Verizon is making a number of big changes to their cell phone privacy policy this week as from this week, with the company now set to begin collecting information such as Web browsing history, general device feature usage, application usage, and even cell phone location. The information is supposedly going to be used for the purposes of marketing and business reports, although the company admits that some of the data could be sold to third party businesses. Verizon insists that none of the information being collected will be able to identify users personally, but information such as demographics and interest categories will be compiled including the likes of age, gender, whether the user owns a pet, or is a sports fan etc.
“For the business and marketing reports offered by Verizon Wireless, records about websites visited, cell phone locations and other consumer data will be combined (or aggregated) to compile reports that provide businesses with insights about their customers,” says Jeffrey Nelson, a spokesman for Verizon. “These aggregate reports could be used by Web publishers to help provide content that is more appealing to users, or to help advertisers better select the ads they will display on outdoor billboards or at other venues.”
All users will be opted in to the new program be default, though anyone who wishes to opt out can do by visiting the Verizon website.