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Apple Stopped Supporting Carrier IQ in iOS 5, Complete Removal Coming in Future

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In the wake of significant publicity about Carrier IQ, the mobile phone logging software that is able to transmit data back to carriers, Apple has now issued a statement to AllThingsD noting that the company stopped supporting Carrier IQ with iOS 5 on most of its products and that it will completely remove traces of the software in a future software update.

We stopped supporting CarrierIQ with iOS 5 in most of our products and will remove it completely in a future software update. With any diagnostic data sent to Apple, customers must actively opt-in to share this information, and if they do, the data is sent in an anonymous and encrypted form and does not include any personal information. We never recorded keystrokes, messages or any other personal information for diagnostic data and have no plans to ever do so.

Early evidence had suggested that Carrier IQ has been able to capture significantly more information, including keystrokes and other extremely sensitive information, on Android than on iOS.

carrier iq logo
Research into Carrier IQ's functionality on iOS has indicated that any transmission of information has been limited to phone call and location information, but Apple's statement today suggests that the company has even stopped using that information via Carrier IQ, although it does collect its own anonymized and encrypted information from devices unless users have turned off the diagnostics reporting functionality.

U.S. Senator Al Franken has requested that Carrier IQ explain just what information the software is recording and transmitting and how that information is shared with carriers and potentially other parties. Earlier this year, Franken spearheaded the government inquiry into location tracking concerns related to Apple's iOS and Google's Android platforms.

Top Rated Comments

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macrumorsuser10
187 months ago
Apple has consistently shown that its end goal is to provide an excellent user experience. Thank you, Apple, for putting customers first and for not selling us to advertisers and other businesses.

Android users wanted a crappy OS made by an advertising company that doesn't care about privacy, and that's what they got.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M
macrumorsuser10
187 months ago
This really isn't iOS vs. Android. On the Android side, this is a CARRIER thing, so far according to most of the reports (including Gruber's site) the manufacturers (e.g. Samsung, HTC, etc.) weren't involved with this either.

w00master

Wrong. It IS an iOS vs Android thing. Apple does NOT allow carriers to put any unauthorized crapware on their iPhones. It's a walled garden that works. Google does allow carriers to put additional software, skins and, apparently, CarrierIQ.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chrono1081 Avatar
chrono1081
187 months ago
Apple has consistently shown that its end goal is to provide an excellent user experience. Thank you, Apple, for putting customers first and for not selling us to advertisers and other businesses.

Android users wanted a crappy OS made by an advertising company that doesn't care about privacy, and that's what they got.
This actually has a lot of truth to it.

Everyone who looked at their iPhones before iOS 5 new it collected data unless you turned it off. It is there plain as day. If you missed it, then thats on you since its right in the settings. Not to mention you have the option to turn it off, and it only collects unimportant things, not keystrokes and searches and such that the Android handsets were.

Google is a data mining company. Even though its the OEM's who put this software on there (they control the software to anyone who says the carriers do it), Google will take the heat for letting Android be modified in this fashion.

Another thing, Nokia claims this isn't on their phones, hence more evidence that its the OEM's not the carriers that require this.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
U
unicorn025
187 months ago
Apple has consistently shown that its end goal is to provide an excellent user experience. Thank you, Apple, for putting customers first and for not selling us to advertisers and other businesses.

Android users wanted a crappy OS made by an advertising company that doesn't care about privacy, and that's what they got.

We stopped supporting CarrierIQ with iOS 5

so you saying apple told you carrieriq was on your phone before then?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
A
alhedges
187 months ago
I want to see one person - just one - who has ever been truly hurt, punished, injured or in any other way disenfranchised by a private corporation or public entity due to any of these horrific privacy-smashing civil rights-destroying espionage applications.

I have certain feelings about most complaints I hear about "privacy infringement". It involves laughter, mockery and cynicism.

This is stupid.

I can't show you one person who has been "been truly hurt, punished, injured or in any other way disenfranchised" by a store who put video cameras in bathrooms and changing rooms and allowed employees to see them naked. But most people feel violated by it and don't like it.

I probably wouldn't be "truly" harmed if "Find my Friends" broadcast my location on a public website that anyone could look at. But I would still feel like my privacy was invaded and would not like it.

And if you are okay with corporations abusing your privacy, that's your prerogative. But I'm glad that most people actually care about their privacy and object when corporations spy on them.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chrono1081 Avatar
chrono1081
187 months ago
Wow... apparently some people are touchy today.


So... is it better then that Apple authorized it on iOS 4 and before?

Google didn't. HTC didn't. Samsung didn't. It was done by the carrier in those cases...

So, what's worse here?

w00master

You are incorrect. If carriers required it then it would be on Nokia phones as well, but according to Nokia, it is not.

Carrier IQ masquerades itself as a diagnostic tool. Apple used it as such. Other OEM's, who are responsible for putting it on there abused its abilities and also made it very hard to remove.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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