Comcast’s Xfinity Stores Your Sensitive Data. You Can Kind of Opt Out
Feb 1, 2024
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Find out how Comcast's Xfinity stores sensitive personal data, including political beliefs and sexual orientation, and learn how users can opt out of this data storage.
Comcast's Xfinity automatically opts customers in to store sensitive personal information for personalized ads.
Customers can opt out of Comcast's data storage, but the toggle switch only affects the use of personal data in advertising.
Deep dives
Opting out of Comcast's Data Storage
Comcast's Xfinity automatically opts customers in to allow the company to store sensitive personal information, including race, ethnicity, political affiliations, or philosophical beliefs. While the company does not sell this data, it is used for personalized ads and recommendations. Customers can take steps to opt out of Comcast's data storage by visiting Xfinity's privacy center and reviewing their privacy preferences. However, there are limitations to the privacy options. Customers in states with supplemental privacy legislation, such as California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, and Virginia, have the right to request more details about their collected data and have it deleted if necessary.
Limitations of Comcast's Privacy Settings
Although customers can opt out of Comcast's data storage, the toggle switch only affects the use of personal data in advertising, marketing, and recommendations systems. Comcast still retains the right to use sensitive personal information for certain purposes, such as providing services, security, and fraud monitoring. The lack of granular control over what data is stored and the slow processing time for data requests can be disappointing. Customers in states with privacy legislation have more legal protections, but processing times may still vary.
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Opting Out of Comcast's Data Storage for Sensitive Personal Information
One of America’s largest internet providers may collect data about your political beliefs, race, and sexual orientation to serve personalized ads. Thanks for listening to WIRED. Talk to you next time for more stories from WIRED.com and read this story here.