My Verizon app collects users browsing history, locations, contacts: Report

The My Verizon app is reportedly collecting information about users browsing history, location, apps as well as contacts. According to new website Inputmag, `Verizon Custom Experience Programme` is being pitched to users as a way for the company to personalise communications with the users and to also give more relevant product as well as service recommendations.

The programme introduces two different options that appear in the app, Custom Experience and Custom Experience Plus. The Custom Experience option is a stripped-down version of Custom Experience Plus, and as Verizon states in the app, it helps Verizon "personalize" its "communication with you".

Custom Experience Plus is said to help Verizon provide users with a more "personalized" experience. However, it not only uses information about the websites and apps a user visits on a smartphone but it also uses "device location," along with "phone numbers to help Verizon "better understand your interests."

"We do not share information that identifies you outside of Verizon as part of these programmes other than with service providers who work for us. These service providers are required to use the information only for the purposes Verizon defines and not for their own or others` marketing or advertising purposes," Verizon claims on its website.

To opt-out of the Custom Experience altogether, one just needs to open My Verizon app, and then click the gear icon in the top-right corner of the screen. Then scroll down and select "Manage privacy settings" beneath the "Preferences" heading.

On the next page one would find toggle off "Custom Experience" and "Custom Experience Plus. To erase the information that Verizon has already collected about through the programme, tap "Custom Experience Settings," and hit "Reset".