AT&T kills the ‘permacookie,’ stops tracking customers’ Internet usage (for now)

In recent weeks, Verizon and AT&T have been caught up in a privacy firestorm over their use of so-called “permacookies,” a method of tracking what their users do while browsing the Web with the intent of sharing that data with advertisers. Verizon’s permacookie program lives on, but AT&T has ceased the practice, ProPublica reported on Friday.

At least for now.

AT&T tells ProPublica that its use of permacookies was “part of a test,” which has since wrapped up, but the company says that it “may still launch a program to sell data collected by its tracking number.” For its part, AT&T says that it will allow customers to opt out of the program if—or when—it decides to use permacookies for advertising purposes.

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