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Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

latimes.com

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Re: Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

#101

Post by Moru »

waibelp wrote: post #97
mc32 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So the only way to break the circle is to purchase with cash... And now fewer and fewer people buy with cash, to the point some Nordics plan on doing away with cash as much as possible.

That's quite normal here in Germany. A lot of people I know still only pay with cash because most of the people are skeptical about data that may be used against them. Sure, there are a lot of young people (born >=2000) sharing everything and paying everything with card but the older ones still care about their privacy. That means a safe way I and a lot of people prefer is to get a bunch of cash from a cashpoint and…

Germany is one of the few countries that has recently seen the reality of what tracking can lead to if the wrong people end up in power. So the question is, do you trust Trump or whoever comes after him?

My main gripe with shopping in Germany is everyone is standing there at the cash-register trying to find the correct ammount of cash to pay. There is a large amount of different coins you have to sorth through and they all look similar to me. But everyone does it (even the young) because everyone cares about privacy.

Re: Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

#102

Post by hopfog »

Another way companies are connecting your online profile with offline activities is by using one of the many call tracking services. Basically when you visit a site using these you will be shown a unique phone number. When you ring it the service will tie your web session to the call. The company will see the caller's whole web user journey and any subsequent visits.

Re: Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

#103

Post by coldtea »

metafunctor wrote: post #85
mc32 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So the only way to break the circle is to purchase with cash... And now fewer and fewer people buy with cash, to the point some Nordics plan on doing away with cash as much as possible.

Cash is no silver bullet. Even if you buy with cash only, you can and will still be profiled. Cameras can identify you automatically, track you around the shop, know which ads you react to, etc. It's already going on.

>Cash is no silver bullet. Even if you buy with cash only, you can and will still be profiled.

Doesn't have to be a silver bullet. Just to be better off than without cash.

Re: Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

#104

Post by biafra »

Guest98123 wrote: post #82
mattnewton wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They won't in the medium term because of how much they hate the credit card company's cut. 3% is a lot on an already low-margin transaction at Walmart.

I went to a store in my city that just opened a few weeks ago. They advertise as being paperless and cash free, and only accept debit/credit. I think it's the first time I went to a store that refused cash.

AFAIK in Germany merchants have an obligation to accept cash. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bargeld#Rechtsfragen

Re: Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

#105

Post by adjkant »

khn1 wrote: post #57
adjkant wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a fair answer, and I'm sure one that many share. Thanks for addressing the question directly - I see how for a minority of users, the switch makes sense. I guess for me, I don't care enough to make all those changes. As a Chrome user, the sync across things is nice, and I enjoy the interface. I'll take the ease at risk of someone having my data in a catastrophic situation. Obviously, your choice makes great se…

> I guess for me, I don't care enough to make all those changes. Up until I read this article, I used to feel the opposite way. I think there is some value in everyone having privacy and personal space. It gives us an opportunity to decompress and relieve some of the stresses of our increasingly connected world. However, discovering that Google (and others) are merging my online and offline behavior is making me doub…

> "I think there is some value in everyone having privacy and personal space."

I never got how Google having my data as part of a larger picture ever affected either of those in my daily life. They use it for power in mass, not over individuals. It's an important political conversation, but it's doing everything but affecting me specifically/individually in my daily life (in negative ways at least)

Edit: Just wanted to say I appreciated the comment. As far as too big to fail goes, I don't think Facebook is yet - they are fighting hard to become that right now though. You can easily function without Facebook - right now it's basically only serving as an address book and messaging service for me, and I have good alternatives for both of those. Google's integration into everything is what makes them too big to fail. I've given up on fighting Google, but I'm still careful to some extent with Facebook.

Re: Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

#106

Post by Moru »

awinter-py wrote: post #19

I think everyone remembers the first ad to follow them around multiple websites. For me it was an ASPCA campaign. The next version of that experience will be researching a purchase and where to get it, then seeing ads on the way that are customized to (a) the product you're buying and (b) your preferences. If you're 55 you'll get michael jordan advising you to buy nikes. If you're 35 it will be Noel Gallagher (air no…

I've been allergic to adverticing all my life, I don't remember any adverticement following me around at all... :-)

Adblockers is no new thing.

Re: Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

#108

Post by adjkant »

anger wrote: post #45
adjkant wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As opposed to going kicking and screaming, all to the same end? The metaphor is still flawed thoguh doesn't add anything to the conversation here. What exactly is the equivalent of death here? Google has all your data - what could they do with it that will affect you realistically? Or if someone malicious gets it? My point is that the likelihood of malicious activity is low, and so are the consequences. Am I missing…

We live in the information age, when information is the ultimate power. One danger is that with all that data about you and very advanced AI/ML tech Google can push you into making irrational purchase decisions (yeah, I know YOU are special, and advertising doesn't work on YOU) - e.g. buying a red sports car in your 40s. The other is this data will be available to NSA, GCHQ, etc. and their controlling governments, po…

"We live in the information age, when information is the ultimate power."

That power doesn't come from your individual data point, but rather from the collective points. In order to have an effect on that power, you need mass action.

The rest of my comment back is already covered by the other child comment here by name_for_now, which I strongly agree with.

Re: Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

#109

Post by pb82 »

adjkant wrote: post #20
paradite wrote: post #12

Now I will have to seriously consider getting off the Google ecosystem now. Deactivating facebook was okay, but Google might be tricky considering many of website accounts use Google authentication.

Okay, this is a small rant that is not directly aimed at you, so nothing personal. This is aimed generally more at people in the privacy at all costs camp and the like. If there's some viewpoint I'm missing here I'd also love to hear it, so it's not really a mean-spirited rant either. Google owns the internet at this point. For general use purposes, they ARE the internet. So avoiding them should really have at least…

You're not wrong but for me this kind of behavior just takes away the joy of technology. We don't completely own or control our devices. The services that we use all have hidden (or not so hidden) agendas and treat us as products.

I'm still using an old Nexus 4 but I can't be bothered to replace it. Nothing on that market excites me anymore.

Re: Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

#110

Post by metafunctor »

coldtea wrote: post #103
metafunctor wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cash is no silver bullet. Even if you buy with cash only, you can and will still be profiled. Cameras can identify you automatically, track you around the shop, know which ads you react to, etc. It's already going on.

> Cash is no silver bullet. Even if you buy with cash only, you can and will still be profiled. Doesn't have to be a silver bullet. Just to be better off than without cash.

Nothing ever is a silver bullet, which was sort of my point.

I was responding to “the only way to break the circle is to purchase with cash”, which just is not enough if your goal is to not end up in a database with your buying behaviour tabulated and analysed. Better? Clearly. But it is neither sufficient nor necessary to break the circle.

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