Technology
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?
GET SECURITY ALERTS, EXPERT TIPS – SIGN UP FOR KURT’S NEWSLETTER – THE CYBERGUY REPORT HERE
Women looking at a phone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
ASK ANY TECH QUESTION, AND GET KURT’S FREE CYBERGUY REPORT NEWSLETTER HERE
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.
NO MORE MISSED ALARMS: HOW TO CRANK UP YOUR IPHONE’S ALARM VOLUME
A woman holding an iPhone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)
MORE: FCC SLAPS AT&T, VERIZON, T-MOBILE WITH MEGA FINES FOR DATA DECEIT
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)
MORE: AT&T DATA LEAK FROM 73 MILLION CUSTOMERS; WHAT YOU NEED TO DO NEXT
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.
MORE: TOP AFFORDABLE CELLPHONE PLANS
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)
MORE: TIDY UP YOUR TECH: SPRING-CLEANING TIPS FOR SAFEGUARDING YOUR DATA
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.
Ask Kurt a question or let us know what stories you’d like us to cover.
Follow Kurt on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.
Answers to the most asked CyberGuy questions:
Copyright 2024 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.
When Oregon resident Isabelle Reksopuro heard Google was gobbling up public land to fuel its data centers in her home state, she didn’t initially know what to believe. “There’s a lot of misinformation about data centers,” she said. “Google has denied taking that land.”
Technically, she explains, The Dalles, a city near the Washington state border, sought to reclaim that land, “and Google is just a big, unnamed power user.” The city had in fact asked for ownership of a 150-acre portion of Mount Hood National Forest, claiming it needs access to Mount Hood’s watershed to meet municipal needs as its population — 16,010 as of the 2020 census — grows. But critics, including environmentalists, say the city is trying to secure more water for Google, which has a sprawling data center campus in The Dalles that already consumes about one-third of the city’s water supply.
This controversy made Reksopuro curious about the backlash to data centers being built in other communities. So Reksopuro, a student at the University of Washington who studies the connections between tech and public policy, decided to map it out. Using information collected by Epoch AI and data scraped from legislation on data centers, she built an interactive map tracking AI policy around the world. She designed it to be simple enough for anyone to use. “I wanted it to be something that my younger sisters could play through and explore to understand what are the data centers in the area and what’s actually being done about it,” Reksopuro said. She hoped to shift their opinions that way, “instead of like, through TikTok.”
Four times a day, the map searches for new sources and checks them against the existing database Reksopuro built out. “Once it does that, it will write a new summary, add it to the news feed, and populate it on the sidebar,” she said. “I wanted it to be self-updating, since I’m also a student.”
Reksopuro isn’t against data centers, but she thinks tech giants benefit from a lack of transparency around data center policies. “Right now, it’s this really opaque thing — and all of a sudden, there’s a facility,” she said. “I think that if people knew about data centers beforehand, it would give them leverage. They would be able to negotiate: ask for job training programs, tax revenue, environmental monitoring, things to improve their community.”
UCF commencement speaker Gloria Caulfield (University of Central Florida via Storyful)
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Welcome to Fox News’ Artificial Intelligence newsletter with the latest AI technology advancements.
IN TODAY’S NEWSLETTER:
– UCF graduates clobber commencement speaker with boos after she says AI is the ‘next Industrial Revolution’
– OPINION: DIRECTOR KASH PATEL: We brought the FBI out of the past and into the AI age
– OpenAI backs creation of global AI governance body led by the U.S. that would include China as a member
TOUGH CROWD: During a recent commencement ceremony at the University of Central Florida, a speaker was met with loud boos from the graduating class after declaring that artificial intelligence represents the next industrial revolution. Fox News Digital reporting captures this tense cultural moment, illustrating the mixed public sentiment and skepticism surrounding AI’s growing footprint in daily life.
A statue on the campus of the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. (iStock)
BADGE MEETS BYTE: Reflecting on the modernization of national security in a Fox News op-ed, FBI Director Kash Patel explores how the bureau must adapt its strategies to address modern threats and advance beyond the artificial intelligence age.
TECH DIPLOMACY: OpenAI is throwing its support behind the establishment of a new global artificial intelligence governance organization that would be led by the United States while notably including China as a member. Fox News Digital reporting examines the geopolitical dynamics and regulatory implications of this proposed framework as global powers race to set the standards for AI development.
EQUITY ELEVATION: The massive wave of wealth generated by the explosive growth of ChatGPT and the broader AI industry is driving a sudden surge in the San Francisco Bay Area’s luxury real estate market. Fox News Digital reporting breaks down how the influx of new tech capital is reshaping local housing dynamics and fueling a high-end property frenzy.
FBI Director Kash Patel listened as Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche spoke during a press conference at the Department of Justice on April 28, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
STRATEGY RESET: Tech giant Cisco is planning to eliminate thousands of jobs as the company shifts its primary focus to accelerate its artificial intelligence initiatives, a move that comes despite the company beating earnings expectations. Fox News Digital reporting details the corporate restructuring and broader economic trends pushing legacy tech firms to aggressively pivot toward AI.
ROAD HAZARD: Waymo is issuing a sweeping recall of its autonomous vehicle fleet following a concerning incident that highlighted significant safety issues with the self-driving technology. Fox News Digital reporting outlines the specifics of the recall, the nature of the safety flaw, and what this setback means for the future of fully autonomous transportation on public roads.
BOTS IN THE BAY: A newly developed, artificial intelligence-powered robot has been engineered to seamlessly change and balance vehicle tires without human intervention. Fox News Digital reporting showcases this latest innovation, exploring how automation and AI mechanics could soon revolutionize the automotive service and repair industry.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the 2026 Infrastructure Summit in Washington, D.C., on March 11, 2026. (Kylie Cooper/Reuters)
FOLLOW FOX NEWS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
YouTube
SIGN UP FOR OUR OTHER NEWSLETTERS
Fox News First
Fox News Opinion
Fox News Lifestyle
Fox News Health
DOWNLOAD OUR APPS
Fox News
FOX Business
Fox Weather
Fox Sports
Tubi
WATCH FOX NEWS ONLINE
Fox News Go
STREAM FOX NATION
Fox Nation
Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future with Fox News here.
Microsoft Edge is adding a new feature that will allow its Copilot AI chatbot to gather information from all of your open tabs. When you start a conversation with Copilot, you can ask the chatbot questions about what’s in your tabs, compare the products you’re looking at, summarize your open articles, and more.
In its announcement, Microsoft says you can “select which experiences you want or leave off the ones you don’t.” The company is retiring Copilot Mode as well, which could similarly draw information from your tabs but offered some agentic features, like the ability to book a reservation on your behalf. Microsoft has since folded these agentic capabilities into its “Browse with Copilot” tool.
Several other AI features are coming to Edge, including an AI-powered “Study and Learn” mode that can turn the article you’re looking at into a study session or interactive quiz. There’s a new tool that turns your tabs into AI-powered podcasts as well, similar to what you’d find on NotebookLM, and an AI writing assistant that will pop up when you start entering text on a webpage.
You can also give Copilot permission to access your browsing history to provide more “relevant, high-quality answers,” according to Microsoft. Copilot in Edge on desktop and mobile will come with “long-term memory” as well, which can tailor its responses based on your previous conversations. And, when you open up a new tab, you’ll see a redesigned page that combines chat, search, and web navigation, along with the Journeys feature, which uses AI to organize your browsing history into categories that you can revisit.
Meanwhile, an update to Edge’s mobile app will allow you to share your screen with Copilot and talk through the questions about what you’re seeing. Microsoft says you’ll see “clear visual cues” when Copilot is active, “so you know when it’s taking an action, helping, listening, or viewing.”
-
Seattle, WA2 minutes agoSeattle Mayor Wilson names Esther Handy interim chief of staff in senior staffing shakeup
-
San Diego, CA8 minutes agoFeeding San Diego explains the impact of high gas prices on fueling fleet & food rescue
-
Milwaukee, WI14 minutes agoHow Milwaukee Riverkeeper Broke a World Record
-
Atlanta, GA20 minutes agoAtlanta soccer fans get first glimpse at FIFA World Cup Trophy
-
Minneapolis, MN26 minutes agoWith evictions on the rise, Minnesota lawmakers pass $40 million in rental assistance
-
Indianapolis, IN32 minutes agoNow that schedule’s out, here are Indianapolis Colts 2026 game-by-game predictions
-
Pittsburg, PA38 minutes agoA Bethel Park homeowner paid a contractor nearly $3,000 to repair his porch. He says no one showed up.
-
Augusta, GA44 minutes agoFour indicted in Augusta on federal drug trafficking charges