.amr recordings

[justntime2learn]

I am being recorded on my cell pnone without my permission (that I know of). Each recording lasts anywhere from a few seconds to hours and hours up to over 16 hours (I've seen). The voice recordings are never at my work, but rather at home, in my car, shopping, at friends houses, etc. There are several apps that I am not subscribed to that seem to me to be "stealing" info/conversations according to 'Trend' (the antivirus installed on my phone). Assorted Verizon apps and Samsung print service plug in are the bulk of what seems to be 'recording' my conversations. Btw, this has been going on for about 3 years with Trend being installed about a month ago. The voice recording have the file extension of .amr, which is a voice compression file. Of these I have many! I have spoken to my cell phone provider (Verizon) to no avail. Does anyone have any information or similar experience on what may be happening and how to prevent it?

[Bill Ryan]

Do you mean that the recordings are recorded on your phone and stored on your phone? As if a voice recorder app was somehow opening and recording on its own, but intermittently?

If so — and caveat: I'm not any kind of expert: I do not and will not own a smartphone — the thing to do might be to reinstall the OS you use, or do a whole system reset/restore, which I'd assume must be possible.

[Atlas]

See these threads:


Samsung galaxy S6 is secretly recording my phone calls and the environment around me (http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/133074/samsung-galaxy-s6-is-secretly-recording-my-phone-calls-and-the-environment-aroun)
Unathorized Voice recording Samsung S6? (http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s6/605722-unathorized-voice-recording-samsung-s6.html)

[Bob]

See these threads:


Samsung galaxy S6 is secretly recording my phone calls and the environment around me (http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/133074/samsung-galaxy-s6-is-secretly-recording-my-phone-calls-and-the-environment-aroun)
Unathorized Voice recording Samsung S6? (http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s6/605722-unathorized-voice-recording-samsung-s6.html)


Good find Atlas -

see this page:

http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s6/605722-unathorized-voice-recording-samsung-s6-2.html

they talk about what APP is causing the problem, similar maybe to a pocket dial problem..


I have completely disabled the Verizon messenger app and the recordings have stopped for 3 days now. Will update in a few weeks. This seems to be the fix.

[justntime2learn]

Thank you for your reply Bill. Yes the recordings are recorded on my phone and stored on my phone, as well as being sent to "the Cloud" without my permission (I suppose). I just was advised that it could be something called Carrier IQ and that a $9Millioon class action law suit against certain (but not all) cell phone manufacturers was filed in San Francisco and approved but is now under appeal. Carrier IQ is apparently inherent in certain cell phones without an option for the purchases to opt in or opt out. Apparently we, the public, have no control over who gets all of our information or when. http://www.carrieriqsettlement.com/

I'm not sure about that however I feel someone is listening ...

Much Love :heart:

[justntime2learn]

See these threads:


Samsung galaxy S6 is secretly recording my phone calls and the environment around me (http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/133074/samsung-galaxy-s6-is-secretly-recording-my-phone-calls-and-the-environment-aroun)
Unathorized Voice recording Samsung S6? (http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s6/605722-unathorized-voice-recording-samsung-s6.html)


Good find Atlas -

see this page:

http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s6/605722-unathorized-voice-recording-samsung-s6-2.html

they talk about what APP is causing the problem, similar maybe to a pocket dial problem..


I have completely disabled the Verizon messenger app and the recordings have stopped for 3 days now. Will update in a few weeks. This seems to be the fix.

Thank you for the response :)

It's not a pocket dial because it records me when I'm sleeping too.

Also, my phone spends the most amount of time in my pocket at work and this rarely in my pocket at home. Odds are that if I was pocket dialing it would happen at work as well. it never happens at work, ever!

It looks like I'll be leaving work early today so I'll try to add more when I get off

Tech support at Verizon could not explain it but they are going to have an answer to me by tomorrow at noon.

[Bob]

Try disabling the Verizon messenger app - that is what the forum thread on Android Central concluded was the issue - http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s6/605722-unathorized-voice-recording-samsung-s6-2.html My comment of "similarity" to "pocket dial" was the issue was "similar", not saying it was a pocket dial issue.. Some sensitivity of the Verizon messenger app possibly, or a bug in the app itself.

Folks said disable and don't use the Verizon Messenger app cured the problem..

[justntime2learn]

Try disabling the Verizon messenger app - that is what the forum thread on Android Central concluded was the issue - http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s6/605722-unathorized-voice-recording-samsung-s6-2.html My comment of "similarity" to "pocket dial" was the issue was "similar", not saying it was a pocket dial issue.. Some sensitivity of the Verizon messenger app possibly, or a bug in the app itself.

Folks said disable and don't use the Verizon Messenger app cured the problem..

Initially,according to 'Trend' my information was at risk to the "my Verizon" app and I was able to successfully uninstall it after numerous tries. After that, the offenders were "NFL Football" with others and after those uninstalls came "Samsung Print Service Plugin"

I Haven't noticed the 'messenger' app as one that has been attacked however other "Bloatware" could be hiding the fact. I just don't know.

I've noticed more and more class action lawsuits. There are severall on-line petitions available for signing to force the cell phone manufacturers that were not listed on the original $9Million Class Action suit to remove this spyware. I am researching which one(s) would make a greater impact to protect our privacy.

Bob, if I disable the Verizon Messenger app will I be able to text and how?

I feel like smartphones are for dumb people :(

Many Blessings :heart:

[justntime2learn]

See these threads:


Samsung galaxy S6 is secretly recording my phone calls and the environment around me (http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/133074/samsung-galaxy-s6-is-secretly-recording-my-phone-calls-and-the-environment-aroun)
Unathorized Voice recording Samsung S6? (http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s6/605722-unathorized-voice-recording-samsung-s6.html)


Bless you for the info Atlas :heart:

I have a note 5 and was wondering how much difference from 6 there is. Anyone know?

I just want my LG flip phone back!

[justntime2learn]

Sorry Bob,

I should have been more attentive and understand what you meant by the pocket dial thing...

Verizon tech support said they would call back by 10 am today and surprisingly the call came at 9:58 am. The tech support person was the same that originally helped me.

He also thought all the recordings were creepy as he looked through them.

He fixed blame on Samsung and their app. I reminded him it all started with the "My Verizon" app that I was finally able to uninstall after close to 50 attempts. I've also noted that these .amr recording never happen at my place of employment (perhaps it is illegal to do so?), just at home, driving, at other residences etc.

I asked him to help me unistall some bloatware like "NFL Football" and the Samsung app which he did. I did a scan after the phone call and both apps returned. I also mentioned the $9Million Carrier IQ Class Action lawsuit against certain cell phone manufactures. He seemed surprised and then looked into that with a quick Google search. I find it hard to understand (but not to hard) that Verizon tech support would be unaware of this sort of thing. Wouldn't it be nice if cell carriers could protect their users by finding a fix and not selling phones with built in spyware? Perhaps a Class Action against companies who actually sell these cell phones should be next? They claim innocense, but I'm not sure about that!

I would be curious for android users to go into "my files" and then "audio" to see if any .amr recording are present, and if they have audio content.

After I installed (Trend) anti-virus, the .amr recording files are still appearing, but have no audible content.

Thank you all for your concern and comments.

Thank you in advance for any light you can provide dear friends :heart:

[Bob]

I did a quick keyword search [what texting apps are available for Verizon Android] and was directed to this page:

http://www.androidauthority.com/best-texting-apps-for-android-653970/ - Android Authority dot Com

this one caught my attention:


Signal Private Messenger (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.thoughtcrime.securesms&hl=en) is actually a messaging app much like Hangouts, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and others. The difference is that this one features end-to-end encryption and it’s been a favorite of many people who value security. It also works on a phone number system and if your contact doesn’t have the app then it simply sends a text message which we really liked. It’s simple to use, looks great with Material Design, and it is entirely free to use with no in-app purchases. It’s also open source, supports group chats, and it’ll even make phone calls.

seems its available (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/signal-private-messenger/id874139669?mt=8) for iOS too.

this is what Signal (Whisper Systems) says about the app


Privacy is possible, Signal makes it easy.

Using Signal, you can communicate instantly while avoiding SMS fees, create groups so that you can chat in real time with all your friends at once, and share media or attachments all with complete privacy. The server never has access to any of your communication and never stores any of your data.

★ Say Anything. Signal uses an advanced end to end encryption protocol that provides privacy for every message every time.

★ Open Source. Signal is Free and Open Source, enabling anyone to verify its security by auditing the code. Signal is the only private messenger that uses open source peer-reviewed cryptographic protocols to keep your messages safe.

★ Be Yourself - Signal uses your existing phone number and address book. There are no separate logins, usernames, passwords, or PINs to manage or lose.

★ Group Chat. Signal allows you to create encrypted groups so you can have private conversations with all your friends at once. Not only are the messages encrypted, but the Signal server never has access to any group metadata such as the membership list, group title, or group icon.

★ Fast. The Signal protocol is designed to operate in the most constrained environment possible. Using Signal, messages are instantly delivered to friends.

★ Speak Freely - Make crystal-clear phone calls to people who live across town, or across the ocean, with no long-distance charges.

Signal is not currently compatible with tablets, but support for larger screens is on our roadmap and will be included in a future release!

For support, questions, or more information, please visit:
http://support.whispersystems.org

More details:
http://www.whispersystems.org/#encrypted_texts

[justntime2learn]

I did a quick keyword search [what texting apps are available for Verizon Android] and was directed to this page:

http://www.androidauthority.com/best-texting-apps-for-android-653970/ - Android Authority dot Com

this one caught my attention:


Signal Private Messenger (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.thoughtcrime.securesms&hl=en) is actually a messaging app much like Hangouts, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and others. The difference is that this one features end-to-end encryption and it’s been a favorite of many people who value security. It also works on a phone number system and if your contact doesn’t have the app then it simply sends a text message which we really liked. It’s simple to use, looks great with Material Design, and it is entirely free to use with no in-app purchases. It’s also open source, supports group chats, and it’ll even make phone calls.

seems its available (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/signal-private-messenger/id874139669?mt=8) for iOS too.

this is what Signal (Whisper Systems) says about the app


Privacy is possible, Signal makes it easy.

Using Signal, you can communicate instantly while avoiding SMS fees, create groups so that you can chat in real time with all your friends at once, and share media or attachments all with complete privacy. The server never has access to any of your communication and never stores any of your data.

★ Say Anything. Signal uses an advanced end to end encryption protocol that provides privacy for every message every time.

★ Open Source. Signal is Free and Open Source, enabling anyone to verify its security by auditing the code. Signal is the only private messenger that uses open source peer-reviewed cryptographic protocols to keep your messages safe.

★ Be Yourself - Signal uses your existing phone number and address book. There are no separate logins, usernames, passwords, or PINs to manage or lose.

★ Group Chat. Signal allows you to create encrypted groups so you can have private conversations with all your friends at once. Not only are the messages encrypted, but the Signal server never has access to any group metadata such as the membership list, group title, or group icon.

★ Fast. The Signal protocol is designed to operate in the most constrained environment possible. Using Signal, messages are instantly delivered to friends.

★ Speak Freely - Make crystal-clear phone calls to people who live across town, or across the ocean, with no long-distance charges.

Signal is not currently compatible with tablets, but support for larger screens is on our roadmap and will be included in a future release!

For support, questions, or more information, please visit:
http://support.whispersystems.org

More details:
http://www.whispersystems.org/#encrypted_texts

Much Love & Thank you Bob :heart::heart::heart:

[justntime2learn]

Try disabling the Verizon messenger app - that is what the forum thread on Android Central concluded was the issue - http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s6/605722-unathorized-voice-recording-samsung-s6-2.html My comment of "similarity" to "pocket dial" was the issue was "similar", not saying it was a pocket dial issue.. Some sensitivity of the Verizon messenger app possibly, or a bug in the app itself.

Folks said disable and don't use the Verizon Messenger app cured the problem..

Thank you Bob, I did disable the microphone on the app.