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Many Americans not aware of being tracked with facial recognition while shopping

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191–200 of 369 posts

Re: Many Americans not aware of being tracked with facial recognition while shopping

#191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Photos you submitted during cruise purchase?

Yeah, you have to send them a picture of yourself when you sign up, like you do for a passport or a drivers license. It gets attached to your account and when you get on the boat you are given an ID card to use to make onboard purchases and to disembark from the boat. Every time you leave or get on the boat they make sure the photo on your account matches who you say you are.

Is this a post-COVID thing? I've been on about a dozen cruises, most on Royal Caribbean ships, and they have always taken a photo at check in. I've never submitted one in advance.

Re: Many Americans not aware of being tracked with facial recognition while shopping

#192
post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Right, but most still pay with a credit/debit card when checking out which gives the cc/bank the same info. Yes, which is why I think cash is crucial until/if we get a digital equivalent. > At least with a store club card they only know what you purchase in that store/chain, instead of every store I haven't done research to confirm, but I'm guessing club card data ends up in the hands of data brokers at some point.…

There will never be a state sanctioned privacy enabling digital cash equivalent since the data surrounding transactions is far too valuable (both in a monetary sense and in a social control sense). I'm sure the phrase "digital cash" will be used in the marketing lingo though

I agree. I like Monero, but it will never be state sanctioned. I don't much care for the state.

Re: Many Americans not aware of being tracked with facial recognition while shopping

#193

This to me is part of a general trend wherein only those with the awareness and resources required will have privacy. For example, if you do have the funds, send a private shopper. But an even more direct example is skipping the discounts associated with club cards for privacy reasons. This will further entrench the class divide between the wealthy and the rest of us.

This may actually close the class divide a little.

The thing with privacy is the more wealthy you are, the more valuable it is. For example, if I want to sell something, I will want to target the wealthiest first. Same thing for scammers, and newspapers will follow celebrities. Who care about the poor, there is no money to extract from them.

So let's get back to the private shopper. A rich and famous man will want to hire a private shopper, because he knows that if he is found in a shop, he will be bothered by people who are after his money and fame. His privacy is worth a lot, to him and to others.

The private shopper is likely to be of a more modest status, he can go shopping without being bothered, he may be tracked by robots and end up with personalized ads, be part of some statistics, whatever, but no one will stop him for an autograph or some special favor.

So when the rich man pays the private shopper, with a little extra for his discretion, that's resources that go from the wealthy to the "rest of us".

The same can be said for loyalty cards. The one who can afford not to use loyalty card will earn the shop more profit (because no discount), meaning that it can offer bigger discounts to others.

It is as if a unit of privacy is proportional to your wealth. The amount of privacy a rich man will get by paying $1000, a poor man can get it for $1. In the same way that it is much cheaper to secure a penny than a gold bar, because no one will want to steal your penny.

Re: Many Americans not aware of being tracked with facial recognition while shopping

#194
post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"This decision must be correct because management is making it" is a strange idea. Clearly they make mistakes. And clearly their data may not be sufficiently deep for "the new security measures make people not want to shop here so they stay away"

Of course every decision is not correct, but the previous responses were written as if the purpose of the decisions that management made was to inconvenience or harass people, rather than simply an effort to stay in business.

> the previous responses were written as if the purpose of the decisions that management made was to inconvenience or harass people

I didn't get that at all. A little bit of trying to discourage shoplifters. Maybe you read a different thread.

Re: Many Americans not aware of being tracked with facial recognition while shopping

#195
post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My answer is to not worry about it and be glad that these practices lower prices.

It worked well for the non-jewish Germans I guess.

This comment might sound cynical, but it’s spot on.

Re: Many Americans not aware of being tracked with facial recognition while shopping

#196
post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know the bag check isn't the focus here, but I always just politely decline. After I've paid, I own whatever is in those bags and no, you can't look in them.

The availability of that option depends on your appearance: affluent middle-aged white people can usually do it but if you’re a teenager or match whatever demographic is poor in the area, you have to weigh that versus escalation possibly including armed police response.

Which escalations the store would have to weigh against a loss of business they should expect after racially targeting innocent (if so) customers.

Know your rights and exercise them, keep your chin up and communicate. Fear is a trigger of suspicion.

Re: Many Americans not aware of being tracked with facial recognition while shopping

#197
post #64

Wait till it can ID shoplifting, and people get added to a shared database of blacklisted shoppers. You can steal no problem, but one day you'll be approached and asked to leave upon entering almost anywhere.

Meh I think it’s going to be acceptable to wear a mask for at least 5 years, and perhaps indefinitely, which easily defeats facial recognition.

If we think the solution to these problems is to wear disguises, we've already lost.

Re: Many Americans not aware of being tracked with facial recognition while shopping

#198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The industrial revolution divided the world into those who had capital (owned factories, tools, land, etc.) and those who produced labor (worked in the factories, used the tools, worked the land, etc.). Those on the side of labor couldn't provide value without access to capital where it could be used. Conversely, those with capital need labor to extract value from it. The factories don't run themselves. In theory, th…

> The industrial revolution divided the world into those who had capital (owned factories, tools, land, etc.) and those who produced labor (worked in the factories, used the tools, worked the land, etc.). Don't be silly. The world was divided long before the Industrial Revolution, and if "labor" was ever on top of things, it was for fleeting moments. What changed with the Industrial Revolution was the collection of e…

Very true. We are witnessing how a new aristocracy is being built. This time it’s not based on skills in warfare but around business skills. But the result is the same: you have a small group who thinks they are better than others and deserve to receive the vast majority of the profits society creates. And they manipulate the game to their advantage.

This seems to happen in all societies until a revolution happens and the cycle starts anew just with different actors.

Re: Many Americans not aware of being tracked with facial recognition while shopping

#199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they do this to a person from an EU country, won't that person have a potent issue to raise via GDPR?

Good luck proving it happened.

Good luck keeping a blowjob in the Oval Office a secret. There’s far too many people involved in such an operation to keep a blatant criminal offence secret for a prolonged amount of time. Tracking like this is, for now at least, not possible in the EU.

Oh boy, will this comment age badly.

Re: Many Americans not aware of being tracked with facial recognition while shopping

#200
post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why should I care to keep what I buy at the grocery store private? I'm not trying to be flippant with this question. I'm just honestly perplexed why this is an important dateset to keep private. Also, why would I want to avoid discounts? Grocery stores are one of the few places that gives me money for handing them my data. Isn't this good behavior!?

What you buy at a grocery store can reveal a lot about you: - Personal care products: gender - Medications: age/health of you and family members - Magazines/media: political affiliation, social class The list goes on. [Edit: formatting]

This always reminds me of the anecdote of Target predicting pregnant customers and "outing" them before they or their family knows [1].

Really makes one consider using cash.

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-habits....

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