AT&T knows a lot about you, and now it wants you to know that

June 11, 2009 | Anthony Ha | Comments |

For most people (including me), privacy policies fall into the same category as “terms of service” documents — they contain important information, but are usually so long and impenetrably written that they’re not worth the effort of reading. AT&T says it’s trying to take a different approach with a draft privacy policy that it published this morning, one that’s actually comprehensible to your average reader.

AT&T’s Chief Privacy Officer Dorothy Attwood tells The New York Times that the policy doesn’t really change AT&T privacy practices, but it does make them a lot clearer. There’s still some vagueness about exactly what data AT&T collects, but it’s clear that there’s a lot, including your location, the websites you visit, your social security number, and more. And the fact that I was able to read and understand the document from beginning to end is an achievement itself. Plus, the policy comes with other user-friendly features, like explanatory videos, a frequently asked questions page, and links to a form where I can opt out of certain ad-matching programs.

In the main video, Attwood makes five promises to AT&T customers:

1. We will protect your privacy and keep your personal information safe.
2. We will not sell your personal information to anyone for any purpose.
3. You have choices about how AT&T uses your information for marketing purposes.
4. We will fully disclose our privacy policies in plain language.
5. We will notify our customers of privacy policy changes before they go into effect.

This seems like a smart move for AT&T at a time when there are increasing concerns about what companies are doing with user data. And while the announcements are probably unrelated, it may restore some of the goodwill AT&T lost among US iPhone owners after a couple of disappointing announcements at Apple’s Worldwide Developers conference earlier this week.

[photo:flickr/rpongsaj]

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About the Author, Anthony Ha

Anthony is VentureBeat's assistant editor, as well as its reporter on enterprise technology, cloud computing, and tech policy. Before joining VentureBeat in 2008, Anthony worked at the Hollister Free Lance, where he won awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for breaking news coverage and writing. He attended Stanford University and now lives in San Francisco. Reach him at anthony@venturebeat.com. You can also follow Anthony on Twitter.

  • Penelope
    Hmm, nope, doesn't restore any goodwill towards AT&T.
  • Geoff H
    They are still wire tapping our every phone call for the government. Is that in their 5 promises somewhere?

    Please dont paint companies that are clearly invading our privacy in the most heinous way as being good at privacy concerns. As I understand it, ALL phone calls are being recorded and transcribed from the revelations of the NSA wiretapping program that have been released.

    Im not sure theyre reading my email or internet traffic, but they dont have to spy on us in every single way to be completely being dishonest about privacy matters.

    Its nice theyre not selling my information to other companies too, but still, this is bunk, please treat it as the marketing effort it is.
  • Those are some fair points, but in my defense I was discussing the privacy plan as a *marketing effort*, and I did say there didn't seem to be any serious change to the practice.
  • Geoff H
    Sorry Anthony, I wasnt criticizing you, any vitriol came from there not being much in the way of protest in our business culture about being spied on by our service providers, and perhaps wishing we cared a little more about that.

    Its not your reporting, its more of a culture thing. I think you guys do a great job in general. :)
  • Mindaugelis
    "We will not sell (..)" meaning they can exchange it or give it away? :)