it faces cyber-attacks "on a regular basis", including hacking into user accounts and redirecting traffic, and that it fixed them without major impact. It runs a bug bounty programme through its security response centre (71SRC) and uses outside assessors. Comments and messages are not end-to-end encryptedEnd-to-end encryptionEncryption in which only the sender and the recipient can read a message. The company running the service cannot see its content.More in the glossary.

How to use iQIYI China more safely

1. Turn on youth mode for children and set the device's own screen-time limits as well.
2. Switch off personalised and cross-platform ads under My, Settings, Privacy management and settings, Ad management.
3. Read the VIP tier rules before paying: casting quality, device count and early access differ by tier.
4. Do not buy cheap shared VIP accounts or "free VIP" apps; they lead to account theft and payment fraud.
5. To leave, use My, Settings, Privacy management and settings, Personal information management, Delete account.

How we scored it

Transparency and control (56) is the strongest factor, with deletion and ad switches in the app, followed by the regulatory record (55), one regulator order without a fine, and security (54), with no breach on record. Privacy (35) is the weakest, because of tracking, clipboard reads and sensor collection. Scams and harmful content (48) reflects the 2020 finding on content for students.