http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2011/12/is-your-smartphone-tracking-your-keystrokes-texts-and-location/
^ Click the above link to read the news story
Most of us know that smartphones track GPS locations based on satellites and service tower hits, but a new app that some smartphones have keeps track of all keystrokes made on the device, along with received messages and GPS locations.
Trevor Eckhart, a computer programmer, has posted an 18 minute video on youtube about his findings with Carrier IQ, the program that supposedly tracks keystrokes, received messages, and GPS. He says, that Carrier IQ is built into handheld devices made by many major manufacturers. It is there, and most people don't know it. According to manufacturers, it is there so they know if you're having trouble with your device, but most people don't know it is tracking them. Not only that, but there is no way to opt out of it or turn it off.
(From the article linked above) Former Justice Department prosecutor and law professor at the University of Colorado Law School Paul Ohm told Forbes magazine that the software could be grounds for a class-action lawsuit as it violates a federal wiretapping law. “If Carrier IQ has gotten the handset manufacturers to install secret software that records keystrokes intended for text messaging and the Internet and are sending some of that information back somewhere, this is very likely a federal wiretap,” he told Forbes. “And that gives the people wiretapped the right to sue and provides for significant monetary damages.”
Hmmm... kind of unnerved by this.
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