Think twice when you use your cellphone. Advertisers are vying for your information.

We all know that advertisers will do just about anything to stick their ad in your face. Tracking consumers on the Web has been an effective medium that allows advertisers to target ads based on collected information. However, if you think the pop up ads on your computer screen are annoying, brace yourself for what is coming down the pike. Cellphones are going to be the device that gives advertisers your interests, habits and location. Since cellphones are used for a variety of activities such as playing games, downloading applications, sending instant messages, browsing the Web and emailing, it has become the latest and potentially extensive way for advertisers to aim ads at consumers.

According to The New York Times, there was a story about the power advertisers are finding in using GPS as well as other details about user profiles, pulled from “smartphones” like the iPhone and Blackberry, to send highly targeted messages to customers— as granular as sending a coupon for an NYC restaurant when the phone sends up a GPS signal about a user’s location on Broadway and 42nd. The story notes that advertisers are willing to pay a steep price when they know they’re hitting just the right consumers.

The capability for collecting information has alarmed privacy advocates. “It’s potentially a portable, personal spy,” said Jeff Chester, the executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, who will appear before Federal Trade Commission staff members this month to brief them on privacy and mobile marketing. He is particularly concerned about data breaches, advertisers’ access to sensitive health or financial information, and a lack of transparency about how advertisers are collecting data. “Users are going to be inclined to say, sure, what’s harmful about a click, not realizing that they’ve consented to give up their information.”

While a mobile device holds a great potential for advertising, I have to admit that this is taking it a little too far. The thought of advertisers knowing every move that I make and then reaching me on my mobile phone is extremely intrusive and unnecessary. I truly hope that consumers fight back on this one. Since it’s common today for consumers to cause a ruckus when they are not satisfied, I can only hope that the troops rally on this one. However, this seems like wishful thinking on my part.