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Forget Milk and Eggs: Supermarkets Are Having a Fire Sale on Data About You

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Re: Forget Milk and Eggs: Supermarkets Are Having a Fire Sale on Data About You

#171

Post by autoexec »

fsflover wrote: post #160
devmunchies wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

theoretically the phone could still record all audio and then sync with the cloud when back online, but I'm grasping at straws here.

In such case the solution is to have hardware kill switches, like on my Librem 5.

That kind of phone goes so far to protect your privacy it won't even let you use it to call anyone. (https://www.techrepublic.com/article/librem-5-review-the-lin...). The real solution is regulation with lots of teeth and oversight, so we don't have to depend on flawed products that don't work.

Re: Forget Milk and Eggs: Supermarkets Are Having a Fire Sale on Data About You

#172

Post by fsflover »

autoexec wrote: post #171
fsflover wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In such case the solution is to have hardware kill switches, like on my Librem 5.

That kind of phone goes so far to protect your privacy it won't even let you use it to call anyone. ( https://www.techrepublic.com/article/librem-5-review-the-lin... ). The real solution is regulation with lots of teeth and oversight, so we don't have to depend on flawed products that don't work.

This is an extremely old review, when the software was in beta. Phone calls are working fine for me now.

Regulations are great, but I prefer to have both kinds of defense.

Re: Forget Milk and Eggs: Supermarkets Are Having a Fire Sale on Data About You

#173

Post by breakpointalpha »

nanidin wrote: post #137
kornhole wrote: post #29

Sometimes it feels ridiculous how much OPSEC I need to employ to buy anything at the grocery store. I walk or bike to the store to not reveal a license plate. All radios and sensors on my handset are turned off. I wear a mask to thwart facial recognition cameras. I pay cash.

What is your threat model? Are you buying incriminating goods at the grocery store? What do you gain by putting yourself through all that? Or what are you preventing / protecting yourself from?

A free person shouldn't have to articulate why they need privacy.

Privacy should be the default in free societies.

I can play this game though: you are pregnant, but have not shared that information yet with your family because it's early term and there might be complications. The grocery store accurately predicts you are pregnant from your shopping habits (change in diet, per-natal vitamins, "New Mommy Magazine"). The grocery store snail mails you a New Mommy coupon book as a "thank you." Your family sees this and confronts you, forcing you to reveal your medical status against your wishes.

This is a scary outcome WHICH HAS ALREADY HAPPENED. https://bit.ly/3S3hlrA

Re: Forget Milk and Eggs: Supermarkets Are Having a Fire Sale on Data About You

#174

Post by Zetice »

pixl97 wrote: post #162
sv123 wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are there examples of snack food purchasing habits being used against somebody?

http://web.archive.org/web/20071221122513/http:/cqpolitics.c...

So no, since that’s not what was asked at all?

Re: Forget Milk and Eggs: Supermarkets Are Having a Fire Sale on Data About You

#175

Post by maCDzP »

Loughla wrote: post #82
hunter2_ wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

90210 of course. Although if you're customizing the area code based on current location, maybe do the same with the zip code.

You laugh about this, but - a story from my younger years that people call bullshit on all the time: I worked for a (now out of business) retailer. They collected zip codes from folks who didn't have their version of a loyalty card. They used this data to inform automatic shipments of seasonal and/or regional merchandise. They were usually pretty good at hitting just in time sales for annual festivals, fairs, those s…

That's so funny, I would have loved to se that SALE in the middle of the winter. With a sign that said something like "90210 SPECIAL SALE".

Re: Forget Milk and Eggs: Supermarkets Are Having a Fire Sale on Data About You

#176

Post by autoexec »

fsflover wrote: post #172
autoexec wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That kind of phone goes so far to protect your privacy it won't even let you use it to call anyone. ( https://www.techrepublic.com/article/librem-5-review-the-lin... ). The real solution is regulation with lots of teeth and oversight, so we don't have to depend on flawed products that don't work.

This is an extremely old review, when the software was in beta. Phone calls are working fine for me now. Regulations are great, but I prefer to have both kinds of defense.

That's a good sign! I'd given up all hope for the Librem and pinephone. I guess it's time to take another look...

I agree that hardware switches are ideal, but I don't see them being common since most of the folks pushing out phones want to use those devices to collect data on the people who buy them.

Re: Forget Milk and Eggs: Supermarkets Are Having a Fire Sale on Data About You

#177

Post by breakpointalpha »

cfeduke wrote: post #7
rationalist wrote: post #3

And that's why I pay cash and use Jenny's Number with the local area code for the store discount program. I know Target also tracks your cellphone through the store too, I haven't bothered putting in airplane mode when I shop, so hopefully they aren't correlating that with the purchases.

This is fine, but it's not really about tracking you , it's about tracking the habits of shoppers in aggregate, of which you are a participant. (Yes, having your real address to mail flyers is a bonus but not the end goal.) The only viable solution that comes to mind is to shop at places that don't perform this sort of tracking/loyalty card/etc. and continue to pay in cash. The only stores around me that fit this bil…

It is definitely about tracking SPECIFICALLY YOU.

Target, one of the largest retailers in the US, has already abused tracking to increase targeted advertising to expecting mothers. https://bit.ly/3S3hlrA

Re: Forget Milk and Eggs: Supermarkets Are Having a Fire Sale on Data About You

#178

Post by piceas »

EGreg wrote: post #151
gnz11 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are oodles of data brokers out there: axciom, neustar, etc. Facebook ads would be the quickest way for a small time daycare to target to local shoppers.

We tried it. Just got a lot of spammers calling to offer their own services. Specifically want to target people who bought baby stuff, or went to a pediatrician etc. Considered approaching local paediatricians to cross-promote. The ideal would be if there are public records of births in the local hospitals, do those exist? Then one could look who was born 2 years ago and send a mailer to the address listed (by name)…

In Germany Amazon, Rossmann, Hipp, and Budni give out baby boxes each worth maybe 5-20€ of baby stuff in exchange for the birthdate and parental details.

Perhaps check their privacy info to find who they share/sell the data with/to.

Re: Forget Milk and Eggs: Supermarkets Are Having a Fire Sale on Data About You

#179

Post by JohnFen »

autoexec wrote: post #166

Stores are happy to sell all your data to advertisers for now, but what they really want is to use it themselves. Their wet dream is to get us to accept Personalized Dynamic Pricing ( https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338776528_A_special... ) which means that once the store knows who you are (either by your photo, or by detecting the phone in your pocket, or by your loyalty card) they will customize the prices…

> Personalized Dynamic Pricing

The very idea is just revolting.

Re: Forget Milk and Eggs: Supermarkets Are Having a Fire Sale on Data About You

#180

Post by JohnFen »

devmunchies wrote: post #118
jimbob45 wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about a Faraday bag?

theoretically the phone could still record all audio and then sync with the cloud when back online, but I'm grasping at straws here.

Why would it, though? If you're the sort who puts your phone into a faraday cage, you're not the sort who will install an app from the stores.
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