AT&T is going to sell user data to advertisers, offers opt-out program to those who don’t like it

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Following what other companies have been doing for quite some time now, AT&T is now planning to sell data it collects from subscribers to other businesses — namely advertisers. This data includes wireless and Wi-Fi locations, website browsing habits, mobile app usage, U-verse usage, and other information. According to AT&T, all of the data will be shared anonymously… meaning you won’t be able to be personally identified by the data AT&T sells.

To push this plan, AT&T has issued an updated privacy policy. The new policy aims to do two things: t0 make it easier for customers to understand the data being collected and how AT&T is using and protecting, and to structure the privacy policy in such a way that it provides straightforward controls for consumer over the data AT&T collects.

Before you get mad at AT&T, the company quickly clarifies that the information it plans to sell will be anonymous and in some cases will even be grouped together. In short, you don’t have to worry about your privacy because AT&T gave the assurance that it will remain protected. But if that assurance is not enough or your totally against AT&T’s plan to sell your anonymous data, well, you can always opt out of the program.

AT&T did not announced yet as to when it it will start selling the anonymous data it collects from customers. So, in the meantime, you might want to read the announcement first as well as the updated AT&T privacy policy.

[via AT&T]

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