Carrier IQ: Hidden App Installed On Smartphones

HelloKitty007 · ‎10-16-2011

Carrier IQ is hidden software installed on smart phones that logs numerous details about users' activities... Full Article/Video

Grant Paul, a well-known iPhone hacker who goes by the screenname "chpwn", wrote on his blog that Apple has included Carrier IQ on the iPhone, but the software's default is disabled.

MonroviaWayne · ‎11-30-2011

An article in Wired Magazine and a supporting video present a convincing case that the Carrier IQ app on all our phones is violating our collective privacy.

I'd like to know who is using the data?

And I'd like AT+T to revise the protection on this software so it can be removed. Are you listening AT+T?

davidusr · ‎01-19-2007

Root, and change ROMS, Which voids warranty.

mylasher · ‎11-30-2011

i tried to give kudos to this post but I apparently can't. I completely agree that Carrier IQ must go. I have a Skyrocket and I keep getting a process called IQ Agent Service. That I keep stopping but that keeps starting again.

wingrider01 · ‎05-26-2008

MonroviaWayne wrote:

An article in Wired Magazine and a supporting video present a convincing case that the Carrier IQ app on all our phones is violating our collective privacy.

I'd like to know who is using the data?

And I'd like AT+T to revise the protection on this software so it can be removed. Are you listening AT+T?

ATT did nothing here, it pretty much is HTC and any other phone manufacturer that is doing it. went through the proceedure to determine if it was running on one of HTC inspires and did not see the system modules in question running

graphite07 · ‎10-16-2007

So thIs means what to iPhone users?

davidusr · ‎01-19-2007

I don't think CIQ is on the Inspire. I know it's on the Skyrocket, and possibly on the Vivid. It's just recently started.

shortcircuit · ‎12-09-2006

wingrider01 wrote:
ATT did nothing here, it pretty much is HTC and any other phone manufacturer that is doing it.

Seriously ??

justwondering897 · ‎03-05-2011

How can I determine whether Carrier IQ is installed on my telephone? I have a Captivate. http://www.theverge.com/tag/carrier-iq

Taylarie · ‎12-08-2009

Moved:

Moved for better exposure

dwill05 · ‎04-06-2005

Everything I've seen indicates this is an issue for Andriod and other smartphones, but not for the iPhone. But if it's true that the software is in the phone, but not turned on currently, who's to say that Apple can't enable it in the future?

Jrielsky · ‎12-01-2011

This is beyond belief. I hope/assume that someone from AT&T monitors these forums. This has to be stopped immediately. There is no way they should be monitoring at this level without very clear and specific notification before you use and the phone and it should be OFF BY DEFAULT.

This is an opportunity for you (AT&T) to step up and prove you care about your customers more than your competitors by providing a means of getting this shut off IMMEDIATELY.

Jrielsky · ‎12-01-2011

And someone said AT&T has nothing to do with this? According to this article on ZDNet they do.

"In the case of iPhones, it appears that Apple bakes this snooper into every phone. With other smartphones, the carriers, such as AT&T and Sprint, add it into your phones’ firmware before it gets into your hands."

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/networking/finding-and-cleaning-out-your-smartphones-carrier-iq-poison/169...

geewhz01 · ‎11-30-2011

I have a Skyrocket as well and short of voiding the warranty you can't get rid of it. I called into support this morning and spent an hour talking to them about it, which they knew nothing about until they went to the web. Was told they would call me back, haven't heard from them but if they have no way to remove it the phone will go back and I will change providers. It's one thing to ask me for the information, it's another to assume that I want you to have it.

Andy

davidusr · ‎01-19-2007

This is most definitely carrier doing. From my understanding, all the carriers are doing it, and have been for awhile. ATT was just slow getting to it. Rodgers in Canada is not doing it, so, I'm running a "made for ATT", Rodgers ROM. No CIQ here!

Entropy512 · ‎09-02-2007

davidusr wrote:
This is most definitely carrier doing. From my understanding, all the carriers are doing it, and have been for awhile. ATT was just slow getting to it. Rodgers in Canada is not doing it, so, I'm running a "made for ATT", Rodgers ROM. No CIQ here!

Not true - my first exposure to CIQ was Rogers UXKG3 for the Infuse.

Sprint was first to start invading privacy (CIQ is on basically all Android devices from Sprint), Rogers was a bit later, AT&T is just now getting on the spyware bandwagon. Only the Skyrocket and Vivid have it as far as I know currently, however the Infuse Gingerbread update will have it (it's in the leaks), and probably Captivate Gingerbread will too.

davidusr · ‎01-19-2007

This just in...

http://m.bgr.com/2011/12/01/senate-gives-carrier-iq-until-december-14th-to-address-privacy-concerns/

HelloKitty007 · ‎10-16-2011

graphite07 wrote:

So thIs means what to iPhone users?

iPhone users are actually lucky versus that of other smartphone users because we have the ability to turn this feature off. When we tell Apple we don't want to send any diagnostics and usage data, they respect our privacy. Other smartphones on the otherhand, even when given the option to not send any data, they still do so behind your back. The video above demonstrates that especially when you visit "https" sites that are supposed to be secure.

From what I've read, any keystroke made on a phone with the hidden app, all info/data goes to Carrier IQ first before you can even Google it. Anything that is supposed to be encrypted (such as "https" sites) isn't encrypted as they should.

According to Chpwn, he claims Apple's Carrier IQ installation shares much less information than Android devices. He found that iOS shares "your phone number, your carrier, your country, active phone calls, and your location." However, unlike Android, Apple's installation doesn't share the phone number a user has dialed and only includes location information when "location services are enabled."

"I am reasonably sure it has no access to typed text, web history, passwords, browsing history, or text messages, and as such is not sending any of this data remotely," Chpwn wrote. (More from CIQ Tracking iPhone Too)

Most of us have this feature turned off/default mode without even realizing it. Remember a few threads back where some of us were trying to find ways to save battery? You would go to...

Settings > General > About > scroll down to Diagnostics & Usage > click Don't Send (this is where Carrier IQ is OFF)

By not sending, you are preventing Carrier IQ (as well as Apple) from retrieving any data from you. What type of data? You can see for yourself... If you click Diagnostics & Usage Data (right below Don't Send), it will show a list of items. For example:

LatestCrash-MobileSMS.plist >

Messages-(year)-(month)-(date)-(followed by #s)... >

OTAUpdate-2011-11-10-(followed by #s)... >

Click any one of those on your phone and you will see diagnostics and usage info. It doesn't make sense unless you know how to decode it. You can even test it out by sending yourself a text message, for example, and then go back and try to find that as a new list on the date you sent your text. So if you sent yourself a text today, a new list of Messages-2011-12-1-(followed by #s) should appear.

I watched the video above and afterwards clicked on another random CIQ video and it mentioned something about using up battery due to the retrieval of info if you have that feature turned on. For those of you with some battery issues, you may want to check that out. There is a link below if you need visuals.

Other related articles...

Carrier IQ: The Best Reason Yet To Switch To iPhone

How To Disable The Carrier IQ "Rootkit" On Your iPhone

Carrier IQ References Discovered in Apple's iOS

Carrier IQ: Mobile App Crap Must Stop

HelloKitty007 · ‎10-16-2011

Seems like the US Senate is now getting involved...

Carrier IQ Data Logging Controversy Prompts Scrutiny From US Senate

pmsmith533 · ‎06-05-2009

Called their Executive customer service yesterday about this, they never called back! I work in a business that we do have real government security clearances. Because of the stupid camera they barely allow us to have a phone anyway, this looks like it will be a deal killer. My wife, a sheriffs deputy, guess we will both be back to Motorola Razors.

Need a list of phones affected by this spyware to know whether I need to file a data breach with security or not. I see Senator Franken is on it, the 14th is not soon enough, I use my phone everyday!

Funny how AT&T and Carrier IQ are the only 2 that have not made a statement about this.

I give it till Friday and if I don’t have a list of effected phones, I am calling it a breach of contract and heading for Verizon, they can fight the California Public utilities commission for their ETF. I read over the privacy agreement, it does cover this and is called a breech of contract……..

greghead · ‎09-18-2007

Does the AT&T Motorola Atrix 4G have the Carrier IQ spyware installed?

And if so, how do I uninstall and/or disable it?

Obviously it would be unacceptable to have this installed on our phones.

(I'm referring to the Carrier IQ software. My understanding is that some carriers install for "quality control" purposes, but which records personal data and sends it off to Carrier IQ servers. This data includes phone numbers, browser searches, and more. The data is collected and sent to this company even if the phone is using wireless and not the carrier.)

Thank you.

greghead · ‎09-18-2007

P.S. Verizon has announced that they do not provision any of their Android phones with Carrier IQ. I'm hoping for a similar statement from AT&T regarding this issue. Preferably for all phones, but at least for my Atrix 4G in particular. Thank you.

tbmccann302 · ‎12-01-2011

For the sake of my future ATT&T contract getting renewed I hope the answer to this is no. I won't be surprised at all though if Carrier IQ is fully loaded on our phones. I'm sure the initial intentions of this software was genuine geeks wanting to improve their product. Sadly they always forget that there's a negative aspect whenever you trace someone without their knowledge. Any software like this should only be installed on an opt-in basis!

inrage33` · ‎12-01-2011

I checked it and mine dowsn't have it. Apparantly not every cell has it.

davidusr · ‎01-19-2007

It's not. ATT just started doing this with the Skyrocket and Vivid.

tilteduser · ‎05-19-2008

Gizmodo had reported that the atrix 4G appears to be clear as a result of testing performed by someone associated with or at least well known to them:

http://gizmodo.com/5864116/these-are-the-phones-were-pretty-sure-dont-have-carrier-iq

There are applications written to check and also help disable carrier IQ but they require rooted devices, discussion of which is not allowed in this forum.

Carrier iq has been reported to have been found on the atrix 2 but I have no direct knowledge to agree or disagree.

DUTCH VanAtlanta · ‎07-18-2008

This CarrierIQ Spyware (Google this, if you want to find out more) deal is really starting to heat up. Yes, it is present on the Vivid, and probably other ATT HTC phones too. Not only is it starting to get some national media attention, but the U.S. Senate is now also taking an interest.

Let's hope they can force a removal of this nasty bit of spyware!

jherbold · ‎08-30-2007

Failing to find any means to email responsible persons at ATT, I post here in the hope moderators can forward to someone in authority to address this situation.

Regarding CIQ resident on my new HTC phone. I received this response from HTC:

"I understand you would like to remove the Carrier IQ software from your AT&T based HTC phone, and I will be happy to provide more information. Carrier IQ is a device requirement of a number of U.S carriers, including AT&T. As such, we encourage you to contact Carrier IQ or AT&T with any questions about the practices relating to, or data collected by, Carrier IQ. "

I don't have any questions about what data is collected or your practices with that data. My concern is much more basic. It is clearly evident from available information that CIQ software writes unique codes to the system logs for each key pressed. That means any sensitive data that I key into the phone (account numbers, passwords, private messages) is resident on the phone in unencrypted form. This is a horrendous violation of sucurity practices and totally unacceptable.

Please allow HTC the freedom to distribute an opt-out to totally kill CIQ, or allow them to publish an official ROM totally sans CIQ.

This is a serious matter and I know ATT takes security seriously. A quick resolution of this issue is demanded by common sense.

justwondering897 · ‎03-05-2011

Thanks. Also might be on LG Nitro. And, just found out about Voodoo Carrier IQ Detector app. It returned a score of 0.

Entropy512 · ‎09-02-2007

pmsmith533 wrote:
Called their Executive customer service yesterday about this, they never called back! I work in a business that we do have real government security clearances. Because of the stupid camera they barely allow us to have a phone anyway, this looks like it will be a deal killer. My wife, a sheriffs deputy, guess we will both be back to Motorola Razors.

Need a list of phones affected by this spyware to know whether I need to file a data breach with security or not. I see Senator Franken is on it, the 14th is not soon enough, I use my phone everyday!

Funny how AT&T and Carrier IQ are the only 2 that have not made a statement about this.

I give it till Friday and if I don’t have a list of effected phones, I am calling it a breach of contract and heading for Verizon, they can fight the California Public utilities commission for their ETF. I read over the privacy agreement, it does cover this and is called a breech of contract……..

What phones do you have? It's mainly newer devices.

Confirmed Infected:

Skyrocket

Probably infected:

HTC Vivid

Confirmed Clean:

Galaxy S II (SGH-I777)

Samsung Infuse (current Froyo firmware - the AT&T Gingerbread leaks have it, so did the Rogers UXKG3 release in Canada)

Samsung Captivate (AT&T Gingerbread leaks might have it)

The list here is Samsung-heavy as I own Samsung devices and develop for them. (I maintain a custom kernel series for the I777, and maintained one for the Infuse until giving it to my parents.)