While more and more people are paying close attention to privacy issues online, there is one important means of communication that is often overlooked.  Mobile phones.

Many of us are in the habit of using our cell phones on an hourly basis — or in the case of several OPUSfidelis staff members, every few minutes — without thinking twice about the information collected by service providers. But recent news has shown that many providers have updated their privacy policies to reflect their ability to collect data and sell it directly to third-parties.

CNN Money reports:

Your phone company knows where you live, what websites you visit, what apps you download, what videos you like to watch, and even where you are. Now, some have begun selling that valuable information to the highest bidder…

All of this personal data is immensely useful to cell phone providers and third parties, as it contains our interests as well as locations that we frequent in person or online.  So on the surface, it can be used to effectively develop software and advertising that better matches what we as consumers want.

Data selling will obviously make many people a bit skeptical, however, due to lack of privacy. We doubt if there is anyone out there who is keen on the idea of someone silently being able to track our every move. While providers say the information they sell is kept “anonymous,” we may never know exactly what is being sold and just how anonymous the information is.

Is it time to start worrying about everything that we as users are doing with our mobile devices? Our guess is that cell phone providers and the third parties they associate with are simply trying to target demographics in order to provide better products to consumers, while turning a small profit. However it’s always important to maintain awareness about the technology you’re using and how it affects you.