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T-Mobile next month will launch a new program that provides advertisers with customers’ web browsing and device usage data, unless customers choose not to share the data.
“[S]from April 26, 2021, T – Mobile will start a new program that uses some data we have about you, including information we learned from your web and device usage data (such as the apps installed on your device) and interactions with our products and services for our own and third-party advertising, unless you tell us not to, “T-Mobile said in a privacy notice.” When we share this information with third parties, it is not linked to your name or the information that identifies you directly. “
For instructions on how to cancel expanded data sharing, see the first section of the T-Mobile privacy notice.
T-Mobile, which completed its purchase of Sprint in April 2020, said the new advertising program “changes the way Sprint has offered sharing options in the past, as this data was previously used only if you indicated that everything was fine with you first. “
It is unclear exactly how big the change is for T-Mobile’s non-Sprint customers. An August 2020 version of the privacy policy said that T-Mobile collects “websites and URLs visited”, but does not list the web browsing data of smartphone customers in the list of information shared with third parties. However, that August 2020 release said that T-Mobile sold “device identifiers and Internet and electronic network activity to facilitate certain advertising activities commonly deployed by online and technology companies”. A similar disclosure was made in T-Mobile’s privacy policy prior to the acquisition of Sprint as well.
T-Mobile claims on another webpage that it describes its advertising and analytics program that collects “website addresses visited; types of websites visited, such as sports websites, music websites, etc .; Applications, content and resources used, including how much time you spend on them and information from servers that host those apps, content and resources. “
Advertising IDs used instead of customer names
To make the data anonymous before being sold to third parties, T-Mobile said it links the information “to your mobile advertising identifier or other unique identifier” instead of the customer’s name. But you will have to take T-Mobile’s word about how anonymous the anonymous data really is. “[P]Rivacy groups say these IDs can be linked to people by comparing different data sets, “noted the Wall Street Journal in an article about the changes at T-Mobile today.
“It’s hard to say with a straight face, ‘We are not going to divulge your name,'” Electronic Frontier Foundation lawyer Aaron Mackey told the Journal. “This type of data is very personal and revealing, and it is trivial to link that unidentified information to you.”
Prior to the merger with T-Mobile, “Sprint previously shared similar data only from customers who opted for its third-party ad program,” wrote the Journal. “We’ve heard many say they prefer more relevant ads, so we’re adopting this standard [opt-out] configuration, “a T-Mobile spokesman told the Journal.
We asked T-Mobile several questions about changes in data sharing and for details on exactly how it ensures that data cannot be linked to individual customers, and we will update this article if we receive a response.
Data sharing from AT&T and Verizon doesn’t go that far
The Journal article said that T-Mobile is being more aggressive in sharing individual customers’ Internet usage data with advertisers than AT&T and Verizon:
AT&T automatically enrolls wireless subscribers in a basic advertising program that groups them into groups based on deducted interests, such as sports or a car purchase. An enhanced version of the program shares more detailed personal information with partners of customers who choose it.
Verizon also gathers subscriber data before sharing inferences about them with advertisers, with a more detailed sharing program called Verizon Selects for subscribers. Its separate division of Verizon Media shares data collected through its Yahoo and AOL brands.
AT&T states on this web page that “We do not share information about your individual web browsing or TV viewing” on their “relevant advertising” system, but does offer an “enhanced relevant advertising” system that shares additional information with customers only “previously explicit consent.”
Verizon says in a frequently asked question about mobile advertising that “the information that Verizon Wireless has about web activity on its mobile device is not used in the program”. The program uses “mobile and online web browsing information” collected by the subsidiaries of Verizon, Yahoo and AOL, but this would apparently not cover navigation on non-Verizon sites. Customers can choose to opt out of this targeted advertising program.
In 2016, Verizon agreed to pay a $ 1.35 million fine and give users more control over the “supercookies” that identify customers to serve targeted ads. Verizon’s previous use of supercookies without properly notifying users violated an FCC rule that required ISPs to disclose accurate information about network management practices to consumers.
Operators sold location data without consent
T-Mobile and other major operators have been spotted selling real-time location data from their customers to third-party data brokers without the customer’s consent, violating a law that prohibits the sale of location data over the phone. The Federal Communications Commission in February 2020 proposed a $ 91 million fine to T-Mobile, the largest of the major operators, but T-Mobile said it would fight the penalty.
The Obama-era FCC tried to demand that home and mobile broadband Internet providers obtain consumer consent before using, sharing or selling web browsing and app usage stories, but a Republican-controlled Congress and then president Trump eliminated the rule in 2017 before it went into effect.