Verizon Selects starts this week – optional targeted advertising for mobile

We have some important news to share with you guys on Verizon Wireless today. This week the carrier will be starting their new program called “Verizon Selects” and you’ll want to be on the lookout for the email or text from Big Red. This is essentially Verizon’s new mobile advertising plan but you’ll want to read on for the full details and see if you’d like to opt-in, or opt-out. I’ll go for the latter.

If you agree to take part in Verizon Selects you’ll be sharing your personal information such as data usage, location, web browsing, and mobile app data usage, and a few other things. In return for sharing this information you’ll get to enjoy the “pleasure” of targeted mobile ads.

People who chose to opt-in will get targeted mobile advertising in the form of emails, text messages, or other use cases directly from Verizon. My first response was, no way I’m opting into this. After reading the details I still feel the same way and this is all a bit unsettling. However, it’s important to remember that Verizon states this entire program is completely optional. Users can opt-out any time they’d like.

If you opt-in though, you’ll get rewarded with some sort of coupon from Verizon Wireless, or “some other form of reward.” Pretty sure we’ll have a few comments of users ready to get out the pitch forks and complain, but remember this is optional. I’m still a little skeptical and never really plan to willingly share my data, but to each his own. Thoughts on this new optional mobile advertizing program from Verizon? Let us know below, but keep it civil.

[via SlashGear]