Ever wondered what IQAgent was?

[zefie]

It's Sprint analyzing your phone data. But not in a bad way. Read KSmithInNY's post below this one.

Carrier IQ :: Overview :: Mobile Service Intelligence

It is safe to delete if you want RAM back, but if you are just paranoid there is no reason to.

 

[KSmithInNY]

It's Sprint analyzing your phone data.

Carrier IQ :: Overview :: Mobile Service Intelligence

LOL ... before anyone breaks out the foil hats and climbs into the bunker, i think it's worth a proper explanation.

There is a process on the phone called "com.carrieriq.iqagent". This process allows an application to collect anonymous data on you which helps you in many ways.

Examples:
Menu > Settings > Location and security > click "use wireless network" and read the message.

Data is gathered and translated to help apps such as google maps. It can take your location data, translate it, and turn it into real time traffic reports on the map.

Another way this can be used is to target ad's in applications based on a persons location. Suppose you're in New York city, it does no good to show you adds for bakeries in San Francisco.

Also Google voice uses this service. I'm not sure how they use it but if i had to guess, I think you may need to be in the U.S. to use google voice (again thats a guess).

There are other apps and other reasons it's used but back to my point ..... Sprint doesn't care if you surf porn on your phone Nobody is collecting phone, or person specific information. It's anonymous and used to improve you're experience on Android. If I'm not mistaken i believe apple has something very similar that was all the hubub not too long ago with the "ZOMG steve is gonna catch me looking at android phones on my fruit phone" crowd

 

[zefie]

Actually AFAIK the android.iqd collects for Google. The carrieriq collects for sprint something about service quality and stuff. Sprint only.

either way the carrieriq is easily removed. android.iqd, not so much.

 

[KSmithInNY]

Actually AFAIK the android.iqd collects for Google. The carrieriq collects for sprint something about service quality and stuff. Sprint only.

either way the carrieriq is easily removed. android.iqd, not so much.

Again back to my point .... these are used to improve user experience. The sprint one is used to collect things like location and signal strength so they can determine if there are areas of opportunity to improve their network. And again, it is non-user-specific data.

You can delete, do, change, whatever you want. But i think you'll agree that if you stand back and read that first post it's a bit of a fear-monger stance. I appreciate you posting the info but I think it should come with the information on what this does, why it's needed, things like that and not a blanket statement "It's Sprint analyzing your phone data." That is an absolutely true statement that companies are analyzing data, but what are they collecting? Why is it important? Things like that should be stated as well. Not everyone understands, or cares, how things work or why they are done so when they read a first post like that, if they don't have all the information, they form an opinion that simply isn't true. I'll bet you 100 people read that post and thought "OMG Sprint is looking at what web pages i browse" which isn't true at all.

Happy Thanksgiving.

 

[zefie]

I'd also like to point out I didn't delete it from a tin foil perspective, I deleted it for the "always running in the background hogging 0-10% cpu and 3-15mb ram" point of view

After all if sprint wants to log crap they will do it from the cell tower

As for not going into detail thats why I posted the link. But I suppose you are right, not everyone is going to take the time to read it.

 

[kalex]

May I ask what is the procedure to delete it?

 

[zefie]

i forgot the name of the apk but its in /system/app
just go in and
ls *carrieriq*
and it will show it.

 

[KSmithInNY]

i forgot the name of the apk but its in /system/app
just go in and
ls *carrieriq*
and it will show it.

If you want to write a step by step and put it in post 1 I can change the title for you. Let me know via PM if you do that.