T-Mobile employees, subscribers have major security concerns after a policy change
According to a post on Reddit, it appears that T-Mobile employees are being asked to replace the use of passwords to access systems with CLEAR. This is a service that uses biometric data such as fingerprints, facial recognition, and irises instead of passwords to log into websites and other locked online systems. There is also speculation that T-Mobile subscribers will also be asked to use CLEAR. Based on responses posted online, T-Mobile employees are concerned about how safe their personal data will be.
The CLEAR biometric feature would be made available from parent company Alclear LLC and this is where things get problematic for the carrier's employees. According to CLEAR's privacy policy, personal data obtained by Alclear LLC can be sold to third-party firms. According to the website belonging to Alclear LLC, CLEAR may obtain user's personal info such as:
- Social Security number, passport number, Alien Registration number, driver’s license number, along with copies of identification documents issued by the government.
- Digital photos and videos including those from your mobile device.
- Biometric data (such as digital images of fingerprints, irises, and face).
- Flight details and other travel information along with frequent flyer and other customer loyalty numbers.
- IP address and other info about the devices you use to access the CLEAR service and CLEAR websites.
- Credit card numbers, expiration dates and security codes, billing addresses, and more.
- Reports similar to a consumer credit report.
- Date and place of birth, citizenship, travel habits and preferences, income level, education level, family status, and employment status.
- Location information including GPS data from your phone.
- Health information including vaccination records for CLEAR Health Pass.
CLEAR replaces the use of passwords as users turn to biometric data to log into websites and apps. | Image credit-Alclear LLC
Another Redditor expressed concern for Alclear's poor Better Business Bureau (BBB) rating and more. This person typed, "I’m...more concerned with how Alclear LLC is going to use the data they are allowed to collect, as well as their poor BBB reviews, everywhere that provides a review about them is less than 2 stars except their app from the Play Store." Another complaint stated that being asked to use CLEAR would give him a reason to leave T-Mobile. "Yup, that would make me quit on the spot. CLEAR seemed shady already with how many airports they randomly popped up at."
Even though the use of CLEAR was mandated for T-Mobile employees only, as we noted there are rumors that subscribers will be next to be forced to use CLEAR. But before T-Mobile decides to implement this for its customers, it should read the following post written by a current T-Mobile customer. "This might be the last piece to convince me to find another cell provider. I am still angry about raising my rates when they had me on a plan that was supposed to be price-locked, but that was clearly a lie. We should all be taking this data sharing more seriously."
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Things that are NOT allowed: