I noticed on the Verizon homepage on my device yesterday there is a link for something called SIDEBAR. I did a litte investigating and found some info.
digital SIDEBAR white space is content space with mobile advertising platform | => Mobile Mage (mobilemage.com) | Mobile reviews and news
Quote:
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) June 18, 2008 — digital SIDEBAR, a leading provider in the mobile advertising and content discovery sector, today announced the launch of the SIDEBAR platform. SIDEBAR allows for the delivery of targeted content to white space on the screens of users’ mobile phones before and after calls and with incoming and outgoing SMS notifications.
SIDEBAR, which will soon be launched in a national consumer pilot with a major U.S. carrier, connects wireless operators, advertisers and content developers with mobile consumers. Content includes promotions which link to interactive and multimedia entertainment. SIDEBAR enables targeting of content to users by age, gender, interests, use patterns, day and time; and SIDEBAR’s “share” feature allows users to forward content to other mobile consumers, one-to-one and one-to-many.
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More in the article. I found the app's website.
Digital Sidebar Home
Note it says:
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digital SIDEBAR is at the forefront of innovation offering an end-to-end solution for mobile advertising, promotion and content discovery. The company's patent-pending solution, SIDEBAR™, connects wireless operators, advertisers and content developers with mobile consumers. Targeted content is displayed to users before and after calls, with incoming and outgoing SMS notifications, and application launch. Users can interact with content at the time it is displayed or later, during leisure time. SIDEBAR is a highly personalized interactive channel for promotions, content, coupons and special offers. Consumers receive SIDEBAR content at exactly the right time - prime time - while they are engaged.
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(emphasis mine)
Also:
Advertisers
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This highly sophisticated system enables targeting by demographic, psychographic, users' expressed preferences, historical use patterns, day, time and geography
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So, what does that mean, besides it's going to put ads on your device?
The info on the Verizon SIDEBAR page says:
"Content, including your wireless phone number, may be intercepted by third parties with or without your or our (referring to Verizon) knowledge or permission."
What is the definition of adware?
Adware - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Adware or advertising-supported software is any software package which automatically plays, displays, or downloads advertisements to a computer after the software is installed on it or while the application is being used. Some types of adware are also spyware and can be classified as privacy-invasive software.
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SIDEBAR sure sounds like adware to me. It would be interesting to know exactly what else it intercepts besides your wireless phone number. Targeted advertising is generally based on browser patterns, but I have to wonder what else SIDEBAR is using to determine the targeted content.
Someone at Crackberry downloaded it and
posted
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It replaces your call screen with some ad crap when you are in a call etc. I promptly uninstalled it and restarted my phone.
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How freakin' annoying would that be!
Now, this sure sounds like adware to me, and you might even call it trackware, but it is not the same as a virus or trojan, so don't go around thinking that. It has to be installed willingly -- it doesn't sneak on to your device without your knowledge or permission.
What is the benefit of installing SIDEBAR? The Vzw page says you will be entered to win a Voyager phone and a one hundred dollar ($100) Verizon Wireless Gift Card. I don't know this, but I'm speculating that Verizon may be the "major US carrier" in the pilot program referred to in the first article above.
At any rate, I wouldn't be caught dead using SIDEBAR given that it intercepts your mobile phone number and heaven-knows-what-else happening on your device. I don't know if BES admins can block this app or not, but I could see it might be considered a security threat, and I'd block it if possible.