mobile privacy news Archives

Verizon Wireless makes important changes to its mobile privacy policy

11/09/201111/09/2011 Jorge Gonzalez

Verizon Wireless has announced some changes that will be made to its privacy policy of which its customers should be aware. It will require customers to have to actively opt-out unless they wish to send information to Verizon about the features and apps that they use, the websites that they visit using their mobile devices, and where they have physically travelled while using devices on the Verizon network. The Verizon website is now featuring a notice where it has identified two new ways that it will be using the data…

Google cedes to European privacy regulators and boosts Wi-Fi router security

09/15/201109/15/2011 Jesse Collins

After a notable battle, Google has bowed to the rules laid down by European privacy regulators with an announcement that it would be providing residential Wi-Fi router owners worldwide with the option to take their devices off a Google registry that is used for locating mobile phone users. This new option follows a warning issued by the European regulators almost four months ago, which stated that it violated European law to use Wi-Fi router data to collect information regarding the locations, identities, and names of mobile phones within their range.…

“Certain circumstances” allow a smartphone to be tracked by the NSA

07/31/201107/31/2011 Stephanie Beck

A National Security Agency (NSA) lawyer has announced that the department is capable of tracking citizens in specific situations using smartphone location data, and that it will be providing further details into this fact in the near future. Users of smartphones have been voicing concerns about having their movements followed and, as it turns out, they weren’t entirely being paranoid. Matthew Olsen, general counsel of the National Security Agency, spoke at a hearing, discussing the rights of the government to obtain and use this information. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon…

Groupon announces new location-based sharing regulations

07/13/2011 Jesse Collins

Groupon sent out an email to announce its latest changes to its terms of use and privacy statement, bringing new information and understanding regarding the way in which it intends to obtain and use location data for leveraging mobile services. The email explained that if the Groupon mobile app is used, then the user has automatically opted in for sharing data through his or her mobile device so that Groupon is permitted to obtain geo-location data from that device and apply it for “marketing deals to you (and for other…