TR Forums

It just blew my mind, almost all Android phones have this application called Carrier IQ installed. Carrier IQ comes pre installed in your mobile and cannot be viewed as it is running hidden.

What is Carrier IQ, exactly?
The software is hidden inside phones there is little you can do to detect that it’s even installed, let alone remove it, and it tracks everything. Keystrokes, browsing and surfing habits, Google searches, and basically every single thing that you are doing on your phone and every button that you press is logged by this software.

For more information visit this link

The only solution to this issue is to install Cooked Rom that are available from XDA...

Some more references.

In fairness so is you iPhone (prior to V5 (according to apple))

EDIT:
Must admit it is a little unsettling and I have just download Cyanogenmod for my HTC because of this.

I will soon update this thread on how to detect the Carrier IQ application. This is a serious threat, just imagine some one finding out your banking credentials...

And its officially Not on any wp7 devices. Another good reason to purchase

Meh. I've been avoiding rooting my phone but I guess I have to now. Does it exist in Honeycomb as well?

Arstechnica has an article that says Apple has that spy program on iOS4 "but we dont use it to track you"---and also, most other Phones have it too--- plus, some US Senator has entered the fray, and is demanding answers about the whole thing.
Here's a few snippets from the ArsTech article:..........


"Carrier IQ software is installed on smartphones to collect information, supposedly to help networks improve service.
But the software has caused an uproar since research apparently showing that Carrier IQ can collect a variety of personal information and transmit it to phone providers".

"US Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) today demanded answers from Carrier IQ regarding whether the company is collecting and transmitting information including numbers dialed, the contents of text messages and e-mails, URLs of websites visited, search query histories, contact information from address books, and keystroke data."

"Android phones have gotten most of the attention in the Carrier IQ controversy, and the likes of AT&T, Sprint, HTC, and Samsung have confirmed using the tracking software on their mobile phones".
[i]"Samsung tells us it installs Carrier IQ at the behest of its carrier partners".[/i]

I've been following the CarrierIQ bit for awhile now. I always suspected it. A month after I got my EVO 4G Android based phone on Sprint me and people on my contact list started getting the same credit card phishing phone calls. Coincedence ? Very possible but made me wonder. Could have been an app me or a friend installed that mined info from the security hole my phone and others had also. It's part of the reason I never installed many apps on my phone and now I'm on a cheap prepaid plan with AT&T. If I had been a heavy smartphone user I would be carrying a Windows Phone device or a Blackberry now (kinda partial to physical keyboards)..... just no need of it at the present.

So....let me get this straight. Big bad evil Microsoft is actually the least evil mobile OS? I love my Windows 7 phone : )

According to Verizon, CarrierIQ is not on any of their phones. Here's a non-extensive list of carriers and manufacturers and their stance on CarrierIQ: Link

Another reason to buy a Nexus.

Jigar wrote:

I will soon update this thread on how to detect the Carrier IQ application. This is a serious threat, just imagine some one finding out your banking credentials...

How to get rid of Carrier IQ?
If you have an Android phone, you can find out whether or not Carrier IQ is installed by using Eckhart’s Logging Test App, and you can use the app to remove the software for the cost of a dollar. The app requires rooting your phone, however, so proceed with caution and be warned: Some reports say it’s not always successful.

On an iPhone, it may already be absent from your iOS 5 device, according to Apple, but if you want to be 100% safe, TechCrunch says you should open your settings, go to “Diagnostics & Usage,” and select “Don’t Send.”

This seems over generalizing the problem. The most concerned ones are US (those who have admitted for now) carrier-subsidized (yeah, all you cheap skates who want free/$100/$200 phones) ones. If you buy unlocked devices direct from manufacturer (I'm thinking Sony Ericsson, Samsung, Google/Samsung), there will be no "carrier crap". A lot of people root their phones to get rid of that anyway so this adds more incentive to root. Of course the most clean way is to install custom firmware and for some phones you may need the ability to unlock the bootloader, which not all phones can.

My Sammy GS2 has been running CyanogenMod 7 since not too long after I bought it. We'll have ICS soon or CyanogenMod 9..

http://www.cyanogenmod.com/blog/cyanoge ... carrier-iq

I rooted my Android and installed Titanium Backup, which allowed me to get rid of a lot of junk without having to install another OS. But I'm guessing Titanium Backup can't see this program?

cynan wrote:

I rooted my Android and installed Titanium Backup, which allowed me to get rid of a lot of junk without having to install another OS. But I'm guessing Titanium Backup can't see this program?

They may find out which service/executable it is attached to soon enough. I would say watch out for your device's development/hacking forums.

Flying Fox wrote:

This seems over generalizing the problem. The most concerned ones are US (those who have admitted for now) carrier-subsidized (yeah, all you cheap skates who want free/$100/$200 phones) ones. If you buy unlocked devices direct from manufacturer (I'm thinking Sony Ericsson, Samsung, Google/Samsung), there will be no "carrier crap". A lot of people root their phones to get rid of that anyway so this adds more incentive to root. Of course the most clean way is to install custom firmware and for some phones you may need the ability to unlock the bootloader, which not all phones can.

The problem is that in the US get an unlocked phone doesn't save you any money typically, the plans cost more or less the same. At best you will get the same rates you currently have, fortunate people are grandfathered in to a good plan.

This is a major reason why I don't have a smartphone. I would rather spend $500+ up front and spend $30-ish a month on service - you know the way they do it in 'socialist' Europe - than save a measly few hundred up front but spend many more hundreds over the contract term.

PenGun wrote:

My Sammy GS2 has been running CyanogenMod 7 since not too long after I bought it. We'll have ICS soon or CyanogenMod 9..

http://www.cyanogenmod.com/blog/cyanoge ... carrier-iq

My Droid Incredible has been rooted for sometime now but i never bothered to install CM7 even though i heard great things. Now this gives me a reason too!

MadManOriginal wrote:

Flying Fox wrote:

This seems over generalizing the problem. The most concerned ones are US (those who have admitted for now) carrier-subsidized (yeah, all you cheap skates who want free/$100/$200 phones) ones. If you buy unlocked devices direct from manufacturer (I'm thinking Sony Ericsson, Samsung, Google/Samsung), there will be no "carrier crap". A lot of people root their phones to get rid of that anyway so this adds more incentive to root. Of course the most clean way is to install custom firmware and for some phones you may need the ability to unlock the bootloader, which not all phones can.

The problem is that in the US get an unlocked phone doesn't save you any money typically, the plans cost more or less the same. At best you will get the same rates you currently have, fortunate people are grandfathered in to a good plan.

This is a major reason why I don't have a smartphone. I would rather spend $500+ up front and spend $30-ish a month on service - you know the way they do it in 'socialist' Europe - than save a measly few hundred up front but spend many more hundreds over the contract term.

I disagree about the US bit, it costs more, in some cases a lot more. I am more familiar with AT&T so let's use that as an example. So you get a high end phone, $200 with 2-year contract. The minimum you have to get is the $40 voice plan and the $15 200MB data. No choice once you connect your smartphone you automatically get "upgraded". That is $1320 over 24 months, taxes and extra fees still be be added. Ok, you need the voice plan anyways, so $15x24 = 360. You add the discounted $200 in there and you get $560 which is more in the case of the $500 Smartphone you can get outside SIM+contract free. People tend to underestimate the power of a contract free situation where you can cut off that additional data feature or even switch to a different carrier (of course you have to pay attention to the frequency bands, which I do) for lower prices and more savings. And then there is the prepaid option, no choice if you get a carrier-bound Smartphone with that "smart upgrade" thing. Many people just get the minimum prepaid voice and then use Wifi everywhere with their smartphones. Prepaid+Wifi will give even more savings. The difference gets bigger if you are on the 2GB plan.

And to me, I place a lot of value on SIM+contract free. In the SIM free case, I visit different countries from time to time. I don't have to be "in good standing" for months in order to ask for an unlock, nor do I have to pay an extra $10-25 just to unlock it myself. I already touched on the contract free part where you don't have to be locked in and forced to pay the whole 24 months. I call these the price for freedom, and this one is intangible but I feel good about it too.

The option that's missing or doesn't make sense due to price structuring is to buy an unsubsidized phone and sign a service contract. That's something I wouldn't mind doing. I agree that it's acceptable to have a 'freedom cost' if you want to buy an unsibsidized phone and go contractless (I might not be happy about the price of the 'freedom cost' but that's a side issue).

Aside from resellers in the US like Virgin Moble, on which you are limited to a few specific phone models even though they resell Sprint service and so any Sprint-compatible phone would work on the network, where is my full price phone+contract option where I don't pay practically the same for service as someone who got a subsidized phone? That's what's missing in particular. I'm able to pay full price for a phone, I don't need a few hundred dollars off at the start, but it's blindingly obvious that the 'subsidy' is not a value at all when you are talking about a few thousand dollar lifetime contract price. I suppose for many people who can't save money worth a damn it is *shrug* but heck, one could be be better off buying on a CC and paying interest for a few months than paying the higher service contract total.

Also, outside the US full price phone+contractless is not unusual at all, and the service prices are quite low. While you might be ok accepting that we have fewer options in the US I am not, therefore I don't have a smartphone yet. One drop in the ocean voting with my dollar.

(Before anyone talks about 'the US is huge and networks cost more' - which they might to a certain extent - just go look at a coverage map. It's not as if in the US we have coverage absolutely everywhere, outside of urban or suburban areas things are often limited to highway corridors and getting service from those highway corridor towers is coincidental.)

Sorry for the thread sidetrack.

I don't believe this is an accident or an isolated incident, as the iphone was also caught doing it recently. This is all part of the global war on freedom/political dissidents "terror". User location tracking has been a cellphone mandate since the 90's for "911 services", and bush proved blanket warrantless wiretapping was acceptable to Americans even though illegal. Anything and everything that can possibly track you can and will without repercussion, like Onstar and TomTom.

This giant spy grid on the American public has been amassing mostly since the "patriot" act, and when you add in the recent unreported bill for military run indefinite detention of citizens without charge or trial, it's very easy to see where this is going. The gov that spies on your cell/facebook account will soon disappear people like OWS protest leaders. The only way to deny we are turning into an Orwellian Police State is to stick your fingers in your ears, and close your mind to the information that is staring us all in the face. First they came for the Muslims, second the OWS protesters, then when they come for you there will be no-one left.

I'm using Cyanogenmod 7.1 which, of course, doesn't have it =)

Hmm, I wasn't aware that this thread was in R&P.

Take the hint.

Thanks for listening.

.

OMG I have and iPhone and I just realised that its got Carrier IQ and......

..hang on, I don't care.

.

mikehodges2 wrote:

OMG I have and iPhone and I just realised that its got Carrier IQ and......

..hang on, I don't care.

Wait till some nerd hacker gets access to the carrier IQ app that is installed in your phone, we will talk than.

Well, it seems that the application is not present on EU, brought-from-the-shelf phones.

But still, everything on these gadgets are designed to leak everything about you. I declined all agreements and didn't register the gmail account for this phone, and the phone is pretty much unusable. Almost impossible to install any apps, everything redirects to appmarket, no way to view youtube, most apps end with, you must agree with blablabla or turn the location service on blablabla.

And the worst thing is that you can't root some of the models without XTC Clip or something, as those Cryogen or whatever mods are exploit based, if I understand correctly, and doesn't work on some models.

Moreover, if I'm not mistaken, rooting the phone is illegal in some countries, so it's copyright protection and DRM all over the place again, and we see how well it worked out for consumers. You have right to backup your software, but no rights to avoid protection measures that block the backup.

And once someone finds a loop in those Zeitgeist services on Linux or IQ services on Android they'll have one of the best databases in the world, phone calls, locations, cc numbers, all logins and passwords, rsa certs etc., - an ultimate identity theft. This can also happen if someone breaks in, or leaks those clumsy service provider databases, like Sony, Steam, Nintendo etc., etc.

Jigar wrote:

mikehodges2 wrote:

OMG I have and iPhone and I just realised that its got Carrier IQ and......

..hang on, I don't care.

Wait till some nerd hacker gets access to the carrier IQ app that is installed in your phone, we will talk than.

Yeah, they'll get hold of all my dirty texts!
Unless I buy and install some sort of dodgy app (which won't happen), then I'm pretty sure they can't install anything.

Luckilly, apple still updates and supports all its old phones, and from what I've read, it'll be removed from all of them.

More to the point, I have a 4s, which doesn't have carrier IQ anyway

I've been telling people for years that our phones were going this way so this is no surprise. Even CRT tv's from the late 1990's have been spying on us with the aid of the cable/freeview add-ons. So you have been warned!

Pretty sure it wasn't found on a single verizon device. I have the rezound semi-rooted (soon to be corrected, stupid OTA) very happy with it.