14 DAY TRIAL // Renowned iPhone hacker Chpwn is spreading the word that Apple’s iOS contains references to Carrier IQ as far back as iOS 3.1.3.
He has confirmed on Twitter and in a blog post that iOS 5 is no stranger to the infamous “rootkit” or “keylogger” which is also found on Android, Symbian, BlackBerry, and even webOS.
“In fact, up through and including iOS 5, Apple has included a copy of Carrier IQ on the iPhone,” Chpwn writes.
But there’s no reason to panic, says the hacker: “…it does appears [sic] to be disabled along with diagnostics enabled on iOS 5; older versions may send back information in more cases. Because of that, if you want to disable Carrier IQ on your iOS 5 device, turning off ‘Diagnostics and Usage’ in Settings appears to be enough”
Chpwn is “reasonably sure” that Carrier IQ on the iPhone has no access to typed text, or any type of personal history for that matter (web, passwords, browsing history etc.), “and as such is not sending any of this data remotely,” he writes.
However, he suggests (half jokingly of course) that if you really care about this you can go with Windows Phone 7, as it’s the only mobile operating system without Carrier IQ installed.
Chpwn says that if any of the information being sent back to the carrier is useful for improving the network then he’s all for it. What he doesn’t like is that he had to sift through tons of code to accidentally find the Carrier IQ reference.
“… I think the blame here really belongs with the US carriers who obviously demanded this: personally, I am completely fine with this data being sent off (especially if it helps AT&T’s network improve), but I would definitely prefer if it was more transparent — even if you can disable it with that toggle, Apple only explains that it “might contain location data”, Chpwn concludes.