Carrier IQ

Carrier IQ Logo

Carrier IQ is a provider of mobile service intelligence solutions to the wireless industry . Carrier IQ has analytic software embedded in millions of devices, giving wireless carriers and handset manufacturers insight into customers' actions on their wireless devices including keystrokes, geographical location, and web useage. Among Carrier IQ's customers are Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile, three of the nation's four largest wireless carriers .

Function

Carrier IQ works by tracking metrics from a device and sending the information to its customers . Metrics are information points from the mobile devices, including dropped calls, sets of data that relate to a usage history of the device, an end user's interaction with the device, and interaction with the device comprises the end user's pressing of keys on the device. According to the patent;

Qualifying characteristics may include device type, such as manufacturer and model, available memory and battery life, the type of applications resident on the device, the geographical location of the device, usage statistics, including those that characterize a user's interaction with a device, and the profile of the customer. The data collection profile is then provided to the SQC on the target wireless devices.

The data is then logged and sent to customers such as wireless carriers.

Controversy

Carrier IQ Diagram

On November 23, 2011, Carrier IQ sent out a press release in response to 17-minute video posted on YouTube and a post to androidsecuritytest.com by security researcher named Trevor Eckhart . The press release stated that they did not provide tracking tools, record keystrokes, inspect or report on the content of your communications, such as the content of emails and SMSs, or sell any information to outside parties . It stated that Carrier IQ software instead makes your phone work better by identifying dropped calls and poor service, identifies problems that impede a phone’s battery life, and makes customer service quicker, more accurate, and more efficient. The claims by Eckhart were that the software worked in ways that users of mobile devices were unaware of. He stated that Carrier IQ could work by being completely hidden to the user . Metrics can be called getting information when a user installs or opens an application, he stated, and information can be when a user browses a webpage, or CarrierIQ can log keypresses made on that webpage.. The software does not have an opt out feature when used with some carriers such as Sprint. Eckhart stated at the end of his writeup, “The only way to remove Carrier IQ is with advanced skills. If you choose to void your warranty and unlock your bootloader you can (mostly) remove Carrier IQ”..