Verizon

TELECOM & ISPS

LAST UPDATED 27 AUG 2026

OF 100

PARANOIA SCORE

WHAT THE POLICIES SAY

Verizon's published privacy policies disclose collection of a broad range of customer and device data — including wireless network location, demographic and interest information obtained from third-party data providers — and describe sharing of personal data both within the

TRACK RECORD

1 ENFORCEMENT ACTION

[2024-04-29]

In 2024, the FCC imposed a forfeiture of approximately $46.9 million against Verizon (reduced from the originally proposed $48,318,750) for failing to take reasonable steps to protect customers' location information sold to third parties without consent; this was upheld by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in September 2025.

docs.fcc.gov ↗

TIMELINE

NO ENTRIES ON FILE YET.

ULTIMATE PARENT

Verizon

THIS FILE HEADS ITS OWN CHAIN.

SUBSIDIARIES ON FILE (2)

OFFICIALS ON FILE

9 ON FILE

Receipted federal filings: FEC campaign-finance records and LDA lobbying disclosures. A tie is a disclosed transaction or filing, not a claim of influence or wrongdoing.

VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC reported lobbying activity before the Senate on TEC-coded issues, where the official serves on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, per LDA Form LD-2.

lda.gov ↗

VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC reported lobbying activity before the Senate on TEC-coded issues, where the official serves on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, per LDA Form LD-2.

lda.gov ↗

VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC reported lobbying activity before the Senate on TEC-coded issues, where the official serves on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, per LDA Form LD-2.

lda.gov ↗

VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC reported lobbying activity before the Senate on TEC-coded issues, where the official serves on the Senate Committee on Appropriations, per LDA Form LD-2.

lda.gov ↗

VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC reported lobbying activity before the Senate on TEC-coded issues, where the official serves on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, per LDA Form LD-2.

lda.gov ↗

VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC reported lobbying activity before the Senate on TEC-coded issues, where the official serves on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, per LDA Form LD-2.

lda.gov ↗

VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC reported lobbying activity before the Senate on TEC-coded issues, where the official serves on the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, per LDA Form LD-2.

lda.gov ↗

VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC reported lobbying activity before the Senate on TEC-coded issues, where the official serves on the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, per LDA Form LD-2.

lda.gov ↗

TOOLS WE RECOMMEND

PLUS

RECEIPTS

20 ON FILE

COLLECTION

The Verizon privacy policy discloses collection of cell tower location data by default, plus Wi-Fi, GPS, and other location data depending on permissions granted through Verizon apps.

verizon.com ↗

COLLECTION

The Verizon privacy policy discloses that it collects an extensive range of personal data categories, including name, address, phone number, email, IP address, device identification, location information, and billing/credit card information.

verizon.com ↗

COLLECTION

Verizon's Custom Experience program, which analyzes websites visited and apps used on a customer's mobile device to infer interests, enrolls customers by default and requires an opt-out rather than opt-in action.

verizon.com ↗

[2021-05-26] · COLLECTION

As assessed by PrivacySpy on 2021-05-26 (see PrivacySpy's rubric entry for this product for the per-claim citation): Does the service collect personal data from third parties? — Yes.

privacyspy.org ↗

[2026-05-05] · COLLECTION

A third-party policy-tracking review summarizes Verizon's Privacy Policy as covering categories including biometric identifiers, government-issued identification numbers, location data, device app inventories, and behavioral data such as sites visited and apps used.

conductatlas.com ↗

[2014-02-01] · OWNERSHIP TRANSPARENCY

Verizon Communications Inc.'s SEC Form 10-K discloses it is a publicly traded holding company operating through subsidiaries, formerly known as Bell Atlantic Corporation, incorporated in Delaware in 1983, and doing business as Verizon since a 2000 merger with GTE Corporation.

sec.gov ↗

[2021-05-26] · OWNERSHIP TRANSPARENCY

As assessed by PrivacySpy on 2021-05-26 (see PrivacySpy's rubric entry for this product for the per-claim citation): Does the policy outline the service's general security practices? — Somewhat.

privacyspy.org ↗

[2025-02-01] · OWNERSHIP TRANSPARENCY

Verizon's 2024 Annual Report on Form 10-K discloses that in September 2024 the company entered an agreement to acquire Frontier Communications Parent, Inc., a U.S. broadband provider, expanding its corporate structure.

verizon.com ↗

SHARING

Verizon's Custom Experience FAQ states that information used within that specific advertising/analytics program is not sold to outside parties for their own advertising purposes, though it is shared with service providers bound by Verizon's usage restrictions.

verizon.com ↗

SHARING

Verizon's business/partner-facing privacy notice states personal data may be shared among the "Verizon family of companies" and with approved third-party suppliers, as further set forth in the main Verizon Privacy Policy.

verizon.com ↗

SHARING

The Verizon privacy policy discloses that customer information is shared within Verizon's affiliated companies, with service providers performing work on Verizon's behalf, and with other parties as further described in the policy.

verizon.com ↗

[2021-05-26] · SHARING

As assessed by PrivacySpy on 2021-05-26 (see PrivacySpy's rubric entry for this product for the per-claim citation): Does the policy allow personally-targeted or behavioral marketing? — Yes, but you may opt-out.

privacyspy.org ↗

[2025-09-10] · SHARING

The FCC found that wireless carriers, including Verizon, sold real-time location information to data aggregators, and continued operating these programs after becoming aware of unauthorized third-party access, before suspending them in 2019.

cnbc.com ↗

[2026-05-05] · SHARING

A third-party review states Verizon's privacy policy discloses that Verizon may share personal information, including email addresses, purchase history, and site/app activity, with third-party advertising and analytics companies that may combine it with their own data for audience targeting.

conductatlas.com ↗

[2024-02-20] · TRACK RECORD

In March 2023, records on over 7 million Verizon users were posted to a hacker forum, including contract information, device information, and encrypted customer IDs, which Verizon attributed to an outside vendor issue resolved earlier that year.

firewalltimes.com ↗

[2024-04-29] · TRACK RECORD

docs.fcc.gov ↗

[2025-04-28] · TRACK RECORD

In February 2024, Verizon notified the Maine Attorney General of a data breach affecting approximately 63,000 employees, caused by an insider who obtained a file containing personal employee information without authorization; the incident occurred in September 2023 and was discovered roughly three months later.

csoonline.com ↗

[2016-03-07] · TRACKING TECH

An FCC investigation found that Verizon Wireless began inserting Unique Identifier Headers ("supercookies," UIDH) into consumer internet traffic as early as December 2012 to enable targeted advertising, but did not disclose the practice until October 2014.

networkworld.com ↗

[2016-03-08] · TRACKING TECH

A law-firm analysis of the FCC consent decree notes that the UIDH tracking technology enabled two Verizon targeted-advertising programs (Verizon Selects and Relevant Mobile Advertisement) and was, at times, made available to third parties, drawing on device location, apps used, and websites visited.

cooley.com ↗

[2026-05-05] · TRACKING TECH

A third-party policy review states Verizon's current privacy policy discloses that Verizon-installed system software and non-visible applications may collect data from devices, including deactivated devices connected to Wi-Fi, and that customer interactions may be monitored, recorded, and analyzed using AI.

conductatlas.com ↗

DATA SOURCES

PrivacySpy

CC BY · PRIVACYSPY.ORG ↗

Claims are summarized from these sources and may be edited from the original.

LAST REVIEWED 2026-08-27 · METHODOLOGY v1.7