What you need to know
- Earlier this week, we polled AC readers to ask if the latest T-Mobile data breach made them want to switch their wireless carrier.
- Nearly three-quarters of respondents said they wouldn't be switching or weren't sure yet if they might.
- Almost a third of respondents indicated they'd had enough and would be switching to a new carrier.
This week another shocking data breach came to light that reportedly leaked the personal information of tens of millions of current and former T-Mobile customers. Subsequent reporting revealed that the actual number of affected customers was much lower than originally reported, but it was still in the order of 50 million total accounts.
Considering how popular T-Moble is among our readers, we thought we'd ask them if this latest breach was enough to make them want to switch carriers — and the results we got were a little surprising. Over 40% said that they would not leave T-Mobile, while nearly another 30% said that they weren't yet sure. Only about 30% said that they would, indeed, be leaving the "uncarrier."
While the total number of accounts affected was lower than originally thought, it is still a massive number of subscribers whose data was compromised. And yet, whether it's because the pain of switching is too high, or people have resigned themselves to the realities of modern-day identity theft, the majority of participants who responded to our poll said that they probably wouldn't leave T-Mobile because of it.
There were a ton of comments to our poll on our social media channels, but a common thread among respondents was one of resignation. As reader khaneric put it:
I've had so many breaches over the years from ALL sorts of avenues that it honestly doesn't even matter anymore. My data has been stolen 10 times over, I've had fake tax returns submitted for my SSN, etc. This is the new normal, unfortunately.
Other readers on Twitter and Facebook concurred:
Not really. At this point, almost rvery major company has had some sort of massive data breach. Nobody's information is safe in this day and age. As long as the company acknowledges it and provides a remedy of some sort, that's all I can really expect tbh.Not really. At this point, almost rvery major company has had some sort of massive data breach. Nobody's information is safe in this day and age. As long as the company acknowledges it and provides a remedy of some sort, that's all I can really expect tbh.— Wes (@Dm_me_your_dogs) August 18, 2021August 18, 2021
Our poll is closed, but we'll have another poll this weekend for you to participate in. So be on the lookout for it!
