It looks like Sprint and AT&T aren’t the only ones in the U.S. using the now-infamous Carrier IQ debugging tool. The app which apparently logs a ton of user information in the name of support and quality control is also loaded up on a bunch of T-Mobile phones, including:
- HTC Amaze 4G
- Samsung Galaxy S II
- Samsung Exhibit II 4G
- T-Mobile myTouch by LG
- T-Mobile myTouch Q by LG
- LG DoublePlay
- BlackBerry 9900
- BlackBerry 9360
- BlackBerry 9810
HTC and Samsung are already facing a class-action lawsuit over this whole mess, but in a statement released earlier, RIM disavowed any involvement with the app, much like Apple. The blame game is still in full swing – carriers say manufacturers required the app, manufacturers say carriers loaded up the app after they received the devices. Carrier IQ themselves were apparently pretty surprised about how detailed the debugging information was, so I don’t really suspect any foul play here, but considering how many of us do mobile banking (and soon NFC payments) through our phones, best security practices dictate specific key presses shouldn’t be logged locally or transmitted elsewhere. Individual keystrokes apparently aren’t logged, even though we’ve seen proof to the contrary.
Given the amount of noise this whole thing is causing, it’s probably safe to assume Carrier IQ will be updating their software to put consumer privacy concerns at ease. How many of your are particularly worried about the information this app may be saving and transmitting without your knowledge?
[via TMoNews]