Verizon Is Merging Its Cellphone Tracking Supercookie with AOL's Ad Tracking Network

schwit1 writes: ProPublica reports that Verizon is giving a new mission to its controversial hidden identifier that tracks users of mobile devices. Verizon said in a little-noticed announcement that it will soon begin sharing the profiles with AOL's ad network, which in turn monitors users across a large swath of the Internet. That means AOL's ad network will be able to match millions of Internet users to their real-world details gathered by Verizon, including — "your gender, age range and interests." AOL's network is on 40 percent of websites, including on ProPublica.

Comments

You can opt out.

[olsmeister]

You shouldn't have to, but you can.

Relevant Mobile Advertising
AOL is now part of Verizon, and we will soon combine Verizon's Relevant Mobile Advertising program into the AOL Advertising Network. These programs use certain customer information to help make the ads you see more interesting and useful.

The Relevant Mobile Advertising program uses your postal and email addresses, certain information about your Verizon products and services (such as device type), and information we get from other companies (such as gender, age range, and interests). The AOL Advertising Network uses information collected when you use AOL Services and visit third-party websites where AOL provides advertising services (such as web browsing, app usage, and location), as well as information that AOL obtains from third-party partners and advertisers.

We do not share information that identifies you personally as part of these programs other than with vendors and partners who do work for us. We require that these vendors and partners protect the information and use it only for the services they are providing us.

These programs use online and device identifiers, including AOL browser cookies, ad IDs from Apple and Google, and one created by Verizon, known as a Unique Identifier Header (or UIDH). When the Verizon and AOL programs are combined, the UIDH will be inserted in certain web traffic that is sent only to Verizon companies (including AOL) and to certain partners who will be authorized to use the UIDH only as part of Verizon and AOL services. More information is available about the Relevant Mobile Advertising program and the UIDH.

You have a choice about whether to participate in the Relevant Mobile Advertising program. The UIDH discussed above will stop being inserted in web traffic from your device after you opt out of the Relevant Mobile Advertising program, but will still appear for a short period of time after you opt out. Please note that if you opt-out of Relevant Mobile Advertising, but you have opted in to Verizon Selects, you will continue to receive relevant advertising and the UIDH will remain present.

You also have choices about how AOL uses information for advertising purposes.

Re:You can opt out.

[Stickybombs]

Link to opt out: https://ebillpay.verizonwirele...

Re:The best summation I've seen

[JustAnotherOldGuy]

Yup, they track the hell out of everyone and everything, and then complain when people try to stop it.

Look for sponsored articles in the media soon about how ad-blocking is "theft" or "stealing".

Full disclosure: I run a bunch of web sites and some of them display ads (mostly google, but a few others as well). And I'm fine with people visiting my sites and using an ad-blocker if they want to. I don't block or ban people who don't want to see the ads, that's their right. It may mean that some of my sites will disappear eventually due to lack of revenue, but that's just the way the world works. I have no right to force people to see ads and I'm not going to be a dick about it.