ALERT SUMMARY: Apple is working to protect your privacy by requiring Iphone apps to ask you to opt into tracking. Verizon circumvents this and is tracking you by default. You can disable Verizon tracking you.
For months, Apple has been looking to require app developers to request permission before tracking user activity Tracking user activity allows advertisers to present personalized ads. Opting out for users means they will see more general ads instead of ones that advertisers think might be interesting to the user. Developers and digital marketers are now putting their best efforts in convincing users to opt-in to tracking.
Verizon does not ask permission and in fact defaults to tracking. Verizon can track you without an app because they built the cellular data network via the towers and servers required for service to work. So Apple’s tracking initiative can’t do much about it.
Another concern is how difficult it can be to opt-out. Verizon sends vague unbranded texts with links that don’t go to any recognizable url leaving customers unsure whether it is truly a Verizon opt-out or a scam. Another problem to bury the opt-out settings to make it hard to find. Verizon is not alone in this practice which further increases concern about not only a user’s privacy but even a user’s security. The reason for the practice is simply to market personalized products and services that people may find interesting and buy.
Trust is especially important when dealing with collecting data so these bad practices can quickly compound a lack of trust. Trust lost by the customer can equate to a lost customer.
Next Steps - For additional details and Step-By Step Instructions on how to protect and respond to this Alert, follow the link below.
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