Verizon Up is a rewards program you pay for with your privacy
You don't, as we all know, get something for nothing... but that doesn't stop companies from making it appear as though you do. The latest perpetrator of this crime against common sense is Verizon. The carrier has rolled out a rewards program -- Verizon Up -- which enables subscribers to earn credits for racking up a bill.
For every $300 spent on Verizon Wireless products and services users are paid a credit which can be collected and spent on various rewards (money off handsets, accessory discounts, and so on). But there is a price, and that price is privacy. In return for letting you accrue credits, Verizon scoops up vast swathes of personal data including browsing history, app usage, location, interests, and much more.
The data Verizon collects in this way is shared with its subsidiary Oath (made up of AOL and Yahoo) as well as a list of "vendors and partners" that is not fully explained. It's fair to say that these sorts of terms are not exactly unique, and Verizon's Smart Rewards scheme has a similar catch, but it's worrying nonetheless. It is important to note that the privacy invasion is opt-in, but with Verizon dangling the carrot of rewards for simply using your phone and paying your bill, it's likely that many people will turn a blind eye to the privacy cost -- or simply not bother to read the terms and conditions at all.
The privacy issue was first noted by Brandon Robbins who shared his concerns on Twitter:
@reckless Verizon's new rewards program. And my data can be shared with the Yahoo & AOL merge? Yeah, no thanks. Nxt #theVerge podcast topic pic.twitter.com/J1KRZtbknZ
— BRANDON ROBBINS (@RobbinsBrandon) August 2, 2017
More information about Verizon Up can be found on the company's website.
In a statement given to Engadget (which is, incidentally, owned by Oath), Verizon said:
We give our customers choice and control. They have the choice to opt in and participate in the program, and if they do choose to participate, they have the choice to opt out at any time.
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