New opt-out service gives consumers mobile privacy option

Washington, D.C. -- The Future of Privacy Forum, a Washington, DC-based think tank seeking to advance responsible data use and consumer privacy, and The Wireless Registry Inc., the first global registry of wireless names and identifiers, announced the launch of a new platform that will allow consumers to easily and quickly opt-out of mobile location analytics at thousands of locations in the U.S.



Mobile location analytics companies that have agreed to FPF’s new Mobile Location Analytics (MAC) Code of Conduct will honor the requests of consumers who wish to opt-out of having their location collected.



Once a consumer has opted out, participating companies will no longer associate information about that consumer’s presence at a location with a MAC address. These companies will only use that MAC address to maintain the device’s opt-out status. The opt-out site will be live as of Feb. 18, and companies will begin processing opt-outs within 30 days.



The platform was built for the Future of Privacy Forum by The Wireless Registry, and will be operated under the direction of the FPF.



FPF worked with the companies and U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (NY) to develop a Code of Conduct, announced in October 2013, ensuring that appropriate privacy controls are available as companies seek to improve the consumer shopping experience.