CyanogenMod users can once again opt-out of the stats gathering. The data is collected towards the appropriately named CMStats and as of today — CM users now have the option to opt-in, or opt-out of the information gathering. It seems the return of the opt-out feature comes due to an slight uproar within the CyanogenMod user base. The ability to opt-out is nice, however we suspect the folks at CyanogenMod have good intentions when it comes to the data they collect.
Of course, the whole we suspect bit just goes to show that you need to have some trust. On that note, if you feel you cannot trust CyanogenMod with the data they collect, maybe, just maybe you shouldn’t trust them enough to even be running the ROMs in the first place. Lets not go down that route though because that is likely to bring nothing but argument. More important here, in addition to bringing this feature back, Steve Kondik from CyanogenMod also took some time to share what they do with the data.
Perhaps hey here, Kondik has said they have “no sinister plot to crack the hashed data and sell your deepest darkest secrets to Verizon and the NSA.” On a more serious note, CyanogenMod takes a look at the device type, country code, CM version, device ID and the carrier. All fairly harmless details. The reason they prefer to have the data, is simple — they want to understand their user base.
Further details from Kondik make it clear that “can’t reverse it and know your IMEI or anything like that.” Not to mention, most of this type of data is already being collected by someone else. In this case, that data is being collected by Google and many of the apps that you download from the Google Play Store. All said and done, despite the bit about CyanogenMod using this information for good, we suppose it is nice to be able to have the choice when it comes to sharing these details.
[via Google+ Steve Kondik]
