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"has partnered with several companies, including AT&T, to track people’s travel patterns and behaviors through their mobile phones." Basically what I make of t

"has partnered with several companies, including AT&T, to track people’s travel patterns and behaviors through their mobile phones." Basically what I make of this is that cell phone companies (for sure AT&T) have already agreed to sell Clear Channel your location data. Do they already disseminate this information out to anyone who is willing to pay for it or is this new? Edit - I found they do and below are there are opt out links for different cell providers. http://www.igeeksblog.com/how-to-disable-data-tracking-on-att-verizon-sprint-t-mobile/ http://www.igeeksblog.com/how-to-disable-data-tracking-on-at...

hammock 11y ago
It's not new, and all the major wireless providers are in on it. To read more from the horse's mouth, check out [1] and [2] (Verizon). Not to mention many apps you have installed also sell your data - behavior, location, etc - to mobile ad networks. [3] [1]http://precisionmarketinsights.com/ http://precisionmarketinsights.com/ [2]http://www.verizonwireless.com/news/article/2013/05/precision-market-insights.html http://www.verizonwireless.com/news/article/2013/05/precisio... [3]http://www.conversantmedia.com/mobile-marketing-solution http://www.conversantmedia.com/mobile-marketing-solution
vitd 11y ago
Thank you for this! Very helpful. It worked great for AT&T. However, for Verizon, I couldn't find the settings they were talking about. I'm not sure if it's because I'm not a Verizon mobile customer (only Internet), or if they've changed it in the meantime.
giancarlostoro 11y ago
Not useful in most cases but setting your phone to airplane mode helps too for those who don't have opt-out links and aren't sure of this being in their carrier.
- sciurus 11y ago
  I don't see how disabling close to all the functionality of your phone is a solution. Sure, they can't track me, but nobody can call me either.
  - giancarlostoro 11y ago
    Some people don't get called often, and driving and talking on the phone isn't an option everyone enjoys, so airplane mode fits the bill for some as I've read in other discussions on HN by others.
  - WorldIsFucked 11y ago
    It's not a solution, but there you go. Large wealthy entities are going to act like assholes, and guess what we learned in kindergarten. All it takes is one fucking asshole to ruin a good thing that used work for everyone. Sorry, but running around with a uniquely identifiable radio badge is now officially being used against you. It's not just about law enforcement using this system against criminals anymore. It's about anyone with enough money, exploiting every naive sucker minding their own business. Welcome to the future.
    - themartorana 11y ago
      What's the cost-benefit ratio? Nothing exists completely altruistically. For me, Google apps (Gmail etc.) provide enough benefit for the cost (of being advertised to). As much as selling my location is infuriating, I'm not likely to give up my pocket computer. The benefit to my life - instant maps and directions, communications, and access to the wealth of the world's information at my fingertips is enough of a benefit - for me, that is. I hate that there has to be a cost that feels vicious, but it is what it is right now. I do hope the privacy pendulum swings back a bit.
      - WorldIsFucked 11y ago
        Considering that this commercial aspect represents the potential for much larger, and perhaps less scrupulous operators (you know, private military, or who even fucking cares anymore, it's just too easy for it to happen to argue) ...to do the exact same thing at any time... And sell the data to a single person who merely wants it, or maybe a motivated group of people who have an incentive, and can pay... Or maybe someone looking to buy an election and maybe even sell an entire war... Which has never happened before, I'm sure. News Corp. Enron. Doesn't matter. Who ever it was the last time, the next time, the names will be different, but we'll be blind-sided again, all the same. And how could this have possibly happened? Where did we go wrong? But safety in numbers, relying on my own safety as one in a city of millions, means my data is surely worthless, right? Who would care about me? And then everyone else says that too. And then you have the whole city that way.
pdkl95 11y ago
As DJB said about his new job at Verizon, "I am the man in the middle!" https://projectbullrun.org/surveillance/2015/video-2015.html#bernstein https://projectbullrun.org/surveillance/2015/video-2015.html...

hammock 11y ago

It's not new, and all the major wireless providers are in on it. To read more from the horse's mouth, check out [1] and [2] (Verizon). Not to mention many apps you have installed also sell your data - behavior, location, etc - to mobile ad networks. [3] [1]http://precisionmarketinsights.com/ http://precisionmarketinsights.com/ [2]http://www.verizonwireless.com/news/article/2013/05/precision-market-insights.html http://www.verizonwireless.com/news/article/2013/05/precisio... [3]http://www.conversantmedia.com/mobile-marketing-solution http://www.conversantmedia.com/mobile-marketing-solution

vitd 11y ago

Thank you for this! Very helpful. It worked great for AT&T. However, for Verizon, I couldn't find the settings they were talking about. I'm not sure if it's because I'm not a Verizon mobile customer (only Internet), or if they've changed it in the meantime.

giancarlostoro 11y ago

Not useful in most cases but setting your phone to airplane mode helps too for those who don't have opt-out links and aren't sure of this being in their carrier.

sciurus 11y ago
I don't see how disabling close to all the functionality of your phone is a solution. Sure, they can't track me, but nobody can call me either.
- giancarlostoro 11y ago
  Some people don't get called often, and driving and talking on the phone isn't an option everyone enjoys, so airplane mode fits the bill for some as I've read in other discussions on HN by others.
- WorldIsFucked 11y ago
  It's not a solution, but there you go. Large wealthy entities are going to act like assholes, and guess what we learned in kindergarten. All it takes is one fucking asshole to ruin a good thing that used work for everyone. Sorry, but running around with a uniquely identifiable radio badge is now officially being used against you. It's not just about law enforcement using this system against criminals anymore. It's about anyone with enough money, exploiting every naive sucker minding their own business. Welcome to the future.
  - themartorana 11y ago
    What's the cost-benefit ratio? Nothing exists completely altruistically. For me, Google apps (Gmail etc.) provide enough benefit for the cost (of being advertised to). As much as selling my location is infuriating, I'm not likely to give up my pocket computer. The benefit to my life - instant maps and directions, communications, and access to the wealth of the world's information at my fingertips is enough of a benefit - for me, that is. I hate that there has to be a cost that feels vicious, but it is what it is right now. I do hope the privacy pendulum swings back a bit.
    - WorldIsFucked 11y ago
      Considering that this commercial aspect represents the potential for much larger, and perhaps less scrupulous operators (you know, private military, or who even fucking cares anymore, it's just too easy for it to happen to argue) ...to do the exact same thing at any time... And sell the data to a single person who merely wants it, or maybe a motivated group of people who have an incentive, and can pay... Or maybe someone looking to buy an election and maybe even sell an entire war... Which has never happened before, I'm sure. News Corp. Enron. Doesn't matter. Who ever it was the last time, the next time, the names will be different, but we'll be blind-sided again, all the same. And how could this have possibly happened? Where did we go wrong? But safety in numbers, relying on my own safety as one in a city of millions, means my data is surely worthless, right? Who would care about me? And then everyone else says that too. And then you have the whole city that way.

pdkl95 11y ago

As DJB said about his new job at Verizon, "I am the man in the middle!" https://projectbullrun.org/surveillance/2015/video-2015.html#bernstein https://projectbullrun.org/surveillance/2015/video-2015.html...