Technology

Reclaim your privacy by disabling your cellphone carrier’s data tracking

Published

1 month ago

May 22, 2024

Reclaim your privacy by disabling your cellphone carrier’s data tracking

We’ve all heard before that our cellphones are listening to us and monitoring our every move. While this has been debunked (or, at least, explained), the fact of the matter is that data tracking is standard practice by the most popular mobile carriers these days.

And still in 2024, even with complaints from users, new tracking methods are continually emerging, making it harder for users to take back control of their data.

So, what do you need to know exactly about how your mobile carrier tracks your data? And how can you reclaim your privacy without having to say goodbye to your mobile carrier altogether?

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Women looking at a phone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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What is data tracking, and what do mobile carriers collect?

To start, let’s talk about what “data tracking” actually means. Data tracking is when companies collect information about a user’s online activities, including but not limited to their browsing history, location data, messaging information and app usage.

This data is used directly by the company collecting it or shared with third-party companies to ultimately tailor their advertising to you. (There are other justifications for this, such as “improving services.” But nowadays, targeted advertising is the primary reason, which leads users to feel more and more like their phones are listening in on them.)

Data tracking may look different from one company to the next. When it comes to mobile carriers, they can collect a wide range of information about their users, which is no surprise since, for most of us, our phones are an extension of ourselves. Therefore, it’s important for you to be aware of these practices and actively manage your privacy settings to maintain control over your personal information.

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A woman holding an iPhone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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Different ways mobile carriers collect data

Mobile carriers employ a variety of techniques to gather specific data from their users:

T-Mobile

User behavior profiling: T-Mobile analyzes personal data to predict user behaviors and preferences, which can influence future services and marketing strategies.
Research support: The carrier shares data to aid public and scientific research initiatives, ensuring that personal identifiers are removed.
App usage analysis: Tracks the frequency and duration of app usage to gather insights into user preferences and habits.
Advertising personalization: This process collects information on app usage and demographic details to tailor advertisements more closely to the user’s interests.

Verizon

Network usage insights: Verizon uses data like web browsing and app usage to offer additional services or upgrades.
Aggregate consumer insights: Combines user data with external data to generate insights into consumer behaviors and trends.
Customized user experience: Verizon analyzes the websites and apps users engage with to create a more personalized service experience.
Marketing optimization: Uses detailed user data to refine and personalize marketing efforts and service offerings.

AT&T

Browsing and location tracking: AT&T collects detailed records of users’ web browsing and location to customize ads and offers.
Automated decision-making: They employ algorithms to use collected data to make automated decisions that affect the ads and content presented to the user.
Demographic and viewing data: Gathers demographic information alongside viewing habits to better understand and segment their user base.
Identity verification services: AT&T shares certain data with third parties to facilitate identity verification and fraud prevention measures.

Feeling a bit surprised by all of this? Yeah, we are, too.

A person holding a phone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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How to turn off data tracking on your device based on your mobile carrier

If you don’t want your mobile carrier to have so much overarching access to your data, there are ways you can stop them. The problem is that most mobile carriers aren’t going to broadcast this information because it’s beneficial for them to maintain this access.

However, that’s why we’re here to help. Managing your data privacy involves understanding the settings available on your mobile device. Below, you will find instructions for disabling data tracking on devices served by the major U.S. carriers – T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T – as well as a general guide for other carriers.

T-Mobile

To adjust privacy settings on a T-Mobile device:

Log into your T-Mobile account.

Navigate to My Account, then click on Profile.
Scroll to the bottom and select Privacy and Notifications, then Privacy Dashboard.
Here, you can toggle off various options:Share data for public and scientific research: Prevents the use of your data for external research projects.Analytics and reporting: Stops the aggregation of your usage data for business reports.Advertising options: Limits personalized ads based on your app usage and other collected data.Profiling and automated decisions: Opt out of data usage for profiling purposes.Do not sell or share my personal information: Ensure your data is not sold or shared externally.
Share data for public and scientific research: Prevents the use of your data for external research projects.
Analytics and reporting: Stops the aggregation of your usage data for business reports.
Advertising options: Limits personalized ads based on your app usage and other collected data.
Profiling and automated decisions: Opt out of data usage for profiling purposes.
Do not sell or share my personal information: Ensure your data is not sold or shared externally.

Additionally, T-Mobile offers a separate app to limit data shared with third-party advertisers through the Magenta Advertising Platform.

Verizon

To manage privacy settings on a Verizon device:

Log into your Verizon account.
Go to Account, then Account Overview and select Edit Profile and Settings.
Choose Manage Privacy Settings.
You can adjust the following:Customer Proprietary Network Info: Opt out to stop Verizon from using your data to market additional services.Business and Marketing Insights: Disable this to prevent the use of your data for creating consumer insights.Custom Experience and Custom Experience Plus: Opt out to stop personalized marketing based on your web and app usage.
Customer Proprietary Network Info: Opt out to stop Verizon from using your data to market additional services.
Business and Marketing Insights: Disable this to prevent the use of your data for creating consumer insights.
Custom Experience and Custom Experience Plus: Opt out to stop personalized marketing based on your web and app usage.

Resetting the Custom Experience settings will also stop Verizon from using previously collected browsing and location data.

AT&T

To disable data tracking on an AT&T device:

Log into your AT&T account.
Navigate to Profile, then Privacy Choices.
AT&T offers four main toggles you can turn off:Personalized Plus: Stops the use of your location and browsing data for personalized ads.Personalized: Disables automated decision-making using your data.Share or sell my personal information: This prevents AT&T from sharing your data for advertising purposes.
Personalized Plus: Stops the use of your location and browsing data for personalized ads.
Personalized: Disables automated decision-making using your data.
Share or sell my personal information: This prevents AT&T from sharing your data for advertising purposes.

It’s recommended that identity verification be kept active for security purposes.

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Other carriers

If you don’t use one of the above mobile carriers, the steps are likely very similar. But if you have any doubts, talk to your mobile carrier directly, perhaps by going into a store or searching online about how to do it for your specific carrier.

Log into your account through the carrier’s website or app.
Locate the privacy settings or preferences, which may be under sections labeled as Privacy, Security, or Data Management.
Review and adjust the settings to limit data tracking as per your preference.

A woman on her phone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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Strengthen your privacy with a VPN

While disabling carrier tracking is an important step, using a virtual private network (VPN) adds an extra layer of protection for your mobile data. A VPN encrypts all of your internet traffic and routes it through a secure server, shielding your online activities from prying eyes, including your carrier.

With a trusted VPN service, your carrier won’t be able to see which websites you visit, what you search for or the contents of your communications. Your IP address and location will also be masked. Setting up a VPN on your smartphone is easy and affordable, with many top providers offering mobile apps. Just be sure to choose a no-logs VPN with robust encryption that doesn’t sell your data to third parties. Combining VPN protection with disabling carrier tracking maximizes your privacy on the go. For the best VPN software, see my expert review of the best VPNs for browsing the web privately on your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices.

Kurt’s key takeaways

Even as users voice their concerns about their data, mobile carriers are still finding creative arguments to justify what they take and why they take it. It’s more important than ever to take your data into our own hands and utilize these tips to keep your data private as much as possible. Remember, if your data falls into the wrong hands, you have a much higher chance of becoming a victim of a cybercrime.

What do you think about all this data privacy information? Will this information influence how you choose your mobile carrier in the future or how you’ll take control of your data? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.

For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.

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Answers to the most asked CyberGuy questions:

Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

Technology

Spotify’s $10.99 “Basic” plan drops the audiobooks

Published

4 hours ago

June 21, 2024

Press Room

Spotify’s $10.99 “Basic” plan drops the audiobooks

Spotify just announced that it would be increasing prices in the US, but on Friday, it announced a new Basic plan that brings back a $10.99 per month tier. This new offering gives you the same ad-free music listening perks you’d get on the $11.99 Premium Individual tier, but you won’t get the 15 monthly hours of audiobook listening that’s also included with Premium.

Last year, Spotify bumped up the cost of Premium from $9.99 per month — the price the service launched at in the US more than a decade ago — to $10.99 per month. Now that Premium costs an extra dollar beyond that, the new Basic plan seems to indicate that Spotify sees demand for a cheaper option that drops audiobooks. It also creates a music-only offering that’s the same price as the $10.99 per month plans for Apple Music and Tidal.

Spotify also has a $9.99 per month Audiobooks Access Tier that gives you 15 hours of monthly audiobook time, but if you want to listen to music on that plan, you’ll have to hear ads.

Technology

Autonomous big rigs from Volvo and Aurora are coming to highways

Published

5 hours ago

June 21, 2024

Press Room

Autonomous big rigs from Volvo and Aurora are coming to highways

Imagine cruising down the highway when suddenly a massive, self-driving 18-wheeler pulls up beside you. No human in the driver’s seat, just sensors and computers guiding this 40-ton behemoth down the road. A bit unsettling, right?

You’re not alone in feeling that way. Surveys show that 65% of people would feel unsafe sharing the road with an autonomous freight truck. And can you blame them? The idea of a vehicle that large operating without a human in control at high speeds is understandably concerning for most.

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Volvo VNL Autonomous truck (Volvo) (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Driverless 18-wheeler trucks hitting the road soon

But that’s exactly what could be headed to a highway near you as soon as this summer. Volvo and self-driving tech company Aurora have teamed up to create the Volvo VNL autonomous truck. This big rig is packed with Aurora’s autonomous driving smarts and redundant safety systems.

While it may seem jarring at first, their “self-driving truck” will actually have a human safety operator on board, at least initially. This person can take over if the autonomous systems encounter any issues. Volvo plans to start hauling freight loads with their autonomous trucks over the next few months as they prep for broader commercial operations. And Volvo has already kicked off manufacturing a launch fleet of autonomous trucks at their Virginia plant.

Volvo VNL Autonomous truck (Volvo) (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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Safety is at the core of the Volvo VNL autonomous design

The Volvo VNL Autonomous truck has been designed with a strong emphasis on safety. According to Volvo Autonomous Solutions, the platform engineering approach incorporates high-assurance redundancy systems to mitigate potential emergency situations.

The truck has been built from the ground up, with redundant systems integrated for all safety-critical components like steering, braking, communication, computation, power management, energy storage and vehicle motion management. This intentional duplication of critical systems significantly enhances the autonomous truck’s safety and reliability.

The truck is also integrated with the Aurora Driver, a self-driving system that includes dual computers, self-driving software, in-house lidar that can detect objects more than 1,300 feet away, high-resolution cameras, and imaging radar.

Volvo VNL Autonomous truck (Volvo) (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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Volvo and Aurora push toward commercialization

The reveal of the Volvo VNL Autonomous truck comes as both companies continue to push toward their stated goal of commercializing self-driving trucks by the end of 2024. Volvo initially plans to carry freight between Dallas and Houston using Class 8 trucks in autonomous mode with a safety driver behind the wheel.

Getting to commercialization is existential for Volvo and Aurora – two of the last autonomous trucking companies standing. Last year, Waymo Via put the brakes on its self-driving trucking program, and TuSimple recently left the U.S. market in favor of expanding in Asia. Aurora has not been immune to the high capital costs of developing and then launching commercial autonomous trucks either. In January, the company laid off 3% of its workforce to trim costs in advance of its commercial launch.

Consolidation in the AV industry has meant Aurora has fewer rivals. Einride, Torc, and Kodiak Robotics, which revealed its own purpose-built self-driving big rig, are among the few that remain.

Volvo VNL Autonomous truck (Volvo) (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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Aurora’s commercialization strategy

The Volvo partnership, which the companies first inked in March 2021, is one part of Aurora’s commercialization strategy. Aurora has launched pilot programs with logistics companies FedEx, Ryder, Schneider and Uber Freight.

In January, Aurora and automotive supplier Continental closed the first phase of a more than $300 million project to mass-produce autonomous vehicle hardware for commercial self-driving trucks. The two companies finalized the design and system architecture for an AV hardware kit and the blueprint for a secondary computer that can take over operations if a failure occurs. The Continental hardware kit won’t be in Aurora trucks until 2027, but the Volvo VNL will still be packed with safety features, the company says.

Volvo VNL Autonomous truck (Volvo) (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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Public acceptance is key

So, whether you’re ready or not, self-driving semitrucks look poised to hit America’s highways sooner than you think. The real questions are: Will the public’s safety concerns be alleviated? Will autonomous big rigs really make our roads safer and more efficient, as proponents claim? Overcoming consumer skepticism about sharing roads with robotic, driverless trucks is likely to be a major hurdle. Building public trust in the technology’s safety and reliability will be crucial for wider acceptance and adoption.

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Kurt’s key takeaways

The unveiling of the Volvo VNL Autonomous truck marks a significant milestone in the path toward commercializing self-driving trucks. With its redundant safety systems and cutting-edge autonomous driving capabilities, this truck could pave the way for a future where autonomous hauling becomes a reality on highways across the United States – if it can overcome the public’s very real safety concerns first.

How would you feel about sharing the highway with fully autonomous 18-wheeler trucks that have no human driver behind the wheel? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.

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Technology

Starlink Mini brings space internet to backpackers

Published

12 hours ago

June 21, 2024

Press Room

Starlink Mini brings space internet to backpackers

SpaceX’s Starlink internet-from-space service is already available for boats, planes, vanlifers, Amazonian villages, and rural homes in over 75 countries — now it’s coming to backpackers.

The new compact DC-powered Starlink Mini is about the size of a thick laptop and integrates the Wi-Fi router right inside the dish. And despite using less power than other Starlink terminals, it can still deliver speeds over 100Mbps.

“This product will change the world,” claimed SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on X, saying it took less than five minutes to setup.

Notably, the Mini kit consumes an average of just 20-40W compared to the 33-62W we measured just two years ago with a Standard Actuated dish and separate AC-powered Wi-Fi router. That means you can power the Mini dish for two to three hours from something like an Anker Prime 27,650mAh (99.54Wh) power bank, or a little over an hour with smaller 10,000mAh (40Wh) portable batteries you probably already have laying about. It requires a USB-C PD power source with a minimum rating of 100W (20V/5A).

The Mini dish measures 11.75 x 10.2 x 1.45 inches (298.5 x 259 x 38.5mm) and weighs just 2.43 pounds (1.1kg), or 3.37 pounds (1.53kg) with the 49.2 foot (15m) DC power cable and kickstand. It has an IP67 rating meaning it’s protected from dust and rain, including short periods of water immersion.

In the US, Starlink Mini is an add-on to Residential plans — at least for now. The Mini kit costs $599 which is $100 more than the standard dish, and will cost an extra $30 per month to add the Mini Roam service to existing $120 Residential plans. That gives Starlink Mini users up to 50GB of mobile data each month, with the option to purchase more for $1 per GB, according to early-access invitations sent to some exiting US Starlink customers.

While Starlink Mini is new to the US, a Starlink support page says it’s already available in Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Panama where it can be purchased with Mini Service or Mobile – Regional Service plans. In those countries, there’s no data or speed caps to use Mini, and in-motion and ocean use is not allowed. SpaceX says it’ll expand to more markets over time.

“Our goal is to reduce the price of Starlink, especially for those around the world where connectivity has been unaffordable or completely unavailable,” reads the Starlink support page. “In regions with high usage, like the US, where Starlink Mini places additional demand on the satellite network, we are offering a limited number of the Starlink Mini Kits to start at a higher price point.”