AT&T rewards you with Data

AT&T has a new program for their tiered data customers and it seems too good to be true.  It is an app called Data Perks and it helps those of us who are always scrounging around at the end of the month trying to conserve our data by freeloading off shady public WiFi.  Thank goodness.

In order to start earning “free” data back on to your account, you will first need an Android smartphone with Ice Cream Sandwich or higher (most likely you already do) or an iPhone running iOS 7.0 or higher (again, you most likely already do).  Note, this is only for smartphones.  Tablets are ineligible for the offer.

Next, head on over to your app store of choice and download the AT&T Data Perks app.  For simply downloading and trying the app, you will gain 25MB of data right from the get-go.

Ironically data rates may apply to download the app and use it.  However, once I read the FAQ page AT&T confirms that using the app will NOT cost you data.  Repeat, it will NOT cost you data to use the Data Perks app.

However, however, if you decide to download a promotional app or game from within Data Perks, you WILL be using your data for the month.

Once you download and setup the app you can start earning data!

In order to add data to your account you can fill out surveys, shop, and according to AT&T, “more!”  I’m not really too sure what the “more!” part is, since I’m on Verizon and cannot try it out.

This is basically Google Opinion Rewards, but instead of earning Play Store credits, you get data.

Now don’t expect to add terabytes to your plan.

Surveys and shopping have ranges for how much you can earn.  Some surveys may only be 25MB while others may be over 100MB.  Think of it this way, if you do ten actions that are over 100MB each, you will gain 1GB of data to your plan.

You can earn unlimited data to your plan, but you can only transfer 1GB each month.  The earned data will expire if you don’t use the app after one year.  As long as you sign-in once in a while you will be fine.

Who would benefit most from this program?

This could be useful for those of you who are on a shared data plan with the rest of your family.  If one user is constantly using more data than the rest it can be frustrating.  What is wicked nice about AT&T’s Data Perks is that if you take the time to earn data, it can only be used by you.  No one else on the plan can use your data.

So what is the catch to all of this?

You are willingly data-mining yourself for AT&T.  You’re helping them learn buying habits and giving them an edge on marketing.  It is up to you to decide if that’s worth it.  I happen to be a big Google Opinion Rewards user so if Verizon had something like this I’d most likely try it out.

What I found to be interesting is that this is only for iPhones and Androids.  Windows Phone is left out in the cold.  It is quite the oddity since AT&T is the carrier that will be offering the new Lumia 950 and 950XL.  Maybe once those Windows 10 devices hit shelves they will update the app?  Then again, if Windows 10 devices can run iOS or Android apps then there is no need for an app.

I reached out to AT&T through their live chat and was forwarded to a different manager, but got nowhere with it.  We’ll have to wait and see.

Via: phonedog Source: AT&T