Sprint to Start Removing Carrier IQ This Month

According to HTC, Sprint will be disabling the application Carrier IQ from its devices starting this month. A representative from HTC announced that the mobile phone service has removed the controversial software from the HTC Evo 3D in its latest firmware update.

The EVO 3D is the first device reported to have Carrier IQ removed from its phone. Experts expect the application to be removed from many of Sprint’s devices in the future.

Carrier IQ was discovered in late 2011 by Trevor Eckhart, who demonstrated the troubling functions of the application. It details hidden software installed on the smartphone and logs various details about the users’ activities. The software was found in multiple phones including HTC, Apple, Nokia and Blackberry. Carrier IQ was labeled as a “rootkit” or a spyware program simply because it runs in the background without the user’s knowledge.

Millions of smartphone users have been affected, and Sprint is the currently the only U.S. mobile phone service to take action in removing Carrier IQ. An exception is Verizon, which has never used it. 

You can read more about Carrier IQ here.

Source: The Verge