customers

Tue
08
Aug
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Unlimited Smartphone Deal Targets Users Aged 55 and Over

T-Mobile is launching a special phone plan for seniors, following on from AT&T. The difference is that T-Mobile's plan covers data, making it more useful for smartphones. The T-Mobile plan allows for unlimited voice calls, texting and data use, ... albeit with some restrictions. Video playback is limited to standard definition, users can only share (tether) the connection with a computer at 3G speeds, and connections may be slowed if the user goes over 32GB of data in a month. (Source: t-mobile.com ) It's the same package available to all T-Mobile users, but at a special price for ... (view more)

Thu
20
Apr
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Bose Accused of Spying on Listening Habits

A proposed class action lawsuit accuses Bose of selling personal data about customers who use its wireless headphones. But the claims are unconfirmed and the argument may be somewhat overstated. Customer Kyle Zak made the complaint about Bose ... Connect, an app for iPhones and Android devices. The app isn't mandatory to use, but is designed to make it easier to switch between different headsets and speakers on a Bluetooth connection without needing to repeatedly pair and unpair the devices. Podcast Choices Could Be Revealing According to the lawsuit, Bose uses the app to collect details of ... (view more)

Wed
08
Feb
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Smart TV Maker Spied on Viewing Habits, Sold Data

Vizio is to pay $2.2 million in fines after tracking viewing habits on 11 million smart TVs without their owners' knowledge or permission. They then sold the details, including personal information, to advertisers. As part of a settlement, Vizio has ... now agreed to inform customers about the practice and promises to always get their express consent before tracking any viewing. It will also have to delete much of the data it has already collected. Vizio had relied on the idea that customers retained enough control because there was a setting named "Smart Interactivity" that could ... (view more)

Wed
11
Jan
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Bad News for 'Unlimited Data' Mobile Users

Mobile users on "unlimited" data plans got a double dose of bad news this week. Verizon will be kicking the heaviest data users off the plan, while AT&T's remaining unlimited users face a price hike. Cellphone service providers have largely ... moved away from offering truly unlimited data plans over the past few years. That's partly because of a big increase in how much data mobile customers use, particularly as faster speeds made streaming video more practical. While new unlimited deals are almost non-existent, most providers have continued to allow people to keep existing ... (view more)

Tue
01
Nov
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ISPs Must Ask Before Collecting Personal Data

Internet service providers such as cable companies will no longer be allowed to use or sell personal data about customers without permission. The ban includes details about the sites and apps that a customer uses. It's part of a new set of rules ... issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) after a 3-2 vote in favor by commissioners. The rules will be formally published soon, at which point ISPs will have a year to comply, though smaller providers will have a further 12 months after that. Providers will have to tell customers what data they collect, how they use it, and who if ... (view more)

Thu
20
Oct
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T-Mobile Hit With $48 Million Penalty in 'Unlimited Data' Dispute

T-Mobile has agreed to pay nearly $50 million after misleading customers about a supposed unlimited data plan. Unlike rival AT&T, it chose to settle with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rather than risk a court case. The agreement ... came after complaints from a customer who had signed up to an unlimited plan for mobile data use. It turned out that at times when the service was most heavily used T-Mobile "de-prioritized" -- in other words, slowed down -- data speeds for customers who used the most data. It's believed the threshold, which was never made public, was ... (view more)

Wed
21
Sep
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Comcast Gets Into Cellphone Service

Comcast is to offer cellphone service next year, targeting its existing customers. It will use a combination of cellphone towers leased from Verizon and its own wireless hotspots. The company is not revealing too many details at this point, but it ... appears it believes it will be able to offer a wider coverage area by using its existing network of around 14 million wireless hotspots. Customers Own Routers Part of Network That network is so large because it not only covers devices in public places such as coffee shops but also uses a "guest mode" on the wireless routers of many cable ... (view more)

Thu
15
Sep
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'No Negative Reviews' Clauses Could be Banned

The House of Representatives has passed a bill banning companies from gagging clauses that stop customers leaving online reviews. But the law doesn't mean customers are exempt from libel and related laws. The Consumer Review Fairness Act doesn't ... affect the legality of writing reviews itself. Neither is it anything to do with criminal law. Instead it's all about the terms and conditions that companies insist customers agree to before placing an order. These documents sometimes include a non-disparagement clause that says customers won't publish negative reviews of the companies ... (view more)

Wed
14
Sep
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Netflix Urges FCC to End All Data Caps

Netflix has called upon the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to examine whether data caps are harming the expansion of broadband data. The company, which also has close interest on the subject, says the FCC might have a legal duty to take ... action on the matter. The company complained in particular about monthly data limits on home broadband such as those imposed by Comcast, which recently enforced a 300GB a month cap on some customers - along with steep overage fees ($10 per 50GB). However, Comcast now says the cap has been bumped to 1TB , with unlimited data available in some areas, ... (view more)

Thu
08
Sep
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Adult Site Hacked; 800,000 Accounts Exposed

A hack of nearly 800,000 accounts on an adult entertainment site could be among the most embarrassing ever. The breach at "Brazzers" may expose some of the very personal tastes of the site's users. The stolen data doesn't come from the main Brazzers ... site, which sells access to videos the company has made itself. Instead, it comes from the site's discussion forum, where users can discuss the scenes on the site and talk about what they'd like to see in future videos. Passwords Stored Without Encryption The data is said to include 790,724 email addresses (not including ... (view more)

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