Cashrewards / ShopBack Privacy Issues and Data Collection

solidice on 24/11/2019 - 09:34
Last edited 25/11/2019 - 18:20 by 1 other user

Hi all,

I recently went to a presentation which raised and discussed the privacy issues pertaining to Cash Rewards/Shop Back and similar sites. The theme was related to how we as consumers are happy to give away our personal information and sell our behaviours for only a few dollars. The presentation did a full analysis of the data captured and where it ends up or is sold to.

I was wondering how people felt about these sites and if they have any concerns with the quantity of PII they are giving away to third party companies?

General Discussion Cashback

Related Stores

Cashrewards
Cashrewards
Third-Party
ShopBack AU
ShopBack AU
Third-Party

Comments

  • whooah1979 on 24/11/2019 - 10:02

    we as consumers are happy to give away our personal information and sell our behaviours for only a few dollars.

    What is the worst thing that may happen if they have this data?

    • solidice on 24/11/2019 - 10:21

      That's precisely the question that some people from the crowd raised, or the alternative "I have nothing to hide so why should I care".

      I guess in the short term it will have minimal affect. I guess the question is who would want the information that cashrewards has about everyone. The answer would be governments, other commercial organisations, cyber criminals. Just imagine having access to the database and snooping through everyone's information, payment methods, purchased items, online browsing habits. It doesn't just collect what you buy, but the manner in which you searched and other things you were doing on the internet at the same time.

      • whooah1979 on 24/11/2019 - 10:47

        It doesn't just collect what you buy, but the manner in which you searched and other things you were doing on the internet at the same time.

        So they know what their customers are interested in and what they buy. That is the worst thing they may do with that?

      • afoveht on 24/11/2019 - 10:50
        +1

        Yeah the "I have nothing to hide, I don't care" attitude is very shortsighted. It's like playing chess only thinking about the pawn your opponent is offering for your current move while they may have comprehensive strategies in place.

        Surveillance capitalism is IMO amongst the most dangerous threats our "freedoms" face.

        • whooah1979 on 24/11/2019 - 11:01
          -1

          What freedoms are you talking about?

          • afoveht on 24/11/2019 - 11:01
            +1

            @whooah1979: First and foremost, the freedom to think for yourself.

            • whooah1979 on 24/11/2019 - 11:10
              -3

              @afoveht: Nobody is trying to take away our freedom to think.

            • SBOB on 24/11/2019 - 12:23

              @afoveht:

              First and foremost, the freedom to think for yourself

              could you please tell me more ;)

              • whooah1979 on 24/11/2019 - 14:43
                +1

                @SBOB: You need a tinfoil hat first.

              • afoveht on 24/11/2019 - 15:07

                @SBOB: I suggest you YouTube search for the discussion between Mark Zuckerberg and Yuval Noah Harari for some insight which will take a bit longer than a reply here will allow.

                We are already unknowingly shaped by corporate and national agendas without their knowing our innermost selves and without specifically targeted information; the future possibilities undermine the whole idea of individual will.

                • SBOB on 24/11/2019 - 15:12

                  @afoveht:

                  I suggest you YouTube search

                  clearly my joke was too subtle….

                • ihbh on 24/11/2019 - 16:01

                  @afoveht: So, should we have banned marketing and advertising in the past?

                  • afoveht on 24/11/2019 - 19:35

                    @ihbh: That's a different question. Nonetheless what we have now is qualitatively different: intimately monitoring people, processing their actions as individuals and providing personalised influence.

      • SBOB on 24/11/2019 - 12:23

        It doesn't just collect what you buy

        do affiliates/referrers like shopback and cashrewards get actual items purchased details, or simply click through/cookie-tracking and resulting purchase price

  • garetz on 24/11/2019 - 10:37
    +1

    If they are refunding you a small amount of money on purchases, without a fee, then in effect you become the product that they are profiting from.

    It depends on how much you value your own privacy and the probability of your information being sold in the future.

    In todays information age, most people post it all on facebook or other platforms unwittingly, so i guess its better to slightly profit from it than give it away for free.

  • dcep on 24/11/2019 - 12:13

    i'm ok with being anonymous , but they have my phone, email, bank, not sure if those are being sold

  • verio on 24/11/2019 - 12:27

    Well, not so long ago there was a deal for a $5 gift card after doing a credit rating check via Finder. It was incredibly popular on OzBargain, people were willing to provide not just personal data but also driver licence and Medicare number just for five bucks.

    Until something bad happens, people don't care much about security and privacy.

    • Ughhh on 25/11/2019 - 10:55

      Considering they were able to pull info about past credit cards and other info that I did not provide them, they have more info about you than you give them.

  • ihbh on 24/11/2019 - 14:42

    concerns with the quantity of PII they are giving away to third party companies

    Specifically, what is your concern?

    Third parties having more info can mean better targeted deals.

    My concerns would be I get worse deals than I'm currently getting, and if I could get more $ for selling my data directly (which I can't at the moment).

  • Clear on 24/11/2019 - 22:08
    -1

    More like the affiliate networks that each store use for their commission can track your browser activity. Then again any website can track so much about you and your computer.

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