They What? AT&T Has Decided to Stop Tracking Your Phone

By Osvaldo Nunez 

AT&T Mobility, the nation's second largest cellular provider, will no longer track its users surfing the net on smartphones.

The change basically removes a hidden string of code attached to customers' service line. The line made it easier for AT&T to track subscribers on the Internet, an opportunity for advertisers to gather valuable information.

Most AT&T users were probably not even aware that their own provider was tracking them. AT&T was able to sell our data and according to their spokesperson, it was apart of a test program. Their spokesperson, Debra Lewis, said that "As with any program, we're constantly evaluating, and this is no different,"

If they do decide to bring the scheme back: "customers will be able to opt out of the ad program and not have the numeric code inserted on their device."

Not only was AT&T using this scheme, but also Verizon. Verizon is still evaluating the scheme and that they are doing it differently, keeping users' information secure, and instead using history to feed ads.

"Everything you wonder about, and read, and ask the Internet about gets this header attached to it. And there are ad agencies out there that try to associate that browsing history with anything that identifies you," said aid Jacob Hoffman-Andrews, a senior staff technologist with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a civil-liberties organization that opposed the practice.

For users, it's not easy to get real online privacy. It would probably be costlier if users actually had their independence on the Internet. For example, users may be hit with hundreds of dollars worth of termination fees if they try to leave the carrier.

ProPublica discovered that Twitter was using Verizon's tracking codes as well.

To check if your phone is being tracked as well, go to ProPublica.