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Your phone company is selling your personal data
MarcTheFallen
Posts: 26,661 master of ceremonies
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Your phone company knows where you live, what websites you visit, what apps you download, what videos you like to watch, and even where you are. Now, some have begun selling that valuable information to the highest bidder.
In mid-October, Verizon Wireless changed its privacy policy to allow the company to record customers' location data and Web browsing history, combine it with other personal information like age and gender, aggregate it with millions of other customers' data, and sell it on an anonymous basis.
That kind of data could be very useful -- and lucrative -- to third-party companies. For instance, if a small business owner wanted to figure out the best place to open a new pet store, the owner could buy a marketing report from Verizon about a designated area. The report might reveal which city blocks get the most foot or car traffic from people whose Web browsing history reveals that they own pets.
Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500) is the first mobile provider to publicly confirm that it is actually selling information gleaned from its customers directly to businesses. But it's hardly alone in using data about its subscribers to make extra cash.
All four national carriers use aggregated customer information to help outside parties target ads to their subscribers. AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile insist that subscriber data is never actually handed over to third-party vendors; nevertheless, they all make money on it.
OH NO :O GOVERNMENT AND CRAZYNESS :O
more here: http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/01/technology/verizon_att_sprint_tmobile_privacy/index.htm?section=money_news_companies
In mid-October, Verizon Wireless changed its privacy policy to allow the company to record customers' location data and Web browsing history, combine it with other personal information like age and gender, aggregate it with millions of other customers' data, and sell it on an anonymous basis.
That kind of data could be very useful -- and lucrative -- to third-party companies. For instance, if a small business owner wanted to figure out the best place to open a new pet store, the owner could buy a marketing report from Verizon about a designated area. The report might reveal which city blocks get the most foot or car traffic from people whose Web browsing history reveals that they own pets.
Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500) is the first mobile provider to publicly confirm that it is actually selling information gleaned from its customers directly to businesses. But it's hardly alone in using data about its subscribers to make extra cash.
All four national carriers use aggregated customer information to help outside parties target ads to their subscribers. AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile insist that subscriber data is never actually handed over to third-party vendors; nevertheless, they all make money on it.
OH NO :O GOVERNMENT AND CRAZYNESS :O
more here: http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/01/technology/verizon_att_sprint_tmobile_privacy/index.htm?section=money_news_companies
Comments
just this morning i got a phone call from a weird ass area code.... so i goggled the area code;
http://www.areacodelocations.info/4/443.html
and that site came up..... on there is a "Reverse phone lookup" box where u can type in a phone number and it will show you its relative location. (you probably have to pay to get the exact location)