Many Verizon customers don’t realize they can access and manage the personal information Verizon collects about them. Through the Verizon Privacy Dashboard, eligible users can view, download, correct, and delete certain types of data, as well as manage privacy choices tied to their account.
If you’re concerned about how much data your mobile carrier has on you, the dashboard is one of the main tools Verizon provides to review and control that information. Knowing how to use it can help you better understand what data is being collected and the options you have to limit or manage it.
In this guide, you’ll learn what the Verizon Privacy Dashboard is, how it works, who can use it, and how to navigate its main features. We’ll also examine Verizon’s privacy and security track record and share additional ways to strengthen your mobile device security and protect personal data.
What Is the Verizon Privacy Dashboard?
The Verizon Privacy Dashboard is an online portal where you can request access, correction, or deletion of your personal information that the mobile carrier stores. Through this dashboard, you can:
- Preview the categories of personal information Verizon collected
- Download a portable copy of your personal data
- Correct certain information
- Delete information that isn’t required for your service to run properly
- Appeal a denied information request (available to residents of select states)
Regardless of which action you want to take, you can submit a Verizon application data request free of charge. Verizon offers these options because laws such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and similar state-level regulations give consumers the right to access, correct, and delete certain personal data big telcos collect about them.
Who Can Use the Privacy Dashboard on Verizon?
Anyone who has shared personal information with Verizon at any point can submit a request through the Verizon Privacy Dashboard. However, the request process may differ depending on your relationship with Verizon—whether you’re a current customer, former customer, employee, or someone who only interacted with the company.
Here’s a breakdown of who can access the Verizon Privacy Dashboard and how each group can use it:
User Type | How To Access the Verizon Privacy Dashboard |
Current Verizon customers | By signing in to your user account |
Former Verizon customers | By signing in with your former Verizon credentials and verifying your identity, or by selecting “I don't have a Verizon account” if you no longer have access to your login information |
Users without an account | By selecting “I don't have an account” and verifying your identity |
If you’re a former customer or a guest user, you will need to prove your identity by providing the following:
- Name
- Social Security number (SSN)
- Address
- Birthdate
- Email address
- Government-issued photo ID (such as a state ID or a driver's license)
Verizon uses this information to match your identity to the personal data they hold on file before processing your request.
How To Use Verizon Privacy Dashboard
You can access the Verizon Privacy Dashboard either through the Verizon mobile app or a web browser. The table below outlines how to access the dashboard using each method:
Method | Steps |
Mobile app |
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Web browser |
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Once you find your way to the Privacy Dashboard, you’ll be able to choose from the following options:
- Preview personal information
- Download personal information
- Delete personal information
- Correct personal information
- Submit an appeal for a denied request
Preview Personal Information in the Verizon Privacy Dashboard
Previewing your personal information lets you view summaries of the types of data Verizon holds about you without downloading a full copy. This option is only available to current account owners. If you’re a former customer or guest user, you will need to submit a data download request.
If you do have a Verizon account, sign in and go to the “Information requests” section, where you can choose which category you want to preview:
- Account and identity
- Network and customer activity
- Insights about your activity
- Add-ons (data gathered from add-ons in your account)
Download Personal Information From the Verizon Privacy Dashboard
Verizon lets you get a portable copy of your data in CSV, XLS, or HTML format. Depending on how much detail you need, you can request a standard or advanced download: the standard download includes only basic information, while the advanced option gives you access to sensitive information, such as geolocation data, browsing history, and data usage records.
To submit a download request, follow these steps:
- Sign in to the Verizon Privacy Dashboard
- Under Information requests, select Download information about you
- Choose a timeframe (a minimum of 30 days, starting from your first date of service)
- Enter the authentication code Verizon sent to your email or mobile phone to verify your identity
- Select the information category (account and identity, network and customer activity, insights, or add-ons
- Choose a standard or advanced download
- Submit your request
It can take up to 45 days for Verizon to prepare your file. Once it’s ready, you’ll receive an SMS or email with a link to download it. Since the file is encrypted and password-protected, you’ll also receive instructions on how to access the password.
Bear in mind that the download link expires after 21 days. If you miss that window, you’ll need to make a new request.
Delete Personal Information in the Verizon Privacy Dashboard
If you aren’t comfortable with Verizon holding such a vast amount of personal information in its systems, you can remove certain data permanently. By choosing to do so, you’ll stop Verizon from collecting that category of information going forward.
Not all information can be deleted, though. Verizon has the right to retain data they need for billing, fraud detection, legal compliance, and network operations.
With that in mind, here’s how to make a deletion request:
- Sign in to the Verizon Privacy Dashboard
- Go to the Information requests
- Choose Delete certain information
After Verizon removes that data, it can’t be recovered. You should also note that if you’re an account owner or manager, you can only delete data tied to your own line.
Correct Personal Information in the Verizon Privacy Dashboard
If Verizon holds inaccurate information about you, you can request a correction in the dashboard in a few easy steps:
- Sign in to the Verizon Privacy Dashboard
- Go to the Information requests section
- Choose Make a correction
- Edit the information you want
While you can correct most data on file, some information can’t be changed. If the data you want to edit is required for operational or legal purposes, Verizon can decline your request.
Submit an Appeal for a Denied Request in the Verizon Privacy Dashboard
If Verizon denies your request to access, correct, or delete your data, you may still have options. Residents of certain states have the right to appeal these decisions through the Privacy Dashboard. To submit an appeal, follow these steps:
- Sign in to the Verizon Privacy Dashboard
- Go to the Information requests section
- Tap the Request history link
- Find the applicable request and select the Appeal button
Note that even if eligible, you may not see the Appeal button. In that case, select the link under your request history.
Is Verizon Selling Personal Information?
Verizon officially states that it collects user data for several reasons, but primarily to:
- Provide and improve its services
- Personalize user experience
- Deliver relevant advertising
- Detect fraud
- Meet legal obligations
According to its Privacy Policy, the company may also share certain information with affiliates, service providers, and other third parties under specific circumstances.
While Verizon does not openly describe its practices as “selling” customer data in the traditional sense, the company has faced criticism and regulatory action for how it shares sensitive user information. In 2018, investigative reports revealed that Verizon was providing customers’ real-time location data to third-party location aggregators. The controversy eventually led to a nearly $47 million fine from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 2024.
In addition to the location data incident, Verizon has also faced multiple security breaches. One incident occurred in 2017, when a contractor left data from approximately 6 million customer accounts exposed in an unsecured cloud storage bucket, including names, addresses, phone numbers, and, in some cases, account PINs. More recently, in a 2022 breach, a hacker obtained internal contact details and personal information on Verizon employees.
The cases raised broader concerns about how mobile carriers handle customer information, particularly sensitive data such as location history and network usage details.
How To Protect Your Personal Information From Digital Threats
The Verizon Privacy Dashboard lets you manage some of the data Verizon holds on you, but that doesn’t protect you from every digital threat. If you want to reduce exposure and enhance protection, consider these tips:
- Use the Privacy Dashboard regularly: Make it a habit to check what Verizon has collected and delete what isn’t needed.
- Enable two-factor verification: Set up two-factor verification on your Verizon account to reduce the risk of unauthorized access or SIM swaps.
- Opt out of data-sharing programs: Visit Verizon’s Your Privacy Choices page to opt out of targeted advertising, cross-context behavioral tracking, and other data-sharing programs.
- Be cautious with unsolicited messages: Data breaches often lead to phishing attempts, including smishing (SMS phishing) and vishing (voice phishing), and major mobile carriers are frequent targets. If you get unexpected calls, voice messages, text messages, or emails claiming to be from Verizon or another company, avoid clicking links, downloading attachments, or sharing passwords, verification codes, or other sensitive information.
Verizon also offers its own privacy and security tools, such as Verizon Digital Secure and Verizon Mobile Protect. While these services can help improve device security and account protection, they don’t fundamentally change the amount of customer data Verizon collects and processes as part of operating its network and advertising ecosystems.
If you want stronger privacy protections, managing settings and using security tools may not feel sufficient. A more effective solution is choosing a mobile carrier built around privacy from the start. Unlike traditional carriers that rely heavily on data collection and user profiling, privacy-first mobile carriers are designed to collect only the information necessary to provide their service. That’s the direction companies like Cape are taking.
Cape: The Carrier Built for Security and Privacy
Cape is a privacy-first mobile carrier designed to keep your communications safe from surveillance and misuse. Unlike traditional cell phone plan providers, our business model centers around providing you with premium and secure call, text, and data, rather than harvesting and selling your information.
Our service is built from the ground up with privacy and security at its core, offering unique features like:
Privacy & Security Feature | Description |
Cape doesn’t ask for your name, address, or Social Security number. We only collect the information necessary to provide service, and we retain that information for the minimum amount of time possible. | |
Traditional carriers rely on a fixed International Mobile Subscriber ID (IMSI) to connect your device to cellular networks. This is a vulnerability that lets carriers, advertisers, and bad actors identify and track your device. Cape lets subscribers automatically rotate their IMSI every 24 hours, making it infinitely more difficult to track you or your device. | |
Many services ask for your phone number, but sharing it exposes you to spam, scammers, data brokers, and a variety of other risks. VoIPs, on the other hand, don’t work with 2FA, cost extra, and aren’t encrypted. With Cape, you get two free additional SMS/MMS lines that are middle-to-end encrypted. | |
Most U.S. carriers store your call and text metadata for years, sometimes indefinitely. Cape is built to forget, so call data records (CDRs) are deleted after just 24 hours. | |
Cape nullifies the threat of SIM swapping by completely removing humans from the loop. During signup, you receive a 24-word phrase that generates a private key tied to your number. This effectively means that no one (but you) can move your number to a new carrier or device, not even Cape. | |
Legacy network protocols, like SS7, leave you vulnerable to hackers that can track your location, intercept your calls and texts, and steal sensitive information. Cape’s Network Lock relies on a proprietary signaling proxy to verify that your device’s physical location matches the network it’s trying to attach to. If we detect anything out of the ordinary, Cape automatically blocks the connection, nullifying the potential threat. | |
Traditional voicemail systems are outdated, unencrypted, and another security hole bad actors can exploit to gain access to your sensitive information. Cape encrypts all voicemails, ensuring only you can access them. | |
While roaming, your phone connects to local telecom providers to enable service. But, who knows who might be listening on the other end. Cape provides you with peace of mind by routing your traffic through our U.S.-based mobile core, ensuring your identity, data, and communications remain private and secure. |
Ditch Legacy Carriers: Get Cape Today
Cape is a “Heavy” Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), meaning we own our mobile core and provision our own SIMs. This gives us full control over how accounts are authenticated and what data is collected (and for how long), and is how we are able to provide privacy and security features no other carrier on the market can offer.
Get started with Cape today and enjoy the peace of mind, knowing you are fully protected against scammers, hackers, bad actors, and other mobile threats.
To help protect more than just your phone, we’ve partnered with Proton. As a new Cape subscriber, you can choose between Proton Unlimited and Proton VPN Plus for just $1 for six months.
