SYDNEY: Telstra has become the first Australian telco to offer its subscribers similar access that law enforcement and intelligence agencies have to their private phone metadata, back flipping on its previous position of refusing them access to it.
Starting April 1, Telstra will give their customers access to a limited set of their “metadata” for fee information about who they’ve called, the time, location and duration. It does not include the content of a communication, such as the detail of what you said or wrote in an email or SMS.
But the scheme won’t give customers access to information about another party to a communication with them, such as who called them (this information is collected though, and can be handed over to law enforcement agencies).
Still, the move will provide customers with much more access than they otherwise would’ve had through Telstra’s My Account portal or through their monthly bills, with information including “the actual location of the cell tower an outgoing call was connected to when the call was made” being made available. The fee to get the data will depend on how far back into Telstra records you request, Telstra said.
