Android app developer, Trevor Eckhart, has published what he calls “conclusive proof” that millions of smartphones contain software that secretly record key presses, geographic location and incoming messages of it users.

The software in question is from a Silicon Valley based company called Carrier IQ, who’s VP of Marketing, Andrew Coward, says their software is designed to allow network carriers and manufacturers the ability to track detailed information about the source behind dropped calls and other performance related issues and that the information is transmitted in small doses and does not update in real-time. 

Eckhart, the 25-year-old software developer who discovered the presence of Carrier IQ on his personal HTC smartphone, uploaded a video on YouTube (below) on November 28th detailing his findings, including Carrier IQ’s ability to read HTTPS  information that was established using SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) through a Wi-Fi network with no 3G connectivity.

That video (above) was uploaded the day Carrier IQ withdrew legal threats against Eckhert for calling their software a “rootkit” (essentially, malware) and already has over 1.2 million views.

Obviously this issue is gaining a lot of interest.  Currently, there is software available for free download that allows you to find out if your particular smartphone is running the specific Carrier IQ software in question (Voodoo Carrier IQ Detector).

There is more information on this story here, but the point of this whole write-up is to remind you to question everything, especially the corporate machine that profits billions of dollars from the “trusted” services they provide.