T-Mobile is allegedly selling user data to advertisers. It is available to many companies that wish to purchase information regarding a person and use it for their gain in pushing ads. It takes the data on what applications a specific user opens frequently and what other apps they use, says the report.
The app data sold in the process were collected by T-Mobile, presenting a massive security issue that users may avoid by doing several steps.
T-Mobile Allegedly Sells Your Data: To Whom and Why?
According to a report by Ad Exchanger, T-Mobile has a feature called "App Insights" that collect user data from the public and allegedly sells it to advertisers for the right price. Any advertiser willing to buy from them would have stakes on one's user data, bordering on the thin line of data privacy and security among users.
The company also rebranded its ads platform from T-Mobile Marketing Solutions to T-Mobile Advertising Solutions, focusing on the said data selling to advertisers in the process. The only catch here is that user data sold to advertisers are anonymous, and it would not be distinguishable from others whose data are also in T-Mobile's possession.
T-Mobile: Here's How to Prevent them from Access
According to The Verge, users may prevent T-Mobile from accessing their data. Still, the catch is to download an app available for the Android, and iOS platforms called the Magenta Marketing Platform Choices. It allows users to choose what data is accessible and what is not, effectively preventing the company from collecting it from the person.
T-Mobile and its Data Breaches
T-Mobile is one of the largest telephone communications companies in the world, and it brings a massive service in the country and nearby regions for the many offers present in their plans. However, it is infamous for the many mobile data breaches it experienced in the past, and several pieces of information were out to threat actors.
Subscribers of T-Mobile also face threats from spam calls and robocalls, something that has been a massive problem for users for a long time now, especially with the growing cases in the country. There were many actions made by telco companies and service providers for this, but it only means that users' numbers are available to a lot of people to access.
Despite its many data breach and accessibility towards its database, T-Mobile is still focusing on gathering user data through its App Insights venture, and using said data for its sale to advertisers. The advertisers' goals regarding its use of the data it purchased have no specific purpose, but it would most likely be for applications and the ads that will appear on it.
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Written by Isaiah Richard
