Some recent controversy in the area of smartphones, is the whole Carrier IQ debacle. Essentially, it’s in many phones and tracks user behavior and sends that data away to be analyzed.

This has lead to numerous reports of a breach of privacy and wireless carriers received some flack for it. A new bill that’s currently before Congress, would require cell phone carriers to disclose tracking software that’s in phones. This is a step forward in transparency and letting customers know what is pre-installed on their phones.

Via ReadWriteWeb:

“While consumers rely on their phones, their phones relay all sorts of information about them, often without their knowledge or consent,” reads a statement from Rep. Markey’s office today. “I am concerned about the threat to consumers’ privacy posed by electronic monitoring software on mobile phones, such as the software developed by Carrier IQ.”

“Carriers (or parties to the sale of a phone) failing to make this disclosure to customers, under Rep. Markey’s proposed provisions, could find themselves prosecuted for deception and/or unfair trade practices.”

“But that might not be the stickiest part of this bill. Under Rep. Markey’s proposal, once the customer consented to the monitoring software doing its job, the carrier (or other point of sale) would become responsible for maintaining a secure database of the identities of those who consented. Such a database could conceivably be used to retrieve data about the phones being monitored.”

How do you feel about carriers tracking  behavior on your phone? Is it a breach of privacy and trust?

New Bill Would Require Carriers To Disclose Tracking Software In Phones is a post from: The Inquisitr

Such is the case with Sniff. The mobile- and Facebook-based tracking system, which becomes available for U.S. use via Sprint’s network today, lets you monitor and map your friends’ location coordinates in real-time. You can get regular updates either via text messaging or via a Sniff Facebook application.

The monitoree, if you will, does have to approve the snooping before it begins, and both users have to be on the Sprint network for it to work. (Users pay a quarter per mobile-based “sniff.” The Facebook app, it appears, is free to use.)

Even with that privacy guard in place, though, I wonder if this might be a case of cool technology being taken too far. I know there are other similar mobile tracking apps out there, and I raise the same question in those cases: Is this a door anyone really wants to open? Do you want your friends, your significant other, or whomever else to hold the ability to request a real-time status of your location, any day, any time?

Sure, you can decline the request — but once the precedent is set that you sometimes allow your location to be “sniffed,” you’ll instantly raise a red flag as to what you’re trying to hide by declining it on any specific occasion.

This type of system just strikes me as a dangerous road to go down when it comes to our privacy. Allowing this sort of tapping into our lives can only lead to complications, and the potential for more extreme invasions in the future. I smell trouble with Sniff, and I hope I’m not the only one.

Sniff: Tracking Technology Taken Too Far? is a post from: The Inquisitr