Customer Privacy FAQs

DEFINITIONS AND RELATED INFORMATION
Aggregate Information
Cookies
Customer Proprietary Network Information (“CPNI”)
De-identified Information
Personally Identifiable Information
Web Beacons

PRIVACY QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Where can parents learn more about privacy, safety and security for mobile device use?
Does Sprint Mobile Controls allow me to see the contents of my child’s text messages?
What privacy issues should I consider if I use non-Sprint products and services through Sprint’s services or devices – such as third party applications?
How does Sprint’s Mobile Advertising Program Work?
How does Sprint’s Reporting & Analytics Program Work?
What’s the difference between using Wi-Fi networks vs. Sprint’s 3G or 4G network?
How can I express my marketing communications preferences to Sprint?
Does Sprint collect data about events, such as crashes or drop calls, on my phone? Does anyone else collect such data?
How is my device location information used?
How does Sprint work to make customer data secure?
Does Sprint publish my wireless number?
What can I do to protect my account and information?
What is caller ID “spoofing” and how can I protect my voicemail from unauthorized access?
How can I protect my device from unauthorized access?
What should I do if I ever return my device? Any privacy issues to think about?

DEFINITIONS AND RELATED INFORMATION

Aggregate Information
Information about multiple users that is combined to form information about a group without identifying an individual user.

Cookies
Cookies are small files placed on your device or computer by a website or an application. These files identify your computer or device and record your preferences and other data about your visit so that when you return, the site or application knows who you are and can personalize your visit. For example, cookies enable a Website shopping cart to function so that you only have to check out once. Cookies are often tied to the use of personally identifiable information while using our site, which means that some functionality may be lost if you choose not to accept the use of cookies.

In general, Sprint uses cookies to (1) help us combat fraud or misuse; (2) personalize your services, special offers, and your overall experience; (3) determine how to improve our Services; (4) learn about your possible interests to that we can further personalize your experience and special offers; (5) retain settings and changes that you made (e.g., if you personalize a page); and (6) complete your transactions.

Third-party advertisers that serve ads on our site may also use their own cookies. These third-party cookies are governed by the privacy policies of the companies placing the ads, and are not subject to this Policy. Visit www.networkadvertising.org to see a list of advertisers that typically serve these kinds of ads and allow you to exercise choices about their use of cookies.

Customer Proprietary Network Information (“CPNI”)
CPNI is information that Sprint develops through a customer’s use of our telecommunication services, like call detail records. The official statutory definition of CPNI is “(A) information that relates to the quantity, technical configuration, type, destination, location, and amount of use of a telecommunications service subscribed to by any customer of a telecommunications carrier, and that is made available to the carrier by the customer solely by virtue of the carrier-customer relationship; and (B) information contained in the bills pertaining to telephone exchange service or telephone toll service received by a customer of a carrier;…”

De-Identified Information
Data which contains no personally identifiable information.

Personally Identifiable Information
Information that identifies you, like your name or your personal email address.

Web Beacons
Web beacons (otherwise known as “gifs” or “web bugs”) are electronic images are small, graphical images on a Web page, Web-based document or in an e-mail message that is designed to allow the site owner or a third party to monitor the address and other information of the site. Web beacons are often invisible to the user because they are typically very small (only 1-by-1 pixel) and the same color as the background of the Web page, document or e-mail message. Web beacons are represented as HTML IMG tags in the Web page. Users can click on “view profiles” of the Web page to see whether the page is using a Web beacon.

These images may be used in our Services or emails. We use Web beacons to deliver cookies, count visits, understand usage and measure campaign effectiveness. We also use Web beacons to tell if an email has been opened and acted upon. Sprint may place “Web beacons” on its sites in conjunction with cookies to see how visitors are navigating and/or interacting with those sites. Web beacons collect the IP address of the computer to which the Web beacon is sent, the URL of the page on which the Web beacon is placed, and the time it was viewed. Web beacons also can be linked to personal information.

PRIVACY QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Where can parents learn more about privacy, safety and security for mobile device use?
Sprint offers a variety of programs such as our 4Net Safety initiative and Sprint Guardian that assist parents and guardians in keeping their family safe.  More information regarding Sprint’s Commitment to Privacy, Safety and Security can be found at Consumer Solutions and Solutions
Does Sprint Mobile Controls allow me to see the contents of my child’s text messages?
The service does not allow parents to view the content of text messages sent to or received by their child. Rather, Sprint Mobile Controls allows parents to see with whom, when and how often their child is talking or texting. It also provides controls to allow texting features to be blocked or restricted by time of day (e.g., during school hours). The service enables parents to have the information that they need to monitor a child’s text usage generally and to have meaningful conversations with their children.

What privacy issues should I consider if I use non-Sprint products and services through Sprint’s services or devices – such as third party applications?
Many of Sprint’s products and services provide an open environment for others to create applications and offer services you might find useful or entertaining. When you choose to use a non-Sprint product or service, such as a third-party application or “app,” you may be giving personal information to third parties outside of Sprint’s control. If you use an “app” or “widget” or make an online purchase, you may be disclosing personal information directly to the company providing the service or facilitating the transaction. Likewise, if you create a profile in a game, social networking application, or other application or service; post any information; or communicate directly with other users, any personal information you disclose through those activities may be available to third parties other than Sprint. You should review the privacy policies and terms of service of any non-Sprint product or service you choose to use.

How does Sprint’s Mobile Advertising Program Work?
Sprint’s mobile advertising program makes advertising more personalized and more relevant for customers – building on what your smartphone can do today and what it will do for you in the future. Today, when you use your Sprint-service wireless device, you may see ads displayed on websites and applications that you access with your device. Through Sprint’s Mobile Advertising Program, we are now offering our customers the opportunity to receive mobile ads that are more relevant to their interests in place of the generic, random ads they might otherwise receive. At the heart of this program is our commitment to provide you with choice and control so you must opt-in to this program in order to participate. Under this program, we only share certain de-identified information with advertisers seeking to reach a particular audience. This information is information we collect about your use of your wireless device in order to provide wireless service to you, such as Mobile Usage Information and high-level location information (e.g., the cell tower serving your device) in combination with Consumer Information (for example, user demographics and device type). For example, a local sporting goods store may want to advertise only to sports enthusiasts who live within 10 miles, and we might help deliver that store’s ad to your wireless device by sharing non-personalized information with the advertiser.

When serving mobile ads, Sprint never shares your personally identifiable information like your name or mobile telephone number with our ad partners. We personalize ads by creating an anonymous identifier that is associated with your mobile device (such as “2drdn43np2cMapen084lzpeQ8843ih”). This allows us to customize a profile of your interests in a manner that does not personally identify you. We may share this non-personalized information with our ad partners (such as “2drdn43np2cMapen084lzpeQ8843ih is a sports enthusiast”). This anonymous identifier is dynamic and changes periodically.  We also share demographic data provided by other companies that does not identify you personally.

What Mobile Usage Information is used Under the Mobile Advertising Program?
Mobile Usage Information is information we collect when you use our services. We never share Mobile Usage Information that identifies you personally. For this program, Mobile Usage Information includes:

• Categories of websites visited when using our wireless service (e.g., sports sites, music sites)
• High-level location information (e.g., location of the cell tower serving your device)
• Applications and features used on our network, information about network traffic (e.g., number of users using particular category of applications, such as navigation applications)

What Consumer Information is used Under the Mobile Advertising Program?
Consumer Information is information about use of Sprint products and services (data and calling features, device type, amount of use) . We never share Consumer Information that identifies you personally.

Is any of my personal information shared for relevant mobile advertising?
No, we do not share outside of Sprint any information that identifies you personally for this program. Sprint’s Mobile Advertising program offers customers access to more relevant advertising and information. The information customers choose to share is anonymous.

Do I have a choice about whether to participate in Sprint’s Mobile Advertising Program?
Absolutely. At the heart of this program is customer choice – you make the choice to share information and receive advertising more relevant to you or not. You must opt in to Sprint’s Mobile Advertising Program in order to participate. To learn how to opt in, visit sprint.com/privacy.

Please note that if you elect not to participate in our Mobile Advertising Program, Sprint will not use, or allow its ad partners to use, information Sprint collects about the websites you visit or the applications you use to provide you wireless service in order to serve ads that are targeted to your interests. You are likely to continue to receive ads on your device, but those ads may not be as relevant to you as the tailored ads you would receive under the Mobile Advertising Program.

If I choose to participate in Sprint’s Mobile Advertising Program by opting in now, can I change my mind later and opt out then? Or vice versa?
Yes, you can change your privacy choices at any time. We encourage you to visit sprint.com/privacy to learn how.

What types of accounts and devices are included in Sprint’s Mobile Advertising Program?
Currently, only consumer accounts are able to participate in the program. And only consumer accounts that use our CDMA network are included at this time. This includes basic mobile phones, Smartphones, tablets, mobile hotspots, USB modems and data cards. Sprint Phone Connect and Airave devices are not included in the program. At this time, Government, Corporate and Sprint Pre-paid accounts do not participate and information from these customers will not be used.

If I opt-in, where will I see relevant mobile advertising?
You’ll see ads in the same places you see them today, such as websites you visit or on applications you access through your Sprint-service wireless device.

If I choose not to participate in Sprint’s Mobile Advertising Program, will I still get mobile ads?
If you elect not to participate in our Mobile Advertising Program, Sprint will not use, or allow its ad partners to use, information Sprint collects about the websites you visit or the applications you use to provide you wireless service in order to serve ads that are targeted to your interests. But Web and smartphone advertising is an inherent part of smartphone and mobile life, and you likely will still see generic ads on your device. Further, depending on the applications you use on your smartphone, you are likely to see mobile ads – just not ads that are necessarily relevant to you. Sprint’s Mobile Advertising program provides the opportunity to receive ads more relevant to you and your lifestyle.

How Does Sprint’s Reporting & Analytics Program Work?
Under our Reporting & Analytics Program, we combine Mobile Usage Information and Consumer Information in a way that does not personally identify you to prepare business and marketing reports that we may share with others. We may also share location or usage information with other companies in a way that does not personally identify you or your location. We may produce or allow others to produce limited business and marketing reports with this data. Business and marketing reports contain information about groups or categories of Sprint customers. These reports do not identify you personally.

For example, we may aggregate customer information across a particular region and create a report showing that 10,000 Sprint subscribers from a given city visited a particular football stadium. Or another company could combine the data we provide with data provided by other wireless carriers to create a report showing how many mobile users were on or near a particular highway at rush hour.

What Mobile Usage Information is Used Under the Reporting & Analytics Program?
Mobile Usage Information is information we collect to provide you wireless service. We never share Mobile Usage Information that identifies you personally. For this program, Mobile Usage Information may include:

• Addresses of websites visited when using our wireless service
• Categories of websites visited when using our wireless service (e.g., sports sites, music sites)
• Precise location information
• Applications and features used on our network, information about network traffic (e.g., number of users using particular category of applications, such as navigation applications)

What Consumer Information is used Under our Reporting & Analytics Program?
Consumer Information is information about use of Sprint products and services (data and calling features, device type, amount of use). We never share Consumer Information that identifies you personally.

Will I ever be personally identified in a business and marketing report?
No, these reports contain information about groups or categories of our customers and do not identify you personally.

Will Sprint read my emails or text messages or collect my personal information from my online accounts as part of the Sprint Reporting & Analytics Program? 
No. Sprint has not and will not look at or share text messages, personal information or emails.

What types of accounts and devices are included in Sprint’s Reporting & Analytics Program?
Currently, only consumer accounts are able to participate in the program. And only consumer accounts that use our CDMA network are included at this time. This includes basic mobile phones, Smartphones, tablets, mobile hotspots,  USB modems and data cards. Sprint Phone Connect and Airave devices are not included in the program. At this time, Government, Corporate and Sprint Pre-paid accounts do not participate and information from these customers will not be used.

What is the purpose of producing the business and marketing reports?
The business and marketing reports may be used by third parties or advertisers to, for example, understand the demographics (e.g. age range or gender) of visitors to a particular point of interest (e.g. football stadium) or to understand traffic or usage patterns in a general area or among a particular demographic segment.

Can I opt out of having my information used by Sprint’s Reporting & Analytics Program?
Absolutely. Staying true to our philosophy that the customer makes an informed decision, you have a choice about whether we include your information in these reports. If you don’t want us to use your information for these reports shared with third parties, you can opt out anytime. To learn how to opt out, please visit sprint.com/privacy.

If I turn off the location-based services (LBS) settings on my mobile device, will my location information still be collected and used for business and marketing reports?
Yes, the location information used for these reports is not tied to the LBS setting on your device. However, if you don’t want us to use your information for these reports, you can opt out anytime. To learn how to opt out, please visit sprint.com/privacy.

If I don’t opt out of Sprint’s Reporting & Analytics Program now, can I change my mind later and opt out then? Or can I opt-out now and opt-in later?
Yes, you can change your privacy choices at any time. Visit sprint.com/privacy to learn how.

What’s the difference between using Wi-Fi networks vs. Sprint’s 3G or 4G network?
The Wi-Fi networks you connect to with your Sprint device are third party networks that are not provided by Sprint, and they can be subject to different terms of service or privacy policies. Your use of such networks is subject to any applicable terms of service or privacy policies.

Additionally, an unsecured, open Wi-Fi network may pose risks of which you should be aware. Wi-Fi networks may allow third parties to collect data sent between your device and the Internet over the Wi-Fi connection. Therefore, you should be cautious when using Wi-Fi networks to access websites that may require you to input usernames or passwords; payment or financial information; or other sensitive or personally identifiable information.

Sprint suggests that you: (1) be aware of the type of Internet surfing you are doing and the Wi-Fi network you are connected to, and (2) avoid sending personally identifiable, or other sensitive information over the Internet when utilizing untrusted Wi-Fi networks.

How can I express my marketing communications preferences to Sprint?
Sprint may contact you about products and services on your wireless or wire line, residential or business phone numbers, or by email, wireless messaging, fax, automated voice messaging or direct mail. Sprint offers some choices about marketing communications. If you are a customer and want to change your preferences for receiving certain marketing communications, you may call us at the customer service number shown on your bill or send an email to officeofprivacy@sprint.com. Please include the account holder’s name and account number. If you are not a customer, you may call us using our contact information (www.sprint.com/contactus/) on our web site or email us at officeofprivacy@sprint.com. While you may choose not to receive certain types of marketing information from us, you will continue to receive invoices, customer service-related notifications, technical or network-related notifications or similar information.  Learn more about Sprint’s do-not-contact practices.

Does Sprint collect data about events, such as crashes or drop calls, on my phone? Does anyone else collect such data?
Sprint may collect information from your device when you use our services, including when your device is turned on, how your device is functioning, device signal strength, and other information for diagnostic purposes. Sprint may use diagnostic tools, including on-device aids for this purpose to improve the quality of service and network performance for our customers. Additionally, Sprint’s products and services are sometimes offered in conjunction with other entities. These parties, such as your phone’s manufacturer or the operating system manufacturer, may collect certain types of data for diagnostic purposes, subject to their own privacy notices.

How is my device location information used?
To make wireless communications possible, wireless networks use the location of your device to deliver mobile services whenever your device is turned on.

Sprint offers unique features to its users, including a number of location-enabled services that you activate and use. To provide these services, the Sprint network must use the location information of your device to deliver your services. We also may use your location information to create “de-identified” or “aggregate” data from which your personally identifiable information has been removed or obscured.

Your Sprint service also may be personalized using another location identifier, such as your zip code. We use this information to serve you relevant content, and we treat the information like any other personal information under our Privacy Policy.

You should carefully review the terms and conditions and privacy policies of third-party application and service providers to understand their use of your location information. Only share your location information with those you trust. It is your responsibility to inform anyone that uses your wireless device and all of the users of other wireless devices on your account of location capabilities and the location based services that are in use for those devices.

How does Sprint work to make customer data secure?
We maintain a variety of physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards. These safeguards help protect your personal information from loss, misuse and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration and destruction.

Privacy programs: Sprint has privacy programs in place to aid our compliance with all applicable privacy laws and regulations. These programs include internal policies and employee training focused on privacy compliance. Our corporate security, fraud, legal and customer care teams regularly evaluate existing safeguards to help protect confidential customer information.

Limited access to call detail information: Our policy is to allow access to CPNI only to those Sprint employees or agents with a “need to know.” For example, customer service agents need to view this type of information in order to service accounts or answer billing questions.

Code of conduct: Sprint’s Code of Conduct requires employees to take steps to help safeguard confidential customer information. Sprint management requires all employees to follow the Code of Conduct.

Privacy Policy: Sprint customers can access our Privacy Policy online. The policy sets out how we use and protect customer information.

Does Sprint publish my wireless number?
No, Sprint does not publish our customers’ wireless phone numbers without their explicit permission.

What can I do to protect my account and information?
You should keep your user name, personal identification number (PIN), password (which may include a shared secret) or other access information safe and confidential to protect against unauthorized access to your account information and services. We strongly encourage you (the account holder) to ensure the privacy of your account information by establishing a PIN for access to your account when you call us on the telephone or when you visit a retail store. You may also manage your account online by creating a user name and a password for sprint.com. Your PIN, backup shared secret (in case you forget your PIN) and your sprint.com user name and password are your authentication credentials. Learn more about your PIN or how Sprint protects your account.

Establishing and using authenticating credentials are actions you can and should take to protect yourself. When you elect to use authentication credentials, we will validate those credentials before we allow access to certain of your account information. We treat the holder of your authenticating credentials as an authorized person on your account. Please do not share your authentication credentials with anyone whom you do not wish to access your account.

Sprint urges you to:

• Regularly change your account PIN or online password.
• Adopt passwords that are not commonly used or easily guessed. For example, customers are advised not to use birthdays, social security numbers, anniversaries, etc.
• Passcode protect your voicemail account. By default, Sprint voicemail accounts require the use of a passcode to retrieve voicemails. Sprint strongly encourages customers to continue using that passcode rather than opting for the “skip passcode” feature. Many wireless companies offer “skip passcode,” a feature allowing a customer to access his or her voicemail without having to reenter the password each time. Although some customers find this to be a time-saving, convenient feature, we recommend that you password protect your voicemail account to maintain the highest level of security. For example, without a voicemail password, anyone with your device can access the connected voicemail account. More information
• Contact Sprint’s Customer Care department immediately if you believe your account has been accessed without authorization.

What is caller ID “spoofing” and how can I protect my voicemail from unauthorized access?
Caller ID “spoofing” is a technology that enables someone to make it seem as though they are calling from your telephone when they are not. The use of this technology for deceptive purposes is illegal.
In order to prevent unauthorized voicemail access from fraudulent activity such as caller ID spoofing, you should continue to use the voicemail passcode established when you set up your account. If you decide to skip using the voicemail passcode established when you set up your account, your voicemail messages can be vulnerable to unauthorized access with spoofing.

To change a voicemail passcode or adjust settings to re-enable the use of a passcode for retrieving messages, just access your voicemail and follow the prompts.

How can I protect my device from unauthorized access?
With online banking, credit card access, visual voicemail and other sensitive information on your device, there is now more reason than ever to secure your device. Sprint recommends that you protect your device by setting up a screen-lock pattern, PIN or password.

To lock your device and protect your personal data, access the security settings on your device and follow the prompts. If you bypass these simple security measures, your voicemail messages, email, text messages, contacts, calendar, pictures, etc., could be accessed by someone who gains possession of your phone or device.

What should I do if I ever return my device? Any privacy issues to think about?
There are many reasons why you might return your device to Sprint. For example, you may choose to recycle your device when you purchase a new device. Or, you may return your device (under applicable Sprint guidelines/rules) because you are exchanging it. Although in many instances there are processes to remove personal data from returned devices, you should always delete all personal data on your device before returning it. If you don’t know how to remove the data, consult the instruction manual provided with the device or obtain information from the device’s manufacturer.