Are you concerned about your cell phone company tracking your every move? If you‘re a Verizon customer, you have good reason to be worried. The wireless giant has been quietly collecting massive amounts of personal data on users through controversial programs known as Verizon Custom Experience and Custom Experience Plus.
As a consumer privacy advocate and retail expert, I‘ve seen firsthand how invasive corporate data collection has become. Companies are constantly seeking ways to learn more about our personal lives so they can influence our behavior through targeted ads. It‘s a huge invasion of privacy—and Verizon is one of the biggest offenders.
In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll give you an inside look at Verizon‘s secretive tracking practices and show you how to fight back by opting out. If you value your digital privacy, this is a must-read.
Verizon Custom Experience: It‘s Worse Than You Think
You may have heard about Verizon Custom Experience and brushed it off as harmless. After all, don‘t all mobile carriers and websites collect some personal info these days? What‘s the big deal?
Here‘s the truth: the extent of Verizon‘s data collection goes far beyond what most people realize. Through the Custom Experience program, Verizon indiscriminately vacuums up sensitive information like:
- Every website you visit and how long you spend there
- The apps installed on your device and how often you use them
- Your physical location collected by cell tower connections and GPS
- Highly personal customer information like your age, gender, and interests
- Numbers you call and receive calls from and the duration of the calls
This data provides an alarmingly detailed view into your everyday life. By analyzing your web history and app usage, Verizon can infer highly personal things like your hobbies, political beliefs, health conditions, and even your sexual orientation. And that‘s not just speculation—it‘s backed up by research showing how seemingly innocuous data points can be used to determine intimate details about people.
Even more concerning is that Verizon collects this data on everyone by default, without properly notifying customers or obtaining clear consent. You have to dig deep into privacy policies and account settings to discover you‘re being tracked. Verizon knows most people won‘t bother to opt out, which is why they make it so difficult to find.
All of this data collection is especially troubling coming from a mobile carrier. We carry our cell phones everywhere, trusting wireless providers to connect our calls and keep our info safe. Verizon is exploiting that trust to mine customers‘ data and make an extra buck.
Custom Experience Plus: Location Tracking on Steroids
Just when you thought Verizon‘s data collection couldn‘t get more invasive, allow me to introduce Custom Experience Plus. This souped-up version of the program includes all the tracking of Custom Experience with one terrifying edition: constant location monitoring.
If you don‘t opt out of Custom Experience Plus, Verizon will use cell tower pings and GPS data to record your physical movements 24/7. The company will know where you live, where you work, when you go to the doctor, and how often you visit your friends. Even if you disable GPS on your phone, Verizon can still roughly track your location through cell tower triangulation.
Verizon claims it only uses location data to serve relevant ads and offers, but that‘s little comfort coming from a company that‘s proven it can‘t be trusted with personal info. In 2016, Verizon was caught tracking customers using hidden "supercookies" that couldn‘t be deleted. And in 2017, the company was accused of sharing users‘ real-time locations with shady data brokers.
Unfortunately, creepy corporate location tracking is becoming the norm. A 2018 report found an estimated 75 companies receive anonymous GPS data from mobile apps. But that doesn‘t make it okay. You should be able to use a cell phone without worrying about your every move being cataloged and analyzed for marketing.
Why Is Verizon Collecting All This Data Anyway?
At this point, you may be wondering: what does Verizon hope to gain with such aggressive data gathering? The answer boils down to one thing: money.
Targeted advertising is big business, and data is the new oil. The more Verizon knows about your interests and behaviors, the more effectively it can serve you personalized ads and product recommendations. Collecting data also allows Verizon to build profiles to determine which customers are likely to make certain purchases or be receptive to specific offers.
While Verizon claims it doesn‘t sell user data, that doesn‘t tell the whole story. The company still shares data with partners and uses it internally to guide marketing efforts. And Verizon has a history of acquiring companies in the advertising and data analytics space, showing just how lucrative it thinks data mining can be.
The worst part is that Verizon likely doesn‘t need all this invasive tracking to provide quality cell service or improve the user experience. The company brought in $28.3 billion from wireless services alone in Q4 2022, more than enough to invest in its network and customer support. The data collection is purely a secondary revenue stream to boost profits at the expense of privacy.
How to Tell If Verizon Is Tracking You
By now, you‘re probably eager to protect your privacy by opting out of Verizon‘s Custom Experience programs. But first, it‘s a good idea to check if your data is actually being collected.
Here are a few signs that suggest you‘re being tracked:
- You see eerily specific targeted ads related to topics you‘ve recently researched or places you‘ve visited.
- Verizon Customer Service agents seem to know a lot about you when you call, without you providing much info.
- Your "Verizon Selects Participation" is listed as "No (Withdrawn)" on your privacy settings page.
- You don‘t remember ever opting out of Custom Experience or Custom Experience Plus.
If any of these sound familiar, your personal information is likely being vacuumed up by Verizon. Don‘t panic. By following the steps outlined below, you can stop the invasive tracking and take back control of your privacy.
Step-by-Step Guide: How to Opt Out of Verizon Custom Experience
Now for the part you‘ve been waiting for: how to actually stop Verizon‘s data collection. The process is a bit more complicated than it should be, but I‘ll walk you through it step-by-step.
Opting Out on the My Verizon Website:
- Sign in to your account at verizon.com/myverizon
- Click "Account" in the top menu bar
- Select "Account Settings" and then "Privacy Settings"
- Find the "Custom Experience" and "Custom Experience Plus" sections
- Click "Don‘t use my information" for each program
- Click "Save Changes" at the bottom of the page
Opting Out on the My Verizon App:
- Open the app and tap the gear icon in the upper right
- Tap "Manage privacy settings"
- Toggle off "Custom Experience" and "Custom Experience Plus"
- Tap "Save Changes"
- Repeat these steps for each line on your account
If you don‘t see the Custom Experience toggles, you may need to update to the latest app version. And don‘t forget to opt out on each device and line on your plan. Verizon requires each user to change their own privacy settings.
Other Ways Verizon May Be Tracking You
Opting out of Custom Experience is a great start, but Verizon has a few other tricks up its sleeve for collecting customer data. To maximize your privacy, watch out for these sneaky settings as well:
Verizon Selects
Verizon Selects was the original tracking program that collected data for targeted ads. Sound familiar? It‘s still around, but Verizon claims it‘s separate from Custom Experience. To be safe, check your privacy settings and make sure "Verizon Selects Participation" is set to "No."
Business & Marketing Insights
This program shares customer data with Verizon partners to "identify trends and opportunities." Verizon claims the data is aggregated and anonymous, but we have no way of verifying that. To opt out, go to the privacy settings page and select "Don‘t share my information."
Supercookies
In 2016, Verizon paid a $1.35 million fine after the FCC discovered it was secretly tracking users with "supercookies." These digital tags allowed websites to build profiles on visitors, even if they deleted their cookies. Verizon claims it has stopped using supercookies, but the incident shows the company can‘t be trusted. For extra protection, use browser extensions like Privacy Badger that block supercookie tracking.
Tips for Securing Your Verizon Account
Opting out of invasive tracking is a huge step toward protecting your privacy on Verizon. But while you‘re tweaking your settings, take a few minutes to button up your account security as well:
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Set up a strong, unique password and enable two-factor authentication in your Verizon account settings. This will prevent hackers from accessing your data even if they obtain your password.
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Add an extra security question for Verizon customer support to ask before accessing your account. This setting is buried under "Account Authorization & Security."
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Enroll in CPNI (Customer Proprietary Network Information) protection to prevent Verizon from using your call data for marketing. Select this option under "Customer Proprietary Network Information Settings."
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Be selective about which third-party apps and services you link to your Verizon account. Carefully review the permissions and privacy policies before granting account access.
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Keep your Verizon app and phone software up to date to ensure you have the latest security features and bug fixes. Enable automatic updates in your device settings.
Conclusion: The Fight for Digital Privacy
Invasive corporate data tracking poses a huge threat to consumer privacy, and Verizon‘s Custom Experience program is one of the clearest examples. No company needs to vacuum up such vast amounts of personal information just to serve targeted ads. It‘s an egregious violation of user trust.
Sadly, this type of tracking is only becoming more common as advertisers demand hyper-specific data for personalization. Tech giants like Google and Facebook have built their entire business models on surveillance, and other industries are racing to catch up.
Opting out of Verizon Custom Experience is an important way to push back against the widespread erosion of digital privacy. By refusing to let wireless carriers monetize your every move, you‘re sending a powerful message that privacy violations won‘t be tolerated.
But this is just one battle in a much larger war. To truly protect consumer privacy, we need strict regulations on data collection and harsher penalties for companies that abuse user trust. The good news is that the tide is starting to turn, with comprehensive privacy laws like the California Consumer Privacy Act and EU General Data Protection Regulation forcing companies to be more transparent.
As more people wake up to the dangers of surveillance capitalism, we have a real shot at building a future where privacy is the default. So keep fighting the good fight, and don‘t let any company violate your privacy for profit.
For more resources on opting out of tracking and protecting your digital privacy, check out this guide from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. If you suspect a company has mishandled your data, you can file a complaint with the FTC or your state attorney general‘s office.
