Annnd it looks like TCL/Alcatel has (finally) been called out for the same
Disgruntled Alcatel owners have been sounding the alarm about Alcatel's shady built-in applications for a long time but our complaints have fallen on deaf ears.
It's about time Alcatel's dodgy apps are finally getting some attention from the media other than just angry users on Android message boards looking for ways to delete/disable this data sucking bloatware.
https://www.upstreamsystems.com/secure-d-uncovers-pre-installed-malware-alcatel-android-smartphones-manufactured-tcl/