This pre-Christmas revelation is getting messy.

Once upon a time, some guy got an idea. Other guys worked long nights on the idea, with success and failures, but "eureka". Then marketing, and the selling of the idea to the manufactures. 

After various design and/or other decisions, the lawyers are now out front with jobs and dreams at stake.

 

Apple allows opt out of sending diagnostics data, 

http://mashable.com/2011/12/02/iphone-diagnostic-data/

Android?

- who knows, not "standard" across platform/hardware suppliers