CatLog - Devs asking for phone logs. Is it safe?

[clunkercar01]

Having a problem with an app and the developer has asked me to install CatLog for android which is an app that writes everything that happens to a log file.

The developer has said I can email it to him and he may be able to find the problem that is arising with the app by looking at my log.

My concern is that there is private and account information included in the log and although I want to send the log to the developer I am concerned it will be disclosing personal information that should be private.

Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

cheers.
CatLog now supports external Intents Read the Tea Leaves

 

[jerofld]

You can save the logcat as a txt and manually scan for sensitive info. But if you want to filter out stuff automatically, I recommend getting System Tuner. The logger in System Tuner can filter out and save the applicable information.

And if you're going to download catlog, download it from the market, not some random website.

 

[clunkercar01]

Many thanks jerofld
If I use system tuner, how do you mean that it will filter out the applicable information automaticly. I am unsure sorry.
Will it just find instances of the specific app failing because if thats the case then it wont show what other apps are diong which might have caused the failure on the specific app I need to know about.
Any information would be appreciated.
Thanks again.

 

[alostpacket]

The most commonly leaked info in logs are your GPS coordinates, IP addresses, and contact information

not sure if that helps but those would be the three I would keep an eye on

You can also go into your phones settings and look at the ID numbers (like IMEI,IMSI, etc) and keep an eye out for those.

Generally I would say this is probably OK though as it sounds like you asked the dev for help. This is a normal response IMO. (though you are right to be cautious).

 

[nlawson]

Hi, I'm the developer of CatLog.

The Android system log shouldn't contain really sensitive information, like credit card numbers and passwords. As alostpacket said, the worst-case scenario is that you'll expose your email address or GPS coordinates.

However, if you want to play it safe, then you should use CatLog's recording mode. This will cut the logs down to a manageable size (i.e. just what the dev needs) so you can manually inspect it before sending. To use recording mode:

1) Open CatLog
2) Select "Record" from the menu
3) Trigger the bug, i.e. do whatever caused the app to crash
4) Go back to CatLog and select "Stop Recording" from the menu
5) Send the recorded file

Hope that helps!