Privacy Policy

Verizon Wireless takes your privacy concerns very seriously. Please read our Privacy Principles and internet Privacy Policy.

Verizon Wireless Privacy Principles

Last updated on March 1, 2007

•Introduction•

Wireless communications and Internet technology are changing the way all companies do business - and changing the way they collect and use information about their customers. Used responsibly, that information can help companies serve especially the advent of wireless location technology, bring growing concerns - by customers and policymakers - about how customer information is used and shared.
Verizon Wireless takes your privacy concerns very seriously. We have always been guided by strong codes governing the privacy of your communications and information. Our Privacy Principles reflect our commitment and define our policy on safeguarding your privacy. We believe that these Principles strike a reasonable balance of customer concerns about privacy with your interest in receiving quality service and useful new products. This is especially important at a time when emerging wireless communications services present us with new business opportunities and new challenges to protect customer privacy.
We recognize that you may have varying concerns regarding the information we obtain about you. Our Principles give you choice and flexibility regarding how we use that information. And these Principles guide our employees in handling customer information so that your private information remains private.
At Verizon Wireless, we are committed to safeguarding your privacy, and we require companies we do business with to protect your privacy too. We put customers first.

•Explanation of the Privacy Principles•

These Principles apply to our use of "personally identifiable information"; that is, information about individual customers. Information that does not reveal a customer's identity is not personally identifiable information. For example, non-personally identifiable information, such as how many customers purchase a particular service in a particular state or how many users visit a web site on a particular day, does not raise privacy concerns and is not covered by these Principles. Below, we provide an explanation of each Principle and list some examples to give you and our employees a sense of how we apply them. The examples are intended to be illustrative, not all-inclusive.
These Principles are subject to change over time. We will revise and update these Principles if our practices change or if changes in the law require us to do so.

•Our Privacy Principles•

••Information Collection and Use••

  • We obtain and use your personally identifiable information for business purposes only.
We obtain personally identifiable information about you that helps us to provide you with our services. We may also use this information to protect customers, employees and property against fraud, theft or abuse, to conduct industry or consumer surveys and to maintain good customer relations. We may ask you questions to better serve your special needs and interests. For example, we may ask whether you work at home, whether any members of your household have special needs or whether teenagers reside in your household in order to determine whether you may be interested in certain services. For training or quality assurance, we may also monitor or record our calls with you.
  • We inform you how personally identifiable information we obtain about you is used, as well as your options regarding its use.
Our Customer Agreement contains disclosures about personally identifiable information that we are required to protect under federal law, how and when we use this information, when we may disclose it and ways you can restrict how we use or disclose it. We may also include information about the privacy implications of individual products and services in the terms and conditions for those products and services. These terms and conditions typically are found in the printed brochures for particular products or services, or sometimes you may view them on our websites, or electronically the first time you use the products or services. Our Internet Privacy Policy, which you can find at our web site, verizonwireless.com, explains how we obtain personally identifiable information from users of our online services, including what kind of information we obtain, how we obtain it (e.g., through registration or through automatic means) and how we use it.
  • We give you opportunities to control how and if we use your personally identifiable information to sell you products and services.
You have many opportunities to control how we use your personally identifiable information to introduce you to new products and services. For example, Verizon Wireless will not call you to market our products and services if you have expressed to us a preference not to be called for such purposes. For more information on our Do Not Call Policy, see verizonwireless.com. You can also call us and request not to receive marketing information from us about our products and services by direct mail, e-mail or text message. However, we do use personally identifiable information to provide personalized recommendations about products and services we offer, and to display advertising that may be relevant to you. Although we use your personally identifiable information for these purposes, ordinarily such information about you or your use of our products and services is aggregated or otherwise rendered anonymous in order to prevent third parties, including vendors providing goods or services to us or advertisers placing advertisements in our products and services, from accessing personally identifiable information. We also use personally identifiable information internally for our own general marketing and planning purposes - so that we can, for example, develop, test and market new products and services that meet the needs of our customers.

•Disclosure of Personally Identifiable Information•

  • We will share your personally identifiable information with outside persons or entities only when you have consented, except when we share such information: 1) as required by law or to protect the safety of customers, employees or property; 2) with our affiliates that also provide service to you; or 3) with our agents, suppliers, vendors, consultants and contractors who use it to provide, support and market our products and services.
An example of when we would disclose personally identifiable information to an outside person or entity is when we are served with a subpoena for customer information. In such cases, we are required to release the information. Another example would be if we share personally identifiable information with other carriers and/or with law enforcement to prevent and investigate fraud and other unlawful use of communications services. A third example would be if we share personally identifiable information related to products and services you currently receive from us with our affiliates that also provide service to you.

•Accuracy of Personally Identifiable Information•

  • We strive to ensure that the personally identifiable information we use about you is accurate.
We are committed to ensuring that the personally identifiable information we use about customers is accurate. To that end, we strive to verify that our customer records are correct. If you find an error in your Verizon Wireless bill, please notify us so we can correct it. Our service representatives are trained to answer questions about, and to give you reasonable access to, the information we have about you. Our service representatives will also provide explanations of how we use this information and how to correct any inaccuracies if they occur.

•Privacy and Verizon Wireless Services•

  • We consider privacy implications as new services are planned and introduced.
We offer several privacy-enhancing services, including Caller ID and Per Call Blocking. At Verizon Wireless, we are committed to expanding the world of communications and multimedia for customers - a world of wireless solutions...voice, video and data services...information and entertainment. We will investigate and consider privacy implications when developing new services.
  • We understand and are sensitive to the special concerns of customers and policy makers with respect to wireless location services and their privacy implications.
We support notice and informed consent for the use of any personally identifiable wireless location and transactional information. We will not store this type of information beyond its normal useful life, including for internal service evaluation and quality assurance purposes,except as required by law.
  • We do not support or participate in the development of a national wireless phone number directory.
We do not publish directories of our customers' phone numbers, and we do not provide or make them available to third parties for listing in directories.

•Compliance With Laws and Public Policy Participation•

  • We support consumer, government and industry efforts to identify and resolve privacy issues.
We participate in legislative and regulatory proceedings, industry association efforts, consumer group efforts and general business group activities relating to telecommunications privacy issues.
  • We comply with all applicable privacy laws and regulations wherever we do business.
Customer and policymaker perceptions of privacy have changed over time and will continue to do so. Changes in technology can also alter what is appropriate in protecting privacy. Laws may change accordingly. We will regularly examine - and update, if necessary - these Principles. We consider privacy laws and regulations to be the minimum standards we adhere to in protecting privacy. In addition to complying with these laws and regulations, we also adhere to these Principles wherever we do business. We also have taken additional voluntary measures to affirm our commitment to safeguarding your privacy. For example, we adhere to the CTIA Consumer Code for Wireless Service, we are a licensee of the TRUSTe Website Privacy Program and our web site meets the BBBOnLine's Reliability Program Standards.
  • We comply with all applicable laws and regulations regarding 'spam' and use commercially reasonable efforts to combat wireless 'spam'.
We supported the passage of federal legislation aimed at providing consumers with control over receipt of unsolicited electronic messages, or 'spam'. We employ tools in our network to detect incidences of 'spam' sent to our customers' wireless devices, and we also provide customers with tools to manage and even restrict receipt of such messages. We may take legal action against 'spammers' who abuse our network.

•Implementation•

  • Our employees are responsible for safeguarding your communications and personally identifiable information.
Our Code of Business Conduct, which is distributed to all employees and can be found at verizonwireless.com, requires our employees to be aware of and protect the privacy of all forms of your communications - whether they are voice, data or image transmissions - as well as your personally identifiable information. The Code makes clear that employees who fail to follow these Principles will face disciplinary action, which can include dismissal. Employees are trained regarding their responsibilities to safeguard your privacy. We strive to ensure that information we have about you is secure and confidential, and to ensure that our employees comply with these Principles. We do not tamper with, intrude upon or intentionally disclose the existence or contents of any communication or transmission, except as required by law or the proper management of our network, or with your consent. Our policy is to limit access to databases containing personally identifiable information to employees, agents, affiliates, suppliers, vendors, consultants and contractors who need it to perform their jobs and in order to serve you - and they are contractually obligated to protect that information. We use safeguards to increase data accuracy and to identify and authenticate the sources of customer information. We use locks and physical security measures, sign-ons and password control procedures and internal auditing techniques to protect against unauthorized use of terminals and entry into our data systems.We encourage our employees to be proactive in implementing and enforcing these Principles. If employees become aware of practices that raise privacy concerns, they are encouraged to report them to their supervisors or to contact Verizon Wireless' Compliance Hotline.
  • We are responsible for implementing these Principles and informing those third parties that provide services to us or to you about our privacy practices.
We expect any vendors and consultants we hire, as well as our agents, affiliates, suppliers and contractors, to observe these Principles with respect to any personally identifiable information of our customers. They will be held accountable for their actions.

Internet Privacy Policy

Effective Date: This policy was last updated on 01/31/2007. Verizon Wireless strives to maintain high standards for the protection of privacy over the Internet. The purpose of this statement is to explain to our visitors the type of information Verizon Wireless obtains about visitors to our websites, how we gather it, how we use it, how long we retain it, and how visitors can restrict the use or disclosure of personally identifiable information.

Verizon Wireless as a licensee of the TRUSTe privacy program

The TRUSTe seal confirms that Verizon Wireless is a licensee of the TRUSTe Privacy Program. TRUSTe is an independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to build users' trust and confidence in the Internet by promoting the use of fair information practices. Because this website wants to demonstrate its commitment to your privacy, it has agreed to disclose its information practices and have its privacy practices reviewed for compliance by TRUSTe. If you have questions or concerns regarding this statement, you should first contact us. If you do not receive acknowledgment of your inquiry or your inquiry has not been satisfactorily addressed, you should then contact TRUSTe http://www.truste.org/consumers/watchdog_complaint.php. TRUSTe will then serve as a liaison with the website to resolve your concerns.

Information we collect

The personal information Verizon Wireless obtains about individual visitors to our websites is information the visitor supplies voluntarily. This means that you can visit our websites without telling us who you are or revealing any information about yourself. To gauge the effectiveness of our websites, we do collect some generic information about our visitors. Our web servers automatically recognize a visitor's domain name (such as .com, .edu, etc.), the point of entry from which a visitor enters our site including web pages, User Guide CDs or banner ads, which pages a visitor visits on our site, and how much time a visitor spends on each page. This information is not linked to any personally identifiable information about the visitor. We or our contractors use web beacons (i.e., "cookies") to track use of our sites and to track what sites users came from, but do not collect personally identifiable information via these web beacons. We aggregate this information and use it to evaluate and improve our websites. We do not track user activity on sites outside of Verizon Wireless.
Verizon Wireless may collect personally identifiable information (such as name, email address, postal address) and/or third party personally identifiable information through this website. In some situations, such as when you order a product or service online or register for online billing, Verizon Wireless will collect billing information, such as your credit card number and billing address, and we may share this information with our third parties contractors (such as your credit card company solely for the purpose of processing the transaction you have requested). You may choose to provide individual information to Verizon Wireless in a number of ways through our websites such as by:
  • •Ordering a product or service from us;
  • •Sending us email;
  • •Registering to receive news, public policy updates, or information about our products or services;
  • •Applying for a job or a grant; or
  • •Entering a contest.
When visitors supply information about themselves for a specific purpose, Verizon Wireless uses the information for that purpose (such as to provide the information the visitor has requested or to consider a visitor for a particular job). When visitors use our websites to order products or services, or to request information about them, we may use the individual information as we would use the same information obtained offline - for example, to evaluate your service needs and contact you regarding additional services you may find useful. You have the right to choose not to receive this information by notifying us of your preference.
When a user wants to set up an account with Verizon Wireless, in order to determine the user's credit worthiness, we use their name, date of birth, and social security number to request a credit report from a credit-reporting agency. Once we determine a user's credit-worthiness, this document is destroyed.
We do not sell individual information obtained online about our visitors. And, we will not disclose the individual information provided to us online to anyone outside of Verizon Wireless or our contractors unless you specifically authorize it (by purchasing a product or service using a credit card, for example, you authorize us to provide information regarding the purchase to your credit card company), it is required by law, or disclosure is necessary to protect the safety of customers, employees or property. If you provide individual information to us in the context of an event Verizon Wireless sponsors with another company, such as a contest, or if you register on a co-sponsored site or feature, you may also be providing the information to the co-sponsor. In those circumstances, the co-sponsor's privacy policy will control, so review their information carefully. Verizon Wireless from time to time uses third party contractors to perform services such as website management, site design, site hosting and special promotions but does not use user information for other purposes beyond providing specific services on Verizon Wireless website.

Email

Verizon Wireless does not send unsolicited "junk" email (spam). We may use email to communicate with our customers, to respond to visitors' emails, to confirm orders placed online, and to send information that a visitor has requested. If you receive an unwanted email from us, you can simply reply to ask not to receive future emails.
Verizon Wireless provides an unsubscribe function in its email campaigns in order for subscribers to opt out of further email communications from us.

Use of cookies

Verizon Wireless websites also use "cookies", which may be sent by contractors that we use to track how our websites are used. They allow us to serve you better. When you use our sites, we or our contractors send information, a cookie, to your computer and it is stored there. When you return to our sites, your computer sends the cookie back to us or our contractor. This allows our server to recognize your computer and any settings you created on our sites. It restores those settings so you don't have to enter the same information every time you visit. For example, if you entered your zip code on a visit to our site, when you return you will see information for that zip code without typing it in again. It also allows us to track non-personally identifiable information about how our websites are used and how to improve them. The fact that our server recognizes your computer when it retrieves the cookies does not mean that Verizon Wireless is actually acquiring information about you. You can set your browser to delete cookies or to tell you before you accept one. Look in your browser's Options or Preferences menu.

Security

Verizon Wireless uses Secure Socket Layer technology with encryption for the transmission of sensitive data such as credit card information and Social Security Number.
Verizon Wireless is committed to safeguarding customer privacy on all our websites. We require our employees to protect the privacy of information about our customers and expect our partners and suppliers to do so as well. You can feel confident that your individual information will be protected when you access your account or order products or services from our websites. We employ security measures to safeguard your transactions with us.

Compliance with laws

Though we make every effort to preserve user privacy, we may need to disclose personal information when required by law wherein we have a good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with a current judicial proceeding, a court order or legal process served on our websites.

Links to other websites

The Verizon Wireless websites contain links to other sites. We are not responsible for the content or the privacy practices employed by other sites. To improve the services it can offer you, Verizon Wireless may opt to expand its capabilities for obtaining information about users in the future. Verizon Wireless will update this privacy statement continually to ensure that you are aware of developments in this area.

Updating your information

Users may access, correct, and update information they have provided to Verizon Wireless by visiting our websites and utilize our Customer Service application. The Contact Us area of the site contains email links by which users can send in information updates.

Notice of changes

Verizon Wireless will provide 30 days notice on our web site of any material changes to the privacy statement and in the use of personally identifiable information.

Contacting us

For inquiries regarding our privacy statement, contact us

Account Security

You may be aware of recent events and news stories concerning "pretexting," the fraudulent, deceitful or otherwise illegal attempts by unscrupulous individuals to gain access to account information of phone customers. Be assured that the security of your personal information continues to be one of the highest priorities at Verizon Wireless. We have taken aggressive steps to identify and sue individuals employing these deceitful tactics, and we will not let up.

There are several affirmative steps that you can take to help protect against unauthorized access to your Verizon Wireless account information by pretexters. For example:
  • •You can establish a user name and password restricting unauthorized access to your online account by visiting www.verizonwireless.com.
  • This only takes a few moments and is one of the best ways to prevent others from establishing an online account in your name (so as to
  • view your account information). Pick a password that is not obvious and keep it secret.
  • •If you have already established an online account and are concerned that someone may know or guess your user name and password,
  • consider changing your login information for your online account.
  • •You can also prevent someone who is trying to impersonate you when calling our customer service representatives from accessing your
  • personal information by establishing a four-digit billing system password. You can create this password by contacting our customer service
  • representatives.
  • •Always keep personal information such as account numbers, social security numbers and passwords in secure places, and do not share
  • this information with others.

Customer Proprietary Network Information for Consumers

Your privacy is important to us

Verizon Wireless and its affiliates (the "Verizon Companies") provide services to you. In doing so, we may each collect certain information that is made available to us solely by virtue of our relationship with you, such as quantity, technical configuration, type, destination, location and amount of use of the telecommunications services you purchase. This information and related billing information is known as Customer Proprietary Network Information ("CPNI"). The Federal Communications Commission and other regulators require the Verizon Companies to protect your CPNI
In order to better serve your communications needs and to provide products and services to meet your requirements, we need your permission to share this information among our affiliates, agents and parent companies (including Vodafone) and their subsidiaries. The protection of your information is important to us, and the Verizon Companies acknowledge that you have a right, and we have a duty, under federal and state law, to protect the confidentiality of your CPNI.
You have a right to keep your CPNI private by "opting out." Unless you provide us with notice that you wish to opt out within 30 days of us providing notice to you in your bill or through the mail, we will assume that you give the Verizon Companies the right to share your CPNI with the authorized companies as described above. You may opt out by calling us at 1-800-333-9956 and following the recorded directions.
TTY users can opt out by first dialing a telecommunications relay service (TRS) center via 711 in order to contact a TRS Communications Assistant (CA). Then, simply ask the CA to dial 1-800-333-9956 and notify us that you wish to opt out.
Please be advised that if you do not opt out, your consent will remain valid until we receive your notice withdrawing it. If you wish to withdraw your consent at any time, you may do so by calling us at 1-800-333-9956.
Furthermore, note that opting out will not affect the status of the services you currently have with the Verizon Companies. In addition, we can disclose your CPNI to comply with any laws, court order or subpoena, or to provide services to you pursuant to your Customer Agreement.

Customer Proprietary Network Information Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What is CPNI?
A. Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) is information created by virtue of the relationship between a carrier and a customer, including the quantity, technical configuration, type, destination, location, and amount of use of a customer's telecommunications services purchased (including specific calls a customer makes and receives) and related local and toll billing information. It does not include information such as one's name, address or telephone number.

Q2. Why does Verizon Wireless need my consent?
A. Verizon Wireless needs to share your CPNI with our affiliates, agents and parent companies in order to better offer and provide to you the full range of the Verizon Companies' communications - related products and services. The Federal Communications Commission requires that we obtain your consent to do so.

Q3. If I give my consent, what can Verizon Wireless do with my information?
A. With your consent, Verizon Wireless will be able to share your CPNI with our affiliates, agents and parent companies. Sharing such information will enable us to collaborate on how to better serve your telecommunications needs.

Q4. Can I change my mind about giving consent?
A. A customer has the right at any time to withdraw its previously-given permission to share CPNI by notifying Verizon Wireless at 1-800-333-9956.

Q5. How am I affected if I decide not to provide my consent?
A. The inability to share your CPNI may make it more difficult for Verizon Wireless to work with our affiliates to offer you new communications-related products and services in the future. However, your decision to disallow the sharing of CPNI will not affect the services that you currently obtain from the Verizon companies.

Customer Proprietary Network Information Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. What is CPNI?
A. Customer Proprietary Network Information (CPNI) is information created by virtue of the relationship between a carrier and a customer, including the quantity, technical configuration, type, destination, location, and amount of use of a customer's telecommunications services purchased (including specific calls a customer makes and receives) and related local and toll billing information. It does not include published information such as one's name, address or telephone number

Q2. Why does Verizon Wireless need my consent?
A. Verizon Wireless needs to share your CPNI with our affiliates, agents and parent companies in order to better provide to you the full range of the Verizon Companies' communications related products and services. The Federal Communications Commission requires that we obtain your consent to do so.

Q3. If I give my consent, what can Verizon Wireless do with my information?
A. With your consent, Verizon Wireless will be able to share your CPNI with our affiliates, agents and parent companies. Sharing such information will enable us to collaborate on how to better serve your telecommunications needs.

Q4. Can I change my mind about giving consent?
A. A customer has the right at any time to withdraw its previously-given permission to share CPNI by notifying Verizon Wireless via fax to 866-745-4661 or email to cpni-notices@verizonwireless.com.

Q5. How am I affected if I decide not to provide my consent?
A. The inability to share your CPNI may make it more difficult for Verizon Wireless to work with our affiliates to offer you new communications-related products and services in the future. However, your decision to disallow the sharing of CPNI will not affect the services that you currently obtain from the Verizon companies.