Data Privacy: Your Carrier Knows a Lot About You. Here’s How to Take Back Control

Tracking your data in 2025 seems inevitable. Regardless of whether you use an iPhone or Android phone, your carrier is likely collecting all kinds of data about how, where, and when you use your mobile phone.

Last year, T-Mobile quietly began rolling out a new tracking method called “Automated Profiling and Decisions.” Spotted by Reddit users and Mobile reportthe new option is enabled by default. While the company says it doesn’t use the information it gleans from this tracking today, it could later be used in “future decisions that produce legal or similarly significant implications about you.”

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But the self-proclaimed “non-pregnant” person is not alone. All three major wireless providers in the United States collect data; Here’s what they collect and how you can turn it off. It’s also worth noting that some of this you should want to keep in place, especially identity verification.

While we focus on the three major wireless carriers that make up the bulk of the U.S. wireless market, smaller providers and even home Internet services are likely involved in similar groups. Heading to your account profile or privacy page should help you see what’s being collected and how you can edit it.

We recommend checking back regularly just to make sure you’re aware of any changes carriers may have made or new collection methods they may have added.

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AT&T

As we mentioned above, T-Mobile isn’t the only one collecting data about how you use its services. You can check your AT&T privacy settings by logging into your account and going to Introductory account Followed by Privacy options.

The carrier has four main privacy toggles:

• Plus personality: This setting uses “data such as web browsing and precise location for personalization” including offers and ads. This data includes your precise location, web browsing, viewing and app history as well as data AT&T collects from advertisers such as demographic information, zip code and age ranges. The carrier says this data “does not access or use the contents of your text messages, emails, or calls.”
• a personality: This option “allows your data to be used for automated decision making” including the use of artificial intelligence to create advertising and marketing that is more personalized, tailored and “relevant to your interests”. It is on by default.
• Identity verification: This “allows us to help non-AT&T companies perform identity verification and fraud prevention,” such as a bank, “to help protect your accounts from fraud, verify your identity, and ensure certain transactions are authorized.” AT&T says it doesn’t allow companies to use this verification “for any purpose other than those services.” This is turned on by default.
• Sharing or selling my personal information: This allows AT&T to “share limited information to create, deliver, and measure ads for things you might like,” including targeted ads. This is turned on by default.

Of the four, you can easily turn off all settings, though I recommend keeping identity verification turned on for all fonts in your account.

There’s also an “automated messaging” option that allows your carrier to contact you “via phone or text with important non-marketing information about your AT&T services such as installation and repair appointments, billing, and account information.” It’s on by default and I recommend keeping it turned on as well.

T-Mobile

T-Mobile’s privacy options are a bit more diverse. To reach the company Privacy Centersign in to your T-Mobile account, and then tap My account In the upper right corner, followed by Introductory account. From there scroll all the way to the bottom and select Privacy and notifications and Privacy control panel.

From there you will see the following:

• Data sharing for public and scientific research: T-Mobile He says that this option It allows it to “help support research initiatives for the public good, such as pandemic response and development of new technologies.” The transportation company, which was created last year, says this program comes in response to requests from “external researchers or research institutions.” T-Mobile says this data will be “de-identified as much as possible before sharing” and will not include personal information like your name, though it can share location data, demographic data and usage data. It also states that the data shared here will not be provided to law enforcement.
• Analytics and reporting: This takes data from your device, including app usage information such as the number of times it has been opened and zip code, and combines it with “self-declared data such as age range (e.g., 25 to 34) and gender, for aggregated business and marketing reporting,” which T- Mobile can then be used and shared with other companies. carrier He says that these reports Do not identify individuals. This is turned on by default.
• Advertising options: this Designed for personalized advertisingThe telecommunications company collects details about the applications you download and how long you use them, and combines them with other data it collects such as your location and demographic information. As with similar options from other providers and sites, turning this off doesn’t stop you seeing ads but the telco says you’re “more likely to see ads about things you like” if you keep these options turned on. This is turned on by default.
• Product development: This allows T-Mobile to use your personal data, including your precise location, the phone numbers you call, and the apps and websites you use, as well as to help advertisers “make the ads they show you better.”
• Profiling and automated decisions: This appears to be T-Mobile’s newest privacy option that we mentioned above, and while the carrier says it’s not doing anything with this today, it appears it’s giving itself the option to do so going forward. It describes this on its site as taking the personal data it collects about you “to evaluate, analyze, or predict certain personal aspects about your work performance, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behavior, location, or movements.” ” is turned on by default.
• Do not sell or share my personal information: This lets you tell T-Mobile not to sell or share the data it has about you with other companies. the Company notes on its website It may still share “certain personal information with our service providers so that you can, for example, receive products and services from us.” In an annoying extra step, the carrier notes on its website that you can limit what data third-party advertisers share with T-Mobile through its Magenta advertising platform, but To cancel the subscription you need to download a separate application.

Of these options, I recommend turning them all off.

In addition to the dashboard, the T-Mobile Privacy Center website Details of so-called “phone privacy”. T-Mobile says it uses information collected from here to “determine offers for T-Mobile calling plans, fraud protection and emergency response” but under this policy, it does not collect “your name, address, phone number or the content of your calls.” “Telephony.” It also says it doesn’t share this data with other companies so it can “help them market their products.”

Verizon

Like T-Mobile, Verizon has a bunch of different options when it comes to privacy. This can be found by logging in and clicking on account then Account overview. From there choose Edit profile and settings And choose Manage privacy settings.

From there you will see the following:

• Customer network information: This allows Verizon to use the information you have to sell you services other than what you already pay for. This is turned on by default.
• Business and marketing insights: This takes information about location, web browsing, and “app/feature usage” as well as your demographic information and then combines that with information Verizon gets from other companies to help Verizon create “insights” like whether many people often travel to a place A certain time at a certain time. The carrier says this information is collected “in aggregate” so it can help it and “others better understand consumer actions.” This is turned on by default.
• Customized experience: This takes information about “the websites you visit and the apps you use” to “help us better understand your interests” such as whether you like sports or gaming. Verizon says it does not share or sell this information with others. It is on by default.
• Personalized experience plus: This combines information collected from the CPNI and Custom Experience divisions so that Verizon can “personalize” its marketing and recommendations to you as well as “develop plans, services, and offers” that will be “most attractive to you.” This is a subscription and the carrier says it does not sell this data to other companies for their own advertising, although signing up here will automatically enable Business and marketing insights.
• Identity verification: This shares “certain account, device, and profile data” with third parties to help “verify your identity and help protect you from identity theft and account takeover.” This is turned on by default.

There too Personalized experience The tab that lets you reset Personalized experience and Personalized experience a plus options, and doing so will cause Verizon to “stop using the web browsing and location data” it previously collected as part of the program.

Of all the Verizon options, I recommend turning them all off except for ID verification. It should stay that way.