Slashdot Mirror
Verizon Didn't Bother To Write a Privacy Policy For Its 'Privacy Protecting' VPN (vice.com)
Jason Koebler writes: Verizon is rolling out a new Virtual Private Network service called Safe Wi-Fi it developed in conjunction with McAfee. According to Verizon, the $4 per month service "protects your privacy and blocks ad tracking, creating a secure Wi-Fi connection anywhere in the world." But the company didn't even write a privacy policy for the product: Verizon's terms of service directs all of its VPN users to the general McAfee privacy policy governing all of its products. That policy, in turn, states that McAfee and Verizon have the right to collect an ocean of data on the end user, including carrier data, Bluetooth device IDs, mobile device ID, mobile advertising identifiers, MAC address, IMEI data, and more. The policy explicitly says that browsing history can be used to help target ads at you.
but does not prevent them from selling your data.
How so? When has a privacy policy ever prevented a company from pimping customer data? And when has there ever been a business being held accountable to doing so?
Seriously, user data is a valuable commodity. Even if current management is all nice and everything, the next management team may think different.
Look at Amazon. Bezos guards Amazon's customers' data like his own gold pile; which it is - for now.
But one day, Amazon won't be so dominate. Bezos will be gone and whoever is in charge may want to do whatever he can to make money.
I've seen it time and time again - even among successful companies.
We consumers are just cannon fodder to be abused and used and we just have to suck it up.
If you're using a smart phone, chances are, you already don't care about privacy.
I don't respond to AC's.