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Someone who understands this well needs to write a very short 'elevator' explanation for non-technical end-users that we all can copy and paste. That small act

Someone who understands this well needs to write a very short 'elevator' explanation for non-technical end-users that we all can copy and paste. That small act would be invaluable to spreading awareness, which is necessary for any progress. I was going to send the EFF article to some Verizon customers I know but I realized they would have no idea what it meant. I don't have time to read it thoroughly and write an accurate, succinct summary. Any volunteers? (The EFF is doing a disservice to the cause by not doing it themselves.)

mrslx 12y ago
Verizon is doing the equivalent of a reverse 'butt dial' they are listening to everything you do after you've hung up.
logn 12y ago
The tracking is everywhere, it is all around us, even now on this very site. You are tracked when you look out your window, or you turn on your television. You are tracked when you go to work, when you go to church, when you pay your taxes. It is the web that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth. You are a slave. Like everyone else, you were born into bondage, born into a prison that you cannot smell or taste or touch. A prison for your mind and especially for your Verizon phone.
- yellowapple 12y ago
  Verizon is a red pill that I'd rather not be swallowing.
noonespecial 12y ago
How about: Because your mobile device really belongs to the carrier and not to you, whenever you browse the web with it, they know who you are no matter what. They are now refusing to keep that information secret even if you want them to, instead selling it to advertisers without your consent (even despite your obvious non-consent). They do this by sabotaging your mobile browser so it can't really delete certain cookies. When you try, they put them right back the next time you use the browser. They also have a way (called a UIDH header) to tell other sites that its you (so they can track your visits) even if you don't have a cookie in your browser.
- guelo 12y ago
  It doesn't have anything to do with who owns the device.
  - noonespecial 12y ago
    Sure it does. If my verizon iphone wasn't 3 months into a locked two year contract I'd just put in a different sim and forget the whole thing.
    - Shivetya 12y ago
      but cannot phones simply be tracked by their own id regardless of carrier. Say you swap from Verizon, if you hit one of their towers they could theoretically use that information even if your not a direct customer. We know the FBI is reading the traffic so I am wondering why someone is surprised a company does it. Its not right for either party
      - gcb0 12y ago
        they could also follow you non stop on the street and enter every store you go and take note of all your purchases by looking over your shoulder. and i don't think much of it is illegal unless you can prove it distress you but I'm not a layer (I'm a productive member of society :)
- nhstanley 12y ago
  Naive follow up question: Can doing something like routing through a VPN help with this? I assume not, since a forced cookie on your browser will make you always identifiable to the person on the other end, correct?
  - jleight 12y ago
    Using a VPN would encrypt your traffic, preventing Verizon from injecting a UIDH header. You could then clear your cookies and websites would not be able to re-add them via the UIDH header since it isn't being sent. This isn't to say that the websites can't identify you via some other means, just that they no longer have the guaranteed UIDH header to identify you.
chatmasta 12y ago
When you click a button on your mobile web browser, if you're a Verizon customer, advertisers see a special tag assigned to you by Verizon. Since Verizon assigned you the tag, they can give you the same tag on every website. Advertisers have ads on many websites, so they can see the tag and match your browsing history to their logs. In effect, because of the tracking tag Verizon assigns to you, any advertisement you see can track who you are and where you've been.
- eveningcoffee 12y ago
  It should be made clear that it is not some pseudo anonymous "you" but it can be directly related to your phone and your contract and from that to you.
dannyobrien 12y ago
Is the language on the action alert (linked in the article) any better for you? https://act.eff.org/action/hold-verizon-accountable-for-violating-its-users-privacy https://act.eff.org/action/hold-verizon-accountable-for-viol...

mrslx 12y ago

Verizon is doing the equivalent of a reverse 'butt dial' they are listening to everything you do after you've hung up.

logn 12y ago

The tracking is everywhere, it is all around us, even now on this very site. You are tracked when you look out your window, or you turn on your television. You are tracked when you go to work, when you go to church, when you pay your taxes. It is the web that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth. You are a slave. Like everyone else, you were born into bondage, born into a prison that you cannot smell or taste or touch. A prison for your mind and especially for your Verizon phone.

yellowapple 12y ago
Verizon is a red pill that I'd rather not be swallowing.

noonespecial 12y ago

How about: Because your mobile device really belongs to the carrier and not to you, whenever you browse the web with it, they know who you are no matter what. They are now refusing to keep that information secret even if you want them to, instead selling it to advertisers without your consent (even despite your obvious non-consent). They do this by sabotaging your mobile browser so it can't really delete certain cookies. When you try, they put them right back the next time you use the browser. They also have a way (called a UIDH header) to tell other sites that its you (so they can track your visits) even if you don't have a cookie in your browser.

guelo 12y ago
It doesn't have anything to do with who owns the device.
- noonespecial 12y ago
  Sure it does. If my verizon iphone wasn't 3 months into a locked two year contract I'd just put in a different sim and forget the whole thing.
  - Shivetya 12y ago
    but cannot phones simply be tracked by their own id regardless of carrier. Say you swap from Verizon, if you hit one of their towers they could theoretically use that information even if your not a direct customer. We know the FBI is reading the traffic so I am wondering why someone is surprised a company does it. Its not right for either party
    - gcb0 12y ago
      they could also follow you non stop on the street and enter every store you go and take note of all your purchases by looking over your shoulder. and i don't think much of it is illegal unless you can prove it distress you but I'm not a layer (I'm a productive member of society :)
nhstanley 12y ago
Naive follow up question: Can doing something like routing through a VPN help with this? I assume not, since a forced cookie on your browser will make you always identifiable to the person on the other end, correct?
- jleight 12y ago
  Using a VPN would encrypt your traffic, preventing Verizon from injecting a UIDH header. You could then clear your cookies and websites would not be able to re-add them via the UIDH header since it isn't being sent. This isn't to say that the websites can't identify you via some other means, just that they no longer have the guaranteed UIDH header to identify you.

chatmasta 12y ago

When you click a button on your mobile web browser, if you're a Verizon customer, advertisers see a special tag assigned to you by Verizon. Since Verizon assigned you the tag, they can give you the same tag on every website. Advertisers have ads on many websites, so they can see the tag and match your browsing history to their logs. In effect, because of the tracking tag Verizon assigns to you, any advertisement you see can track who you are and where you've been.

eveningcoffee 12y ago
It should be made clear that it is not some pseudo anonymous "you" but it can be directly related to your phone and your contract and from that to you.

dannyobrien 12y ago

Is the language on the action alert (linked in the article) any better for you? https://act.eff.org/action/hold-verizon-accountable-for-violating-its-users-privacy https://act.eff.org/action/hold-verizon-accountable-for-viol...