So today I got the letter in the mail from AT&T telling me that I need to stop tethering or that I'll lose my old grandfathered in unlimited data plan and be moved to plan that supports tethering and a data cap.
I called the number they gave me to get some info on what they were going to say they told me very generally that they have detected tethering and that if I don't stop by the end of the month, they will bump my plan. She gave me a laundry list of things that are considered tethering, from wifi hotspots to getting internet access for a gaming console.
I pressed very hard to find out what exactly I have done that they register as tethering more than anything I wanted specifics. She told me several times that they couldn't give out specifics as that is proprietary information. When I suggested that this might just them trying to force me onto a more expensive plan since they were unable to give me any proof that I had been tethering, she paused and said that she's wait while I look in my phone for tethering apps. I told her I don't have any tethering apps and she told me to look again. After some back and forth, she told me that the mere existence of a tethering app on the phone was considered tethering.
Beyond the issue of tethering at the moment I'm bothered that they even know what apps are on my phone and that they might use the existence of an app as justification to alter my service.
Has anyone heard of the carrier looking at apps like this before? From a privacy standpoint, I'd like to see if there is some way to keep their nose out of my business.
I called the number they gave me to get some info on what they were going to say they told me very generally that they have detected tethering and that if I don't stop by the end of the month, they will bump my plan. She gave me a laundry list of things that are considered tethering, from wifi hotspots to getting internet access for a gaming console.
I pressed very hard to find out what exactly I have done that they register as tethering more than anything I wanted specifics. She told me several times that they couldn't give out specifics as that is proprietary information. When I suggested that this might just them trying to force me onto a more expensive plan since they were unable to give me any proof that I had been tethering, she paused and said that she's wait while I look in my phone for tethering apps. I told her I don't have any tethering apps and she told me to look again. After some back and forth, she told me that the mere existence of a tethering app on the phone was considered tethering.
Beyond the issue of tethering at the moment I'm bothered that they even know what apps are on my phone and that they might use the existence of an app as justification to alter my service.
Has anyone heard of the carrier looking at apps like this before? From a privacy standpoint, I'd like to see if there is some way to keep their nose out of my business.
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