Carrier IQ provides telemetry to cellular carriers and manufacturers, and according to the company itself, its software is preinstalled on over 141 million phones. Now, a security researcher claims that the same software is monitoring every single key you press on your smartphone, reading your SMS, and logging much of the personal data you transmit, too — all with an app that you can't remove. We'll continue to update this stream as we find out what's really going on.
Feb 22, 2013, 5:11 PM UTCAdi Robertson
HTC settles with FTC over leaving Carrier IQ and other logging tools open to hackers
Sep 14, 2012, 4:26 PM UTCAdi Robertson
Mobile Device Privacy Act, meant to stop Carrier IQ-style data collection, introduced in Congress
Representative Edward Markey has introduced the Mobile Device Privacy Act, a bill meant to prevent companies from tracking data on mobile phones without consumer knowledge.
May 8, 2012, 7:00 PM UTCDieter Bohn
Can Carrier IQ's new Chief Privacy Officer build a 'culture of privacy'?
Carrier IQ is no stranger to privacy issues in the mobile space after last November's discovery that its software was being improperly logged by HTC and the subsequent fallout. Today, the company announced that it has hired on a new "Chief Privacy Officer and General Counsel," Magnolia Mobley. We sat down with Mobley and Carrier IQ's Andrew Coward to discuss her new role in the company and where Carrier IQ is going now that it has a much more public face than before.
Feb 27, 2012, 2:44 PM UTCChris Ziegler
Carrier IQ lets carriers open their network quality stats to subscribers
Carrier IQ is offering an upgrade to its IQ Care product that allows carriers to offer their subscribers a view into metrics on dropped calls, battery life, and network performance.
Jan 30, 2012, 9:24 PM UTCT.C. Sottek
Cellphone privacy bill introduced, would reveal and regulate Carrier IQ-like tracking software
The row that's been brewing for months over controversial Carrier IQ software has prompted action in Congress: a draft bill titled The Mobile Device Privacy Act was introduced in the US House of Representatives today that, if enacted, would require companies to disclose tracking software and detail what information it collects.
Jan 20, 2012, 4:06 AM UTCDieter Bohn
Sprint removes Carrier IQ from Evo 4G, Evo Design 4G, and Epic 4G; adds bugfixes
After updating the Evo 3D to remove Carrier IQ software, Sprint has begun pushing out updates for a few more Android phones to strip the customer tracking software. The HTC Evo 4G, Samsung Epic 4G, and HTC Evo Design 4G are all getting updates beginning today, and all three also are getting various bugfixes as well.
Dec 22, 2011, 4:26 AM UTCDieter Bohn
Electronic Frontier Foundation reverse engineers Carrier IQ data collection
The EFF has begun a project to parse and collect Carrier IQ profiles, which are the instructions on each phone that tell it what information to collect and send to carriers. The profiles are not strongly encrypted, but do not contain personal information.
Dec 21, 2011, 10:20 PM UTCNilay Patel
The Verge Interview: Senator Al Franken on privacy, location tracking, and Carrier IQ
The Verge asked Senator Al Franken about privacy, Carrier IQ, and how to protect consumers' rights in a connected world.
Dec 21, 2011, 7:14 PM UTCChris Ziegler
T-Mobile responds to Sen. Franken's Carrier IQ inquiry: nine phones, 450k customers
T-Mobile has now responded to a request for information from US Senator Al Franken on how it makes use of Carrier IQ's many performance logging capabilities.
Dec 16, 2011, 9:18 PM UTCDante D'Orazio
Sprint has 'disabled use' of Carrier IQ software
MobileBurn has received a statement confirming that Sprint is having Carrier IQ removed from all of its phones. In the statement, Sprint said that it has "weighed customer concerns and we have disabled use of the tool so that diagnostic information and data is no longer being collected."
Dec 16, 2011, 4:45 AM UTCDieter Bohn
AT&T, Sprint, Samsung, and HTC detail Carrier IQ installations
In response to a request for more information from Senator Al Franken, AT&T, Sprint, Samsung, and HTC have responded with letters detailing their use of Carrier IQ's software on their handsets. Sprint is by far the biggest user of the software, admitting to installations on 26 million devices. AT&T has the software installed on 900,00 devices, though it's only active on 575,000 of them
Dec 15, 2011, 6:26 PM UTCDante D'Orazio
RIM provides instructions for removing Carrier IQ from BlackBerrys
A senior RIM executive has provided instructions on how to remove Carrier IQ software from its devices.
Dec 14, 2011, 8:05 PM UTCNilay Patel
Carrier IQ under investigation from FTC and FCC, company says it asked for meetings
The Washington Post reports that Carrier IQ executives are in DC this week to meet with the FCC, FTC, and congressional staffers about their software and associated privacy concerns.
Dec 14, 2011, 3:53 AM UTCDieter Bohn
Leaked Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch ROM removes Carrier IQ software
Dec 13, 2011, 6:47 AM UTCSean Hollister
Carrier IQ collected encrypted SMS 'unintentionally,' working on fix for logging issues
Carrier IQ released a PDF today to better explain its cellular tracking system, and therein, explains that it unintentionally collected some encrypted SMS messages and is working on a certification process to help OEMs and carriers ensure they aren't logging private data.
Dec 13, 2011, 1:04 AM UTCSean Hollister
FBI holding Carrier IQ data for 'law enforcement purposes'
A Freedom of Information Act request has revealed that the FBI is using Carrier IQ data for "law enforcement purposes."
Dec 5, 2011, 8:18 PM UTCSean Hollister
Carrier IQ interview: inside the brave new world of carrier phone tracking
Dec 5, 2011, 4:43 PM UTCBryan Bishop
Alleged T-Mobile document lists phones using Carrier IQ, won't be letting users dodge ETF
An alleged internal T-Mobile document has revealed which of the carrier's phones are using the controversial Carrier IQ tracking software.
Dec 4, 2011, 2:29 AM UTCDieter Bohn
Carrier IQ denies responsiblity for insecure log files, suggests manufacturers are to blame
Log files discovered on HTC devices that detailed sensitive information initially appeared to be created by Carrier IQ, but now the company contends that it did not create those files. Instead, they were created by an insecure implementation of its software by HTC.
Dec 2, 2011, 1:21 PM UTCJamie Keene
O2, Rogers, Three UK, and Vodafone join the list of Carrier IQ deniers
O2, Three, and Vodafone in the UK, and Rogers in Canada, have announced that Carrier IQ is not present on any of the devices they sell, with O2 going a step further and saying that it "doesn't collect" information about users.
Dec 2, 2011, 12:55 AM UTCSean Hollister
Carrier IQ categorically denies recording, storing or transmitting several forms of personal info
Dec 2, 2011, 12:44 AM UTCSean Hollister
AT&T and T-Mobile admit to using Carrier IQ, Samsung passes the buck, Microsoft and HP deny Windows Phone or webOS involvement
AT&T and T-Mobile admit to using Carrier IQ, and Samsung says that the software is installed but isn't using the data. Microsoft and HP claim their operating systems never included the software to begin with.
Dec 1, 2011, 11:53 PM UTCSean Hollister
Carrier IQ deflects Senator Franken's inquiry onto OEMs and cellular carriers
Senator Al Franken is now formally asking AT&T, Sprint, HTC and Samsung to explain their use of the Carrier IQ tracking software.
Dec 1, 2011, 10:55 PM UTCDieter Bohn
Google confirms: we have no 'affiliation with Carrier IQ'
In addition to confirming our report last night that Nexus devices do not include the software, Google also distanced itself from any responsibility for the tracking software: We do not have an affiliation with CarrierIQ. Android is an open source effort and we do not control how carriers or OEMs customize their devices.
