What Your Phone Carrier Knows About You and How to Opt Out

Scott Houghton - Jr. Staff Writer

Updated 29 October 2026

Contents

Jump to:

What phone carriers know
Location tracking
Call history
Text messages
What CPNI covers
How to opt out
More privacy steps
FAQ

Your phone carrier handles every call you make, every text you send, and every website you load on cellular data, putting it in a position to see much more of your daily life than most people realize. In our 2026 data privacy survey, 92% of Americans said they’re concerned about personal data like their location and browsing history being collected on their phones, and 40% of phone users said they’ve never reviewed their devices' privacy settings.

Your phone settings cover only part of the picture, because Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile each keep a separate set of privacy controls in your carrier account. And several data-sharing programs behind those controls are turned on by default.

Carrier privacy is one of those topics most people never think about until they stumble across a setting they didn’t know existed. I’m a T-Mobile customer myself, so I wanted to know exactly what my own carrier collects. Below, I’ll walk through what carriers know about you, what CPNI covers, and where to find the opt-out settings at Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile.

What your phone carrier knows about you

Your phone carrier collects data about where your phone is, who you call and text, which websites and apps you use on its network, and which device and plan you have. Carriers need a lot of this data to run the network, since a call can’t connect and a text can’t be delivered unless the carrier knows where your phone is and who’s on the other end.

Here’s what Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile collect, based on each carrier’s own privacy notice:

Location: Your phone generates location data every time it connects to a cell tower, and carriers can also collect GPS-based location through their apps when you give them permission.
Call and text records: Carriers log the numbers you call and text, the numbers that contact you, and the date, time, and length of each call.
Web browsing and app usage: Carriers can see the websites you visit and the apps you use while you’re on cellular data. AT&T’s privacy notice lists time spent on websites and apps, IP addresses, advertising IDs, videos watched, and search terms among the browsing data it collects.
Device and account details: Carriers know your phone model, device ID, plan, billing history, and payment information.
Purchased data: Carriers also get data about you from outside sources. AT&T says it buys demographic data like age range and ethnicity from third parties, and T-Mobile says it collects data from data resellers, credit reporting agencies, and social media companies.

Most cellular data collection happens automatically in the background, and the privacy problem starts when carriers reuse that same data for advertising, marketing, and analytics programs that most customers never knowingly signed up for.

Does my phone carrier track my location?

Your phone carrier tracks your location whenever your phone is connected to its network, and turning off location services on your phone doesn’t stop it. Location services only control what apps like Google Maps can see, but your phone still has to check in with nearby cell towers to make calls, send texts, and use data. That tower connection gives your carrier a general idea of where you are at all times, and AT&T’s privacy notice, T-Mobile’s privacy notice, and Verizon’s privacy policy all list this network location data among the information they collect.

That network location data is exactly what got carriers in trouble, because AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile all sold access to it. The carriers sold customers’ location data to third-party companies without consent, and in 2024, the FCC fined them nearly $200 million combined.

The carriers fought the fines in court for years, and in June 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 against AT&T and Verizon, which preserves the FCC’s power to fine carriers that mishandle customer location data. All three carriers now say they only use precise location for advertising when you opt in, but those opt-in programs are still worth checking, and the opt-out steps below show you where to find them.

Can my carrier see my call history?

Your carrier keeps a record of every call you make and receive, including the phone numbers involved, when each call happened, and how long it lasted. Carriers need these call records to bill you and manage their networks, so they’re part of the data your carrier collects no matter what privacy settings you choose.

Federal law protects these records as customer proprietary network information (CPNI), which limits how your carrier can use them for marketing. The records still show who you talk to and how often, though, which is why it’s worth knowing what CPNI covers and how to restrict it.

Can phone companies see your text messages?

Phone companies can technically see the content of standard SMS and MMS text messages, because those messages travel through the carrier’s network without end-to-end encryption. AT&T and Verizon both say they don’t use the content of your texts in their advertising programs, and T-Mobile’s privacy notice lists the content of your text messages among the sensitive data it collects, with a commitment to use it only for things like providing service, preventing fraud, and complying with the law unless you consent to more.

RCS messaging offers much more privacy when encryption is turned on. For years, Google Messages has encrypted RCS chats between Android phones. And in May 2026, Apple and Google started rolling out end-to-end encrypted RCS between iPhones and Android phones (in beta for iPhones running iOS 26.5 on supported carriers).

Plenty of viral claims about who can read what’s on your phone fall apart under scrutiny, and we’ve debunked one of them in our piece explaining why Flock cameras can’t scan the contents of your smartphone. Your carrier is a different case, because your unencrypted texts really do pass through its network.

What customer proprietary network information (CPNI) covers

Customer proprietary network information (CPNI) is the data your carrier has about the phone services you use, including the numbers you call, when and how long you call them, your plan, and the related billing information.

Federal law makes carriers responsible for keeping CPNI confidential, and the FCC’s rules set up two levels of consent. Carriers can use CPNI to market their own communications services unless you opt out, but they need your opt-in consent before sharing CPNI with outside companies for marketing.

Each carrier's most data-hungry advertising program uses CPNI and requires you to opt in. Verizon calls its program Custom Experience Plus, AT&T calls its program Personalized Plus, and T-Mobile calls its program Tailored Offers and Ads.

A CPNI opt-out only stops your carrier from using your call records to market services to you. Your carrier still uses CPNI to run your service, bill you, prevent fraud, and respond to court orders.

How to opt out of carrier data collection

Each carrier splits its privacy controls across several programs, so opting out takes a few minutes and a handful of toggles. Most settings apply line by line, which means anyone on a family plan should repeat the process for every line on the account.

Verizon Wireless privacy settings

Verizon Wireless privacy settings live on the Privacy preferences page in My Verizon, and Verizon automatically enrolls smartphone lines in Custom Experience. Here’s how to turn everything off:

Sign in to My Verizon on the web and open Privacy preferences, or open the My Verizon app, go to the Me tab, and choose Profile & Settings > My Profile.
Scroll to Custom Experience and Custom Experience Plus and turn both off for each line.
Opt out of CPNI sharing on the same page, or call 1-800-333-9956 and follow the prompts.
Opt out of Business and Marketing Insights, a separate program that Verizon automatically adds Custom Experience Plus customers to.
Use the reset option on the Privacy preferences page, so Verizon stops using the browsing, app, and location data it already collected for these programs.

Verizon says it keeps browsing data for Custom Experience for no more than six months and location and CPNI data for about a year. Account owners and account managers can also block other lines on the account from joining the programs, and lines for kids’ devices and plans are excluded automatically.

AT&T privacy settings

AT&T privacy settings are at att.com/PrivacyChoices, and AT&T automatically enrolls customers in its Personalized advertising program. Here’s how to opt out:

Go to att.com/PrivacyChoices and sign in to your AT&T account.
Turn off Personalized and confirm you aren’t enrolled in Personalized Plus.
Opt out of the sharing or selling of your personal information on the same page.
Restrict CPNI at att.com/cpni/optout, or call 800-315-8303 and follow the prompts.

Personalized Plus is the AT&T program to watch, because it can use your precise location, your CPNI, and the web browsing data AT&T collects as your internet provider, including inferences about websites you visit over secure connections. The standard Personalized program still uses data about how you use AT&T’s products and apps, demographic data AT&T buys, and data from its advertising partners.

AT&T also shares limited account information with companies like your bank through its Identity Verification program, which helps those companies confirm it’s really you making a transaction. You can turn it off by texting STOP to 8010, but Identity Verification exists to protect you from fraud, so it’s the one AT&T setting I wouldn’t rush to turn off.

T-Mobile Privacy Dashboard settings

The T-Mobile Privacy Dashboard holds every T-Mobile privacy setting in one place, and you can reach it in the T-Life app:

Open the Manage tab.
Tap the gear icon.
Choose Privacy and policies.
Select Privacy Dashboard.

You can also open the Privacy Dashboard from the T-Mobile Privacy Center on the web.

Once you pick a line, these are the T-Mobile toggles to review. Lines designated as Kids’ Lines are excluded from these programs automatically, so you only need to check adult lines.

Relevant Ads: Uses your app usage, mobile advertising ID, and the demographic data T-Mobile buys to target ads.
- Action: Turn it off. You’ll still see ads, but T-Mobile won’t use your data to target them.
Tailored Offers and Ads: An opt-in program that can use your browsing, precise location, purchases, and CPNI.
- Action: Leave it off. It stays off unless you signed up for it.
Personalized Ads and Offers: An older ad program that T-Mobile has closed to new sign-ups.
- Action: Turn it off if it’s on. An active toggle means you opted in at some point, and you can’t turn it back on after you opt out.
Analytics and Reporting: Combines data from your device into aggregate reports that T-Mobile says it can sell to other companies.
- Action: Turn it off to keep your device data out of those reports.
Do Not Sell or Share: Opens a set of toggles that control whether T-Mobile can sell your data or share it for targeted advertising.
- Action: Set every toggle to Off. The name makes it sound like Off would allow selling, but each toggle controls the selling or sharing itself, so Off opts you out.
Sharing for Fraud & Identity Theft Protection: Shares data like your SIM change history and certain call and text history with companies you have accounts with to help them spot fraud.
- Action: Keep it on. T-Mobile added this toggle in 2025 and switched it on by default, but it helps your bank and other accounts catch things like SIM swap scams.
Profiling and automated decisions: Covers automated profiling T-Mobile might use in the future to make decisions about you.
- Action: Turn it off. T-Mobile added this toggle in 2025 and switched it on by default, and opting out now covers you before T-Mobile ever starts using it.
Product Development: An opt-in program that can use your CPNI.
- Action: Leave it off. It stays off unless you signed up for it.

What opting out won’t stop

Opting out of your carrier’s advertising and marketing programs limits how your data gets used, but it doesn’t stop your carrier from collecting it. Your carrier still needs your location, call records, and network data to provide service, and it still has to hand over records in response to court orders, subpoenas, and emergencies.

Carriers also add programs and update their privacy notices regularly, and AT&T updated its notice in October 2026, so checking your carrier settings once or twice a year keeps your opt-outs current.

More ways to protect your cell phone privacy

Your carrier is only one of the companies collecting data from your phone, and many of the apps you install collect even more. Our survey found that 23% of people don’t check the permissions they grant to mobile apps, including access to their camera, contacts, and location, and 41% never read a website’s or app’s privacy policy before using it. Our breakdown of the apps that collect the most data shows which apps deserve a closer look.

Data that leaves your phone can end up in many places, and our data privacy report points out that federal agencies, including the NSA, DHS, and ICE, have bought Americans’ commercially available data, letting them skip the warrant they’d normally need. A few Android habits cut down how much of your data gets out there in the first place:

Check app permissions: Pull location, microphone, and contact access from any app that doesn’t need it to work.
Delete your advertising ID: Search your phone’s Settings for “Ads” and tap Delete advertising ID, which stops apps from tying ad tracking to a single ID on your phone.
Use encrypted messaging: Turn on RCS chats in Google Messages and look for the lock icon, or use the Signal app for conversations you want to stay fully private.
Run a security review: Google’s Security Checkup walks you through your account’s connected devices, third-party access, and saved passwords, and our guide on how to run Google Security Checkup covers each step.
Look into Android security: Our Android security guide covers the rest of the settings worth changing on an Android phone, from lock screen security to theft protection.

Phone carrier privacy: FAQ

Can my phone carrier see my browsing history?

Your phone carrier can see which websites you visit on cellular data, but HTTPS encryption hides the specific pages you open, what you search for, and anything you type into a site.

Carriers can still see domain names like WhistleOut.com in your network traffic, and Verizon says its Custom Experience programs only use the part of each web address before the first “/” or “?”. AT&T’s Personalized Plus program can use browsing data AT&T collects as your internet provider, including inferences about sites you visit over secure connections. Your carrier can’t see what you browse on Wi-Fi unless it’s also your home internet provider, and a VPN hides your browsing from your carrier entirely while shifting that visibility to the VPN company.

What is CPNI?

CPNI stands for customer proprietary network information, which is the data your carrier collects about the phone services you use, including who you call, when you call, how long you talk, and your plan and billing details. Federal law requires carriers to protect CPNI, and carriers need your opt-in consent before sharing it with outside companies for marketing. Your name, phone number, and address don’t count as CPNI.

What’s the difference between Verizon Custom Experience and Custom Experience Plus?

Verizon Custom Experience uses the websites you visit and the apps you use on your phone to figure out your interests, while Custom Experience Plus adds your device location and your CPNI, including the numbers you call and the numbers that call you. Verizon enrolls smartphone customers in Custom Experience automatically, but Custom Experience Plus requires you to opt in.

Customers who had opted in to Verizon’s older Verizon Selects program were moved into Custom Experience Plus automatically when Verizon renamed it. You can turn off both programs on the Privacy preferences page in My Verizon.

How do I opt out of CPNI sharing on AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile?

You can opt out of CPNI sharing through each carrier’s online privacy settings or by phone. AT&T customers can restrict CPNI at att.com/cpni/optout or by calling 800-315-8303, and Verizon customers can opt out on the Privacy preferences page in My Verizon or by calling 1-800-333-9956. T-Mobile only shares CPNI through its Tailored Offers and Ads and Product Development programs with your opt-in consent, so T-Mobile customers should make sure both programs stay off in the Privacy Dashboard and can call 611 to restrict CPNI use for T-Mobile’s own marketing.

Scott Houghton

Jr. Staff Writer

Scott is a Jr. Staff Writer for WhistleOut with over five years of experience writing about tech, education, and digital services for SaaS companies, higher education platforms, and podcasting brands. He specializes in turning complex topics into clear, helpful content, cutting through the noise, and making smarter decisions about the tools and tech they use every day.

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