The largest wireless carrier in the U.S. started reaching out to customers Friday, informing them of the policy changes and offering users a way to opt out of data collection.
Verizon says that any of the data it shares with third parties -- like advertisers -- will not be personally identifiable.
The type of data that Verizon is collecting includes:
URLs and search strings
Device location
App and device usage
Information about a user's Verizon products
Demographic information such as gender and age range
Customers that don't want their information tracked or used for these purposes can opt out by visiting www.vzw.com/myprivacy.
On the one hand, it's sort of creepy to see to see that Verizon wants to collect and use customer information this way. On the other hand, at least users have the opportunity to opt out.
Mobile operators have access to an enormous amount of data about our usage paterns. Should we really be surprised operators want to use that data to better serve their ancillary revenue streams, which include advertisements?
Our question is: What is Verizon going to offer consumers in exchange for this information? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
[via BGR]