Does AT&T track you?
AT&T is one of the leading telecommunication giants of the United States of America offering mobile phone, internet, and TV services to its countless customers throughout the United States of America. Given that millions of users trust AT&T as their provider of communication services, people cannot help but ask if AT&T Internet tracks and monitors their data usage. In simple terms, the answer is yes; AT&T does track and gather data about its customers’ usage and activity. However, the degree of tracking and data gathering depends on the particular AT&T services that you subscribe to.
Mobile Phone and Cellular Data Monitoring
In case you are an AT&T mobile customer, this firm closely monitors how you use your phone and other related features. It listens to the calls you make and receive, the text messages you send, the apps and websites you use through AT&T cellular data connection, and follows your movements through your phone as you go about your business. AT&T then employs this usage and location data for purposes such as billing, monitoring usage on their networks, targeted marketing, and others.
So if you are an AT&T mobile customer, the company will know the details of who you are calling, the applications and websites you are visiting, your location using your cellphone, and even how much battery power your cellphone has left. It can therefore be noted that the amount of personal data that the AT&T mobile customers reveal to the company by merely utilizing the service is rather vast.
Telephonic Calls Made on the Fixed Connection and Internet Traffic Monitoring
With AT&T home phone and internet services, the tracking and monitoring are not as invasive, but they do take place. It is well understood that AT&T maintains all the records of the calls made and received on the landlines for billing and legal requirements. They also closely scrutinize internet data consumption on AT&T home and business internet connections to ensure compliance with consumption limits and to reduce speeds of access to limit consumption once they are reached.
Similar to many other ISPs around the world, AT&T also monitors the websites accessed by customers while they are online through an AT&T connection. But by law, they cannot pass on this personal internet browsing data without the permission of the customer. However, there is a record of this web browsing data and it goes into your dossier at AT&T.
The highest level of tracking is found within AT&T’s mobile network since users take the tracking device provided by AT&T in their pocket any time they have their cell phone. However, AT&T does collect usage data across all the services they offer mainly to increase the portfolio’s value and sell the services back to the customers.
Through this case, we can understand how AT&T leverages the personal data of customers in a way that is not directly beneficial for the customers themselves.
But why does AT&T monitor usage in every of their mobile, landline, and internet services?
According to their privacy policy, there are a few primary reasons.
- Billing & Account Management: It enables AT&T to track, and bill customers appropriately by tracking various aspects such as calls and data usage.
- Network Management & Traffic Monitoring: The evaluation of usage patterns is helpful to AT&T as it helps them to manage and distribute their networks.
- Personalized Marketing: Tracking facilitates AT&T to serve promotion and content that is specific to certain people.
- Location-Based Services: Mobile phone location allows AT&T to offer emergency services and applications with location features.
- Product Development: Here, customer data influences decisions on new offerings from AT&T with specific reference to products and services.
These may be seen as reasonable attempts from the business perspective of AT&T but customers may still have an uncomfortable feeling about the extent to which companies are tracking and using personal information.
Information and Access: Customer Choice and Opt-Out Options
AT&T does to some extent offer customers control over the sharing and tracking of data. In your MyAT&T account settings, you can manage.
- Marketing Preferences: Choose not to receive AT&T commercial emails or have your information shared with third parties.
- Location Preferences: Switch off location-based services for your wireless device.
- Internet Options: Please free yourself from tracking my internet browsing data, AT&T.
However, most basic usage monitoring will still go on as may be necessary for billing, network management, emergency services, etc If you are an AT&T customer in any way, then you are implicitly agreeing to some form of data tracking and monitoring.
By offering convenient, connected, and entertaining internet service, many customers are willing to provide their data to AT&T. However, consumers must arm themselves with knowledge about what data AT&T gathers from its more than 150 million wireless customers, 17 million fiber internet users, and massive TV and media audience. This knowledge of what data is being collected from the customers, helps the customers to make the right decision on what privacy settings to use and when to avoid sharing any sensitive information with AT&T the communications company.
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