WASHINGTON (AP) — AT&T, the nation’s second-largest cellular provider, says it’s no longer attaching Internet tracking codes to data transmitted from its users’ smartphones.
The hidden string of letters and numbers can be used to track subscribers across the Internet and are passed along to websites that a consumer visits. They provide a lucrative data-mining opportunity for advertisers.
AT&T says the tracker was part of a testing project that’s been phased off of its network.
Verizon Wireless says it still uses this type of tracking, known as “super cookies.” However, the country’s largest mobile firm says it’s “evaluating” its continued use of the tracking codes.
While the codes don’t explicitly contain personal information, they’re unique and are sent to websites alongside personal details that a user may submit voluntarily — like a name or a phone number.
Jacob Hoffman-Andrews with the Electronic Frontier Foundation likens the code to “a license plate for your brain.”