Don’t trust WebWise
BT are about to embark on a trial of software which spies on your web browsing. They claim it’s for your own good. More Info.
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October 6, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Have you got BT John? I signed up with them, mainly to get the BT Vision service, when we moved flats and couldn’t carry on with Virgin cable. Unfortunately I didn’t think about the fact that they were also going to get all phormed up in the future as well. I would like to find out if anyone has any luck in cancelling contracts based on webwise. I’ve already seen some websites blocking BT domains so that might be a good hook for a complaint.
October 6, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Hi Stewart,
As far as I’m aware, there’s very little you can actually do. By making it opt-in, BT are unable to put the system in place without altering the Ts & Cs enough to allow a ‘change of contract’ get-out. My problem is, I don’t actually trust Phorm NOT to profile me even if I do opt out.
As an interesting aside, I actually had a call from BT two days ago offering me two quid off my bill if I signed up for another two years. I politely declined and explained exactly WHY I would not tie myself in to another contract. They didn’t seem surprised.
October 27, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Actually BT will intercept and profile your internet traffic whether you opt in OR out. If you are one of the 10,000 selected by BT without your consent for the trial, your traffic is ALREADY passing through their interception equipment and all your browsing is being profiled. There is no choice. The only “choice” you have (if you trust them and the company Phorm who installed, supplied and coded the equipment – and remember BT have blatantly misled customers and the press about earlier trials so what price their integrity now) is the choice as to whether your browsing data is sold to Phorm for them to exploit, along with the details of websites you visit and what you do there. Phorm claim that they don’t know who you are or where you’ve been but their claims to advertisers suggest the exact opposite. What is the customer to believe? More information about Privacy, Phorm, Webwise here http://www.donottrustwebwise.org
October 27, 2008 at 1:00 pm
As it happens, they’re NOT already intercepting my browsing, as I have SSH running a SOCKS proxy to a shell account on my co-located machine. But that’s a ridiculous length to go to to get a bit of privacy.