Verizon Wireless plans to place peel-off stickers on the phones it sells to give consumers yet additional warning that their devices may be tracking their location, depending on the settings they choose for their phones.
A sample of the proposed sticker — with "a surgeon’s general type warning," noted Forbes — was included in a letter sent by Verizon to Reps Joe Barton, R-Texas, and Edward Markey, D-Mass. The congressmen have asked all four major carriers about their privacy practices tied to location-based information on cell phones and tablets, and the sharing and use of that data of growing concern to privacy advocates.
"This device is capable of determining its (and your) physical, geographical location and can associate this location data with other customer information," the wording of the label reads. "To limit access to location information by others, refer to the User Guide for Location settings and be cautious when downloading, accessing or using applications and services."
In their responses to the congressmen, Verizon, like AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile, said they obtain customer permission first before using a subscriber's physical location for information such as driving directions, and before sharing that info with outside mobile apps that provide those services. But the companies also said they don't have any authority to require phone makers like Apple or makers of stand-alone, location-based apps to get user consent if the apps don't rely on the carriers themselves for tracking. (You can read what all four carriers had to say here.)
Apple said last week that the iPhone stores location-based data for up to a year, but will change that practice so that the info is kept for no more than seven days. The company also said it will encrypt the data and stop backing up data to users' computers, something many consumers did not realize.
Google also said that phones running its Android operating system software keeps some GPS location data for a short time.
The Senate will hold a May 10 hearing about mobile privacy concerns.
Will Verizon's sticker be useful? It might be to some, who don't know they're being "tracked," and could bring new meaning to the phrase "sticker shock."
Related stories:
- Android location data 'extremely valuable to Google'
- Carriers say they get consent to use location data
- Experts: Apple should've addressed concerns sooner
- Survey: Mobile app users wary of sharing location
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