Web security firm Bitdefender las launched a tool that identifies the presence of the controversial mobile network diagnostic tool from Carrier IQ.

Dubbed Carrier IQ Finder, the tool instantly determines if the user’s Android device has been equipped with the Carrier IQ tracking package, and if the device is being monitored.

“Bitdefender values users’ privacy and their right to take informed decisions when entering a deal with a mobile carrier,” says Alexandru Balan, senior product manager of the Bitdefender Mobile Unit. “Although the manufacturer claims that only some of the information provided through the Carrier IQ application is used by the carrier, the amount of personal data the app has access to raises serious privacy concerns.”
Carrier IQ is being investigated by European regulators, who want to satisfy themselves that the software, which allegedly logs every keystroke and incoming text message on many phones and sends some of the information to mobile operators, is not violating mobile users’ privacy.