This past week on Android Security Trevor Eckhart raised privacy concerns about CarrierIQ the diagnostic tool installed on an estimated 150 million Android phones on the Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile networks.   Google indicated that the software was installed at the carrier level and was not build into Android.   In short, CarrierIQ allows carriers to track every single key stroke, text, and the URL of every website a person visits from their phone, including websites that use encryption designed to prevent that kind of tracking.  While the software does not “report back” the information it gathers it is stored on the phone) it nevertheless raises serious privacy concerns.   The primary question is whether the data collected could be used by a hacker who obtained your phone.  The secondary concern is how and why the carriers would use the data if they were to access it.  The issue is succinctly covered on CNN and with more background / detail on InformationWeek.  Hopefully, the carriers respond to the ground swell of demands (including a demand letter by Senator Al Franken) by removing CarrierIQ and other like apps to eliminate such risks.