Health & Fitness
How To Stop Verizon From Selling Your Web Surfing Data To Advertisers
How to opt out and stop Verizon from selling your web surfing and app data to advertisers.
If you're a Verizon Wireless customer then you may have heard that the company started tracking your phone usage about a year ago. This includes what web sites you frequent, what apps you install on your phone, and where you are located when you use your mobile device.
I heard yesterday when listening to an Internet security podcast that Verizon has made the decision to begin selling all of this information to advertisers, giving their subscribers a 30 day window to opt out. The company claims that this is a legal move because they are not revealing the actual identities of their customers since all of the collected data will be aggregated.
What is a bit sneaky about this plan is that Verizon has opted us "IN" by default and you need to log into your web account and change your privacy settings to opt "OUT". Personally, I think this should have been set up the other way around and since we are already paying Verizon a monthly fee for their service (I pay upwards of $75 a month) I don't feel they have a right to monetize our data.
I am reprinting instructions from an article on Lifehacker on how to change your settings and opt out below:
1. Log into your Verizon Wireless account and head to their privacy page.
2. You should see three sections: Customer Proprietary Network Settings, Business and Marketing Reports, and "Relevant Mobile Advertising." Head to the first section, opt out, and click Save.
3. Repeat this process for each section, making sure to press the Save button each time, for a total of three different opt-out actions.
Please spread the word about this story to anyone you know that is a Verizon customer so they can decide whether or not to opt out from this program. I have included a few links below with additional information.
Find out what's happening in Park Slopefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
via Lifehacker and CNET
Mike Beeferman is a technology nerd and consultant (for individuals and small businesses) at large in New York City and Brooklyn. He even makes house calls.
