AllThingsD talked to Carrier IQ about what is captured via their monitoring software and how it is used. My favorite excerpt:

[…] CIQ still has the ability to capture a wide variety of user data. So who is determining what exactly is being collected?

The carriers. They decide what’s to be collected and how long it’s stored — typically about 30 days. And according to Carrier IQ, the data is in their control the whole time.

“It’s the operator that determines what data is collected,” says Carrier IQ CEO Larry Lenhart. “They make that decision based on their privacy standards and their agreement with their users, and we implement it.”

On this point, Lenhart is particularly emphatic. “We capture only the data they specify, and provide it to them,” he reiterates. “We don’t capture more than that.” […]

It’s like a game of hot potato, and all parties—including the very company responsible for making the monitoring software—are pushing the blame onto the carriers.

AT&T is the latest to admit using Carrier IQ on its network, claiming they use the monitoring software for service- and quality-related purposes. When AT&T was probed for more information as to their usage and policies behind Carrier IQ, Computerworld reported:

Mark Siegel, executive director of media relations at AT&T, however, declined to say whether Carrier IQ is present in all AT&T handsets, what notice users have of its presence and whether users have the ability to turn off the software if they choose.

In an emailed statement, Siegel said that AT&T’s use of Carrier IQ software is in line with the company’s privacy policies. “We’re really not going to offer more detail than what’s in the statement,” he said.

Sprint has released a statement about its use of Carrier IQ, insisting that they respect and protect the “privacy and security of each customer’s personally identifiable information and other customer data.” Their full statement follows:

“Carrier IQ provides information that allows Sprint, and other carriers that use it, to analyze our network performance and identify where we should be improving service. We also use the data to understand device performance so we can figure out when issues are occurring. We collect enough information to understand the customer experience with devices on our network and how to address any connection problems, but we do not and cannot look at the contents of messages, photos, videos, etc., using this tool. The information collected is not sold and we don’t provide a direct feed of this data to anyone outside of Sprint.”

“Sprint is well known for our serious commitment to respecting and protecting the privacy and security of each customer’s personally identifiable information and other customer data. A key element of this involves communicating with our customers about our information privacy practices. The Sprint privacy policy makes it clear we collect information that includes how a device is functioning and how it is being used. Carrier IQ is an integral part of the Sprint service. Sprint uses Carrier IQ to help maintain our network performance.”

[Via GigaOm]

Apple released a statement indicating that it stopped using Carrier IQ in most of its devices with the release of iOS 5, and that they “will remove it completely in a future software update.” Apple’s statement follows:

“We stopped supporting Carrier IQ 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.”

[Via AllThingsD]

Verizon has also released a statement clarifying that none of their devices have Carrier IQ installed. From GigaOm:

“Any report that Verizon Wireless uses Carrier IQ is patently false,” Verizon Wireless spokesperson Jeffrey Nelson said in an email. In an email follow-up, spokeswoman Debra Lewis elaborated. “We did recently notify customers about new privacy programs; we were transparent about how customer information will be used and gave clear choices to customers about whether they want to participate in these programs,” she said (the privacy policy is here). “Carrier IQ is not involved in these programs.”