The past week or so has been partially dedicated to finding out how far Carrier IQ’s reach goes. The software is embedded in millions of Android, BlackBerry and Nokia phones. Carriers such as T-Mobile, Sprint and AT&T have all admitted to using Carrier IQ, but only to make improvements to things such as reception and device performance. However, Carrier IQ is not present on Verizon or U.S. Cellular devices.

This situation with Carrier IQ went from non-existent to an international media phenomenon in a matter of days. Various governments as well as customers want to know if Carrier IQ’s software really is keeping track of their every keystroke and spying on their personal messages. T-Mobile has already started damage control by informing customers that it does not use Carrier IQ for any other purpose other than “to troubleshoot device and network performance with the goal of enhancing network reliability and our customers’ experience.” Sprint is now telling its employees how to address any Carrier IQ questions that may come up during the course of the work day.

Despite recent findings that suggests Carrier IQ keeps track of everything you do on your phone, carriers and manufacturers have been quick to either deny any association with Carrier IQ, or downplay what the software does. We know AT&T and Sprint use the service in addition to HTC and Samsung. We hadn’t heard T-Mobile’s T-Mobile’s side of the story from yesterday’s reports, but T-Mobile uses Carrier IQ as well. T-Mobile took to its support forums to inform customers what it uses Carrier IQ for.

On Thursday, Sen. Al Franken wrote a letter to Carrier IQ asking the company to respond to a number of questions regarding the collection of private user information. It’s believed Carrier IQ’s software tracks everything a person does on their phone, and reports the results back to carriers or manufacturers. Once Carrier IQ became aware of the senator’s inquiry, it notified him that it only makes the software. Carrier IQ said it’s up to carriers and phone manufacturers to install the software, and modify it to their liking.

HTC is also distancing itself from the fiasco surrounding Carrier IQ. HTC’s devices were among the ones that were discovered to be stealthily running Carrier IQ in the background, and keeping track of everything a user does on their phone. We knew it was only a matter of time before carriers and phone makers started shifting blame onto each other and HTC has done just that.

The debacle surrounding Carrier IQ software is growing larger with each passing day. In case you didn’t hear, Carrier IQ was discovered on smartphones by a security researcher who published his findings online. This software goes well beyond the act of invading privacy by basically reporting every single thing you do on your phone back to carriers and hardware manufacturers. Nothing appears to be spared including keyboard presses. The worst part is that Carrier IQ can’t be removed without doing some serious hacking. As this situation continues to heat up, some companies are going on the record by denying any association with Carrier IQ.

Facebook is in the hot seat again regarding privacy concerns. Last week, we told you how Facebook may have taken the liberty of resetting your privacy options without your explicit consent. Today, a report has surfaced that accuses Facebook of obtaining data from users when they aren’t logged in to Facebook.

Want to know what your iPhone knows about where you’ve been? But you have your iTunes on a Windows machine? Well fear not, Gadgetell has found a Windows version of the open-source iPhone Tracker software for Mac. Created by a French user who “had a few vacation days” and created a version for Windows. The more »

According their own website, the Chinese government is looking into tracking its citizens by their phone. Using the data signal, the government is looking to track users in real time. The government holds they will use this information for traffic reporting purposes. In Beijing, cell phone adoption rates hover near 70%. Movies in the western more »

While the RunKeeper Pro apps for both Android and iOS remain free for the month of January, the team over at RunKeeper continue to add new features and bring new support. As of now the two new features for both mobile platforms include Heart Rate Monitoring as well as Selective Activity and Map Sharing. Heart more »