Software tracking every move of millions of people worldwide

Carrier IQ

It seems smartphones aren’t just collecting data about your location. After manufacturers stopped collecting this sort of information, things became calm for a while and most people stopped worrying. It seems, though, that we do have a reason to worry and it’s a big one. In millions of smartphones around the globe, running all kinds of platforms – Android, BlackBerry OS, Symbian and even iOS, there is an application installed, called Carrier IQ, which records everything users do and send the information to both network operators and manufacturers. Carrier IQ has been discovered by a 25-year-old programmer Trevor Eckhart, who was even threatened, by its creators, with a lawsuit for publicly releasing information about the application and calling it a rootkit virus.

Meanwhile, Electronic Frontier Foundation have announced they’re standing behind him and will protect him in case he needs it. The software is recording everything you type in your device and continues to send information even if you stop using network connection and rely only on Wi-Fi networks. Still there are some companies that have restricted Carrier IQ’s usage – for instance, while it’s used in all Apple mobile devices, the application is switched off by default and is used only in diagnostic mode. Google are also clearly against this software, as it’s not used in any of their branded Nexus phones and in the Motorola XOOM tablet. This means that the software is installed by the device manufacturers and not by Google. B. A.