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Verizon is Selling Your Personal Data
I suggest opting out.
- drivebyacct2 14y agoThis is very, very old news.
- blitzcraig 14y agoOld news that's still very, very relevant. I just switched to Verizon from another carrier and didn't know about this. I much appreciated the post.
- knighthacker 14y agowow. At least they gave you the option to opt-out haha :)
- jug6ernaut 14y ago"Option"? IMO this should be illegal, but i'm sure there is some clause in the contract which allows such use.
- jonah 14y agoExcept the law and their own wording requires opt-IN: "...we need your permission to share this information among our affiliates, agents and parent companies (including Vodafone) and their subsidiaries."
- FireBeyond 14y agoSomewhat - to them anyway, permission is "granted" by you choosing not to opt-out. It's a crazy, muddled-up, mixed up world.
- dude_abides 14y agoThanks for the PSA. While I understand why these things tend to be opt-out by default, I'm surprised there was no email from Verizon updating users about these new settings with a link to opt-out if they wanted to. I used to think that the telecom industry is a lot more regulated than social network companies like Facebook, but I guess that's not really true!
- fleitz 14y agoThey are definitely more regulated than social network companies, fortunately though they've captured the regulator as predicted by economics so they get to seek rent instead of worrying about regulators. The telecom industry has so effectively captured their regulator that when they are caught tapping phones without warrant they are exempted from lawsuits instead of prosecuted vigorously. If you offered a non-compliant unlimited data/voice/voicemail plan for $20 a month you'd have people lined up around the block, no one would care your phone won't work with CALEA and no one would care that your address wasn't in the 911 database. You'd also be extremely profitable using off the shelf hardware like software radios, and non-compliant open source telephony software.
- Evbn 14y agoThe telcos weren't wiretapping for profit, but as an agent of the government. You got the direction of power backwards.
- fleitz 14y agoI don't think you've seen a wiretapping bill... http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2012/04/03/these-are-the-prices-att-verizon-and-sprint-charge-for-cellphone-wiretaps/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2012/04/03/these-a... "Wiretaps cost hundreds of dollars per target every month, generally paid at daily or monthly rates. To wiretap a customer’s phone, T-Mobile charges law enforcement a flat fee of $500 per target"
- jrockway 14y ago
- wkdown 14y ago> EVERYONE is selling your personal data. FTFY
- bduerst 14y agoNot for the lucky Verizon customers who happen to catch this.
- evoxed 14y agoJust so everyone knows, AT&T does the same thing. You have 30 days from the date of your contract before they start passing it out, but I believe you can opt out of future transactions on the site. Try going to http://att.com/ecpnioptout http://att.com/ecpnioptout (if you got a new contract with your iPhone 5, do it this week!) Edit: I should say, AT&T does something similar. I do not know if it is the same thing, since their opt-out page makes it sound rather innocuous compared to the vague language used in the mailed letter. CPNI = Customer Proprietary Network Information
- evoxed 14y agoFurther update, because I can no longer edit my post... If you're trying to opt out and it isn't working for any reason, attempt it again during normal business hours (9-5, EST or PST) and see if it does work. As ridiculous as it seems, many functions cannot be performed outside of this window including registering my billing account. Try again tomorrow around midday and those mysterious "timeouts", "unknown errors", etc may magically disappear. If not, your provider should have a phone number you can call (oh, goody) to take care of the same thing.
- jser 14y agoAT&T's is much more invasive -- it is across all of their telecom platforms (DSL, TV, wireless, wifi, etc). They also will log location information for advertising: http://www.att.com/gen/privacy-policy?pid=2506 http://www.att.com/gen/privacy-policy?pid=2506 You can find more information from their AdWorks division: http://adworks.att.com/press.html http://adworks.att.com/press.html If they were to begin network sniffing, they could potentially build powerful user profiles that would be more valuable than Facebook's data (and truly "frictionless"). Your passive internet browsing would start influencing the commercials you see on TV.
- njloof 14y agoTried to change settings and got an error. Quelle surprise.
- kqr2 14y agoAlso, check out how long Verizon stores your data: http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/09/cellular-customer-data/ http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/09/cellular-customer-d...
- chintan 14y agoOfftopic: This is the first time I'm seeing a post "on" app.net and not "about" app.net
- TazeTSchnitzel 14y agoMight be something to do with people usually not linking to tweets unless they're really notable. And app.net items are effectively just long tweets.
- diego 14y agoTechnically this is more like a thread with comments.
- MiguelHudnandez 14y agoTwitter displays threads, as well. See the following tweet as an example: https://twitter.com/tvladeck/status/255775327165505536 https://twitter.com/tvladeck/status/255775327165505536
- w1ntermute 14y ago> And app.net items are effectively just long tweets. App.net doesn't have a limit on message length?
- sjs382 14y ago256 characters, IIRC
- Evbn 14y agoWhy? Just to be like twitter, but different, with no comprehension of why the Twitter limit exists?
- JeremyBanks 14y ago
- bicknergseng 14y agoSo do banks... other telecoms... Facebook... Google... etc.
- kmfrk 14y agoWhat the hell is it with you Americans and your abhorrent carriers?
- evoxed 14y agoBoy do I wish it was just American carriers that are abhorrent...
- 27182818284 14y agoI don't know and it makes me sad.
- switch007 14y agoPeople keep paying them money.
- akdetrick 14y agoPeople keep having few (if any) alternatives for fast, reliable service providers.
- saraid216 14y agoAmericans are not good at leveraging their government for consumer-friendly oversight of stuff like this.
- danilocampos 14y agoUnrelated, but having had to log in, I'm now reminded of a VZW security issue: Can someone explain the doubtless backward and sloppy thinking that would convince Verizon that they should forbid their users from including symbols in their passwords?
- andrewljohnson 14y agoI've taken to flagging all comments like this. I don't think it even remotely adds to the discussion to pick some usability issue and harp on it. These kind of comments crop up for every story. Easy way to score points, not useful, buries better comments. I think a good rule of thumb is that if you didn't need to read the article to make a comment, it's not a good comment.
- danilocampos 14y agoWelp, A: Mazal tov. I enjoy the magical thinking that makes your meta comment more valuable than my meta comment. B: This isn't a usability issue. This is a security issue. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Password_strength http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Password_strength C: It's not an "article." It's a tweet. So we don't have a lot of deep meaty content to work with here. Are you a bot? Did you read it?
- Bud 14y agoYou're way out of line flagging this, in my opinion. It's a security issue, and a big one at that. I also see no reason to believe that the user is attempting to "score points". Lastly, the comment is in fact quite useful.
- tomrod 14y agoI agree wholeheartedly with this. We're supposed to be the good guys--revealing security issues should be something that gets heavily rewarded with karma.
- nitrogen 14y agoBe very wary of flagging. I believe (corrections welcome) it can result in an entire account being invisi-banned without notice to the user. Should be reserved for the most egregious offenses, with downvoting used for the rest.
- rkudeshi 14y agoA related story: I was recently shopping around for a new ISP. One I considered was Verizon FiOS. In order to see the prices in my area, I had to enter my address. Two weeks later, I got a letter in the mail. Written outside on the envelope was something like: "We noticed you were checking out our website! Here's a special offer just for you..." It's not the same as what OP posted, but it certainly left me creeped out.
- jrockway 14y agoHeh, that's why I always fake address details when I'm checking out cable or DSL options. Of course they're going to use the personal information you enter for marketing purposes, that's why they ask for specifics like apartment number and your mobile number that they don't need to determine service availability.
- joelackner 14y agothat's a clever way of sticking it to them, jrock. i feel sorry for my neighbors already.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- jrockway 14y agoYou don't use valid addresses, of course. If you're in apartment 2R, you say apartment 10B or something.
- JadeNB 14y agoIt is possible to enter completely fake information, rather than someone else's address. (For example, aside from the burden on the post office, I think entering a street address for an apartment complex without an apartment number harms no one.)
- jrockway 14y ago
- benburleson 14y agoUsing Chrome the buttons to save changes were not functioning. For each section, select the option you want, then in console run chgCPNI(); or chgReports(); or chgAds(); depending on which section you changed.
- FootballMuse 14y agoTurning off Ghostery (ironically?) fixed the problem for me.
- hammock 14y agoWhere can I buy this data?
- roryokane 14y agoThese are the steps to opt out of Verizon “selling your personal data”, as far as I can tell: Visit http://www.vzw.com/myprivacy http://www.vzw.com/myprivacy. If you are not already signed in to My Verizon, you will be prompted to sign in – after doing so, return to that myprivacy page. Click the link “Manage Location Privacy settings” near the bottom, which points to https://locationmanagement.vzw.com/ https://locationmanagement.vzw.com/ You should now be at “Location Management” > “Location Privacy Settings”. I’m guessing that this is where you actually opt-out. I’m not sure because there’s nothing for me to do here – I see “There are no services available. A location service must be downloaded on the handset to be listed here.”.
- trafnar 14y agoExact same for me. I'd like to opt out but I have no idea how from the instructions provided.
- angelbob 14y agoDitto. But I'm using an iPhone, so maybe the Verizon-provided stuff is just not there?
- fl3tch 14y agoNo, I had several options on the page linked by OP. When I went to the locationmanagement.vzw.com page, it says, "There are no services available. A location service must be downloaded on the handset to be listed here."
- bryanjclark 14y agoAs far as I can tell, the Location section applies to Verizon-made apps, like their $5/mo navigation app. (Dunno who would sign up for a paid Verizon mapping service, though...)
- jawr 14y agoWho isn't these days?
- acheron 14y ago"Verizon" and "Verizon Wireless" are separate companies. It looks like this refers to Verizon Wireless: e.g., if you have Verizon service for phone, FIOS, or whatever, you are unaffected. Well, they're probably still selling your personal data, but not in this specific instance.
- milkshakes 14y agoEh, Kinda. Verizon Communications owns the majority (55%) of Verizon Wireless.
- biturd 14y agoWill using https prevent them from doing this? I imagine it would stop data gathering and referrer gathering but the source URL request they would still be able to see? A VPN would be the only option to keeping them completely blind? I can set up a VPN on an Amazon micro instance for free. The amount of data used should be nothing or mere pennies per month to Amazon. The only trouble is keeping a VPN up. I find on an iPhone at least that while once working, it works reliably, but keeping it working is unreliable. It seems when you transition from one network to another, one wifi to another, one cell tower to smother, or from wifi to cell and vice versa, the connection can often drop. I wish there was a setting like "auto connect VPN when any data request is made". I've tried VPN's from Amazon of my own creation as well as the VPN included with my GigaNews account. I'm sure running the VPN on your mobile is great for battery life.
- stfu 14y agoI am already looking forward to the upcoming VPN witch hunt. When US provider are really going through with the six strikes "warning" system [1], VPNs will become more and more mainstream. It is going to be interesting which kind of CP/Terrorism yadayada they are going to pull this time. As a VPN user for closed to ten years nw (yes, I am that paranoid/live in a tough-on-downloads region) I can honestly say, that its benefits outweigh the negatives by far. But it takes some time to find a stable VPN service, that fits to your expectations. [1] http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/09/six-strikes-internet-warning-system-really-truly-coming-to-us-this-year/ http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/09/six-strikes-inter...
- jmsduran 14y agoCorrect me if I'm wrong, but I've always had the understanding that VPN providers would give you up to the feds in an instant if they came knocking on their door with a court order for suspected criminal activity. I'm in the process of looking for a solid VPN provider myself, and this is the impression I'm getting after reading the terms & conditions for services like Private Internet Access and VyprVPN.
- 14y ago
- overbroad 14y agoMaybe opting out is not how to stop this abhorrent practice of selling personal information. There is much more at stake than sites just selling email address lists. There is much more detailed information involved. Perhaps what would work better is flooding these marketers with false information. This is what hampers email lists. Most the addresses do not work. As it stands the few (or many) people who fail to "opt-out" (or fail to use proxies) may make this sort of personal information sales market worthwhile because the information gathered is detailed and reasonably accurate. It's not just a list of disposable email addresses. It's higher quality.
- rwolf 14y agoNo requests are sent when I hit the "Save Changes" button. I have a small amount of confidence that my preferences are going to be picked up.
- mds 14y agoIt doesn't seem to work in Chrome. Worked for me in Firefox.
- guscost 14y agoWell that sucks, doesn't it?
- Cieplak 14y agoI wonder if they are doing the same for their FiOS customers.
- unfletch 14y agoDoes anyone know if this applies to iPad-only customers? That's my only Verizon account, but the opt-out link requires a phone number to log in. (Ditto for the "forgot user id" form.)
- darrinm 14y agoYou'll find your iPad's phone number under Settings, Cellular Data, View Account.
- morganm 14y agoI retrieved my iPad phone number as per the other comment and logged into the website. Their site says my info is being shared and when I try to switch this it says the settings can not be saved. Calling the 800 number says I am already opted out. I tried speaking with a CS agent who had no idea what privacy settings I was talking about and then said it does not apply to pre-pay customers. I think she was just trying to get me off the line. So I'm not sure if this applies to iPad customers or if it is possible to opt out.
- bcl 14y agoI haven't received an email and when I logged and checked the settings on my account I was already opted out.
- sempergumbi 14y agoI called Verizon and they said this is a phishing scam... Has anyone else independently verified the original claim with Verizon, other than through their website/privacy TOS?
- bryanjclark 14y agoThis isn't a scam - I found that link last night when I was going through my billing paperwork from Verizon.
- zaptheimpaler 14y agoWow. They claim that a page on the verizonwireless.com/vzw.com domain with a class 3 SSL certificate is a "phishing scam". This is probably some form of scummy damage control - convincing uninformed customers that it had nothing to do with them.
- jnickhughes 14y agoThis is ridiculous.
- jnickhughes 14y agoThis is ridiculous.
- monsur 14y agoVerizon is not the only one who does this. I've seen the same from AT&T and Chase. I'm sure the list of companies that do this is very long.
- Evbn 14y agoSelling data, or exploiting to sell ads? Neither Google nor Facebook sell user data, they hold it close and sell ads against it.
- lockes5hadow 14y agoWhat is really strange to me is the page is different in firefox and chrome (3 options vs 2), the chrome page doesn't work, and if you turn off everything in firefox, then reload the page in chrome, chrome shows them still all being on.
- cr4zy 14y agoHere's the text you see when you log in, if you don't have Verizon. When trying to opt-out, I get an error. ------------------------------------------------------- Your privacy is an important priority at Verizon Wireless. Our Privacy Policy informs you about information we collect and how we use it. Read our Privacy Policy. Location Based Services ("LBS") Privacy Settings A location service is any service that provides access to location information, such as maps of places of interest and turn-by-turn directions, on your handset. These services may require Verizon Wireless to access the location of your handset. For location services you use that are supported by Verizon Wireless, you can Manage Location Privacy settings. Customer Proprietary Network Information Settings As a provider of certain telecommunications services, Verizon Wireless collects certain information that is made available to us solely by virtue of our relationship with you, such as quantity, technical configuration, type, destination, location and amount of use of the telecommunications services you purchase. This information and related billing information is known as Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI). The Federal Communications Commission and other regulators require the Verizon Companies to protect your CPNI. Verizon Wireless shares information among our affiliates and parent companies (including Vodafone) and their subsidiaries unless you advise us not to. Sharing this information allows us to provide you with the latest information about our products and services and to offer you our latest promotions. Settings Don't Share My CPNI OK to Share My CPNI Business & Marketing Reports Verizon Wireless may use mobile usage information and consumer Information for certain business and marketing reports. Mobile usage information includes the addresses or information in URLs (such as search terms) of websites you visit when you use our wireless service, the location of your device ("Location Information"), and your use of applications and features. Consumer information includes information about your use of Verizon products and services (such as data and calling features,device type, and amount of use) as well as demographic and interest categories provided to us by other companies (such as gender, age range, sports fan, frequent diner, or pet owner). We will combine this information in a manner that does not personally identify you. We will use this information to prepare business and marketing reports that we may use ourselves or share with others. We may also share Location Information with other companies in a way that does not personally identify you. We will allow these companies to produce limited business and marketing reports. See our Frequently Asked Questions for more information about these reports. You have a choice about whether we use your information for these reports. Settings Don't use my information for aggregate reports OK to use my information for aggregate reports
- lucian303 14y agoThe question is not what Verizon is doing but what is Verizon _not_ doing? The answer will be much shorter.
- white_devil 14y agoNewsflash: Everyone who possibly can is selling your personal data.
- gdi2290 14y agoVerizon sent me a letter about this a couple of years ago that's when I told everyone I knew with Verizon to opt out of it before they implement it
- trotsky 14y agogiven the increasing ubiquity of these kinds of deals and the quixotic whack-a-mole game they call opt outs, how dumb would it be to cut out the middle men and just say "hey, for the low price of whatever you're paying now we'll all just sell you our habits, cookies, weblogs, location data, brand preferences and shopping habits (via some up front mobile aggregator of said data). It seems likely that people spend enough collectively tracking and profiling me that it might pay for a night out a month if we cut out the middle men. And hell, it might even have an unexpected bonus - the law of the jungle say if it runs chase it and if it chases you, run. Maybe you'd stop being desired tracking target in the end :)
- stephengillie 14y agoYou're expecting the NSA-hats will get bored watching us check into the same restaurants and movie theaters after months and years? You're more optimistic than me.
- mcguire 14y ago"Your privacy is an important priority at Verizon Wireless." From the Verizon customer privacy settings page.