Cellphone-tracking company meets with feds

{mosads} The software first made headlines last month when Trevor Eckhart, a systems administrator in Connecticut, posted a video claiming to show that Carrier IQ, which is embedded in millions of Android, BlackBerry and Nokia phones, tracks users’ every key stroke.

Eckhart said the software could collect the phone numbers consumers dial, the contents of their text messages, the websites they visit, their search queries and even their locations.

Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) has urged the FTC to investigate whether the company has engaged in deceptive trade practices.

FTC policy is to neither confirm nor deny whether a company is under investigation.

“We are not aware of an official investigation into Carrier IQ at this time,” Woods said.

Carrier IQ says its software is designed to help companies ensure their phones are operating effectively and that it does not transmit personal information.

“While a few individuals have identified that there is a great deal of information available to the Carrier IQ software inside the handset, our software does not record, store or transmit the contents of SMS messages, email, photographs, audio or video,” the company said in a news release earlier this month. “For example, we understand whether an SMS was sent accurately, but do not record or transmit the content of the SMS. We know which applications are draining your battery, but do not capture the screen.”