Smartphone Carriers Track User Activity
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| Smartphone Carriers Track User Activity | |
|---|---|
| Short Title | Smartphone Carriers Track Customer Activity |
| Location | United States |
| Date | 2014 |
| Solove Harm | Surveillance, Insecurity, Identification |
| Information | Location, Preference, Behavioral |
| Threat Actors | Smartphone carriers |
| Individuals | |
| Affected | Smartphone users |
| High Risk Groups | |
| Tangible Harms | Loss of Trust, Inconvenience |
Smartphone carriers were found inserting unique code to monitor their customer's network activity to track browser and app activity.
Description
Smartphone carriers, such as Verizon or AT&T track their users' activity by placing a unique code into their customers' network activity so that their customers can be tracked.Surveillance
According to some security researchers, the code is also publicly broadcast, meaning it's not just the wireless carrier who can use the code for tracking purposes but anyone who intercepts the information sent, including the website the person is visiting, any third parties on that site. This is an example of Insecurity.