--- description: AT&T is charging some customers more money in return for not tracking their activity on the web. title: How AT&T Wants You to Pay For Your Privacy image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5809221fd769cf4e/69877fdbf887dcf2ece8a2c9/71515166.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [privacy](/tag/privacy/) ## privacy Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How AT&T Wants You to Pay For Your Privacy by [Victor Luckerson](/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 18, 2015 7:32 PM CUT  An AT&T logo is displayed on an AT&T truck July 25, 2006 in Park Ridge, Illinois. An AT&T logo is displayed on an AT&T truck July 25, 2006 in Park Ridge, Illinois.Tim Boyle—Getty Images by [Victor Luckerson](/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 18, 2015 7:32 PM CUT The privilege of not having your every click tracked, saved and regurgitated in the form of targeted ads will only cost you $29 per month on AT&T’s super-fast Internet service. The company, which just announced it’s bringing its 1-gigabit-per-second service to Kansas City, touts a price tag of $70 per month for the high-speed connection meant to compete with services like Google Fiber. But that’s actually a “premier” offering that allows AT&T to track a user’s search terms and browsing history to serve targeted ads. The standard high-speed service without the tracking costs $99. AT&T defended the pricing model to [_The Wall Street Journal_](http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/02/18/att-offers-data-privacy-for-a-price/?mod=WSJ%5FTechWSJD%5FNeedToKnow "undefined") by arguing that the ad targeting helps AT&T make more money, which in turn lets customers who participate earn a discount. The model is somewhat similar to the discounted Kindles Amazon sells that show advertising. Companies with free, ad-based services, like Facebook, don’t allow users to fully opt out of being tracked while on their sites. However, the fact that AT&T is an Internet provider means it could gather a more comprehensive picture of your Web browsing activities than companies with a less intrusive presence. That’s lucrative for advertisers and for ISP’s, but not so great for privacy-minded end users. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3713931/att-privacy-charge/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3713931/att-privacy-charge/"},"headline":"How AT&T Wants You to Pay For Your Privacy","datePublished":"2015-02-18T19:32:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T04:31:24.957Z","description":"ISP can track your web history and searches","url":"https://time.com/3713931/att-privacy-charge/","keywords":["privacy","Internet","Google","Advertising","facebook","Tech Policy","AT&T"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5809221fd769cf4e/69877fdbf887dcf2ece8a2c9/71515166.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Victor Luckerson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/victor-luckerson/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5809221fd769cf4e/69877fdbf887dcf2ece8a2c9/71515166.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"AT&T Reports 81 Percent Rise In Q2 Profit","caption":"AT&T Reports 81 Percent Rise In Q2 Profit","creditText":"Tim Boyle—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/privacy/","name":"privacy"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3713931/att-privacy-charge/","name":"How AT&T Wants You to Pay For Your Privacy"}}]}] ```