Carrier IQ Retracts Cease-And-Desist, Claims They Don't Track Android Users

An update from the whole XDA developer blowup yesterday, data-collection company Carrier IQ has apparently retracted their cease-and-desist letter as well publicized an apology to the security researcher and XDA developer Trevor Eckhart after he published his findings and details of a number of Android phones (the majority being Sprint's) shipped with a nearly undetectable piece of software built by Carrier IQ that could evidently monitor every move from user keystrokes, to which mobile apps were downloaded and installed.

Even though Carrier IQ says that the letter was "misguided" and that it's "deeply sorry", the company still maintains that it was being misrepresented, and that it doesn't monitor user data, capture keystrokes, or provide tracking information on a number of Android phones. The company describes itself that their corporate mission is to help identify dropped calls, battery problems, and "trending problems on mobile networks," while helping make customer service "more efficient." That still doesn't say how it collects data, what kind of data it collects, and why the smartphone manufacturers need that data.

From the Carrier IQ press release:

As, of today, we are withdrawing our cease and desist letter to Mr. Trevor Eckhart. We have reached out to Mr. Eckhart and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) to apologize. Our action was misguided and we are deeply sorry for any concern or trouble that our letter may have caused Mr. Eckhart. We sincerely appreciate and respect EFF's work on his behalf, and share their commitment to protecting free speech in a rapidly changing technological world.

You can read the full press release from Carrier IQ here. What do our readers think about the statement, and the situation in general? And in particular, what do you Android users think?

[via The Verge]