Privacy on Smartphones – Part 2

Remove Carrier IQ on your Android devices.

A free Android app “Voodoo Carrier IQ Detector ” can be used to detect the presence of Carrier IQ on your smartphone. In December 2011, Federal Bureau of Investigation director Robert Mueller testified before the US Congress, “We may obtain information that in some way Carrier IQ may have been involved with. … [but the FBI] has neither sought nor obtained any information from Carrier IQ in any one of our investigations”.

Turn off automatic scanning for WiFi networks when you are not using WiFi.

When a smartphone is automatically scanning for WiFi networks nearby, it is continually making contact with all the WiFi routers within range. These WiFi providers can capture the ID number of your smartphone even if you do not connect to them or the WiFi is turned off. To disable WiFi scanning on an Android smartphone, uncheck “Scanning always available” option in the Advanced WiFi menu under Wireless & Networks.

Source: Newton Lee (ed), (2014). Facebook Nation Total Information Awareness, 2nd Ed, Springer.

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