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Verizon Selling Customer Location Data

May 22, 2013, 3:18 AM by Eric M. Zeman

Verizon Wireless has begun selling more specific data generated by its customers to third-party companies, reports the Wall Street Journal. The data being offered includes details such as locations, travels, demographics, and web-browsing habits. The data is anonymized, so it can't be identified to individual customers, and is packaged in groups of customers rather than by person. The data, which is compiled by a company called Precision Media Insights, is sold to organizations such as the government, malls, billboard owners, and stadiums, which can then gain a better understanding about the people who frequent their businesses, what they're doing, and the general area in which they live. Verizon warned customers in 2011 that it might use their data in this manner. The Journal reports that subscribers can opt out via Verizon's web site. Information about government and corporate clients is not shared, and Verizon says that it complies with applicable laws regarding customer privacy. The Journal says that AT&T is looking to sell similar customer location data, but has not yet chosen to do so.

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Comments

This forum is closed.

MadFatMan

May 22, 2013, 3:59 AM
edited

WTF @ VZW....

Should not be surprising coming from the SAME company who is piloting residential cable boxes that can record and monitor in home activities and sell it for targeted marketing purposes...

For instance you tell soneone on the phone to go eff themselves then coincidently a Trojan commercial will come on the TV....

Tofuchong

I completly agree, selling this information is really underhanded by VZW, however, sometimes targeted ads can be better than random ones.

On facebook, I clicked on one star trek ad on the right side, and now almost every single ad I get is star tr...
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thagoat

My question is where does this end?
I went to my account on the Verizon sight to disable any and all tracking that they do through my phone.

I'm sure google and facebook already beat them to the punch selling off all of my info though. too lit...
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Vrystaat

May 22, 2013, 1:31 PM

T-Mobile / Sprint

Are T-Mobile / Sprint similarly collecting & selling too - especially after the Carrier IQ debacle from a couple years back?

KOL4420

No, Sprint removed IQ from all their phones a couple years ago when everyone made it a huge deal.

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