Do You Still Want to Use Cashback Sites at The Risk of Losing Your Privacy?

Taro Milk Tea on 29/11/2022 - 10:52
Last edited 29/11/2022 - 12:07 by 1 other user

Nothing is free in this world, I was always curious how Cashback sites like Cashrewards/Shopback gets their income.

Then, this article found me.

Is it really worth selling your own private info for some small amount of cashback?
Maybe that article found me because my data has been sold to some other third party company anyway.

Though I can understand that any small savings in this current climate is always welcomed.

What do you guys think?

Do you still want to use cashback sites at the risk of losing your privacy?

Poll Options

  • 65
    Yes
  • 35
    No
Internet Cashback

Comments

  • bobbified on 29/11/2022 - 10:55
    +12

    I don't use these cashback sites myself, but it seems that lots of people already provide their private info for free everywhere else (with or without knowing). So, might as well get paid for it!

    • Taro Milk Tea on 29/11/2022 - 11:21
      +1

      free everywhere else (with or without knowing)

      True, but maybe that is for something important. As for cashback, I never use it either and for that small amount of money back, it's just not worth it IMO.

  • Nugs on 29/11/2022 - 10:58
    -1

    skimmed the article, didn't see anything of concern
    .

  • Hybroid on 29/11/2022 - 11:01
    +10

    Don't use cashback sites for 2 reasons:-

    1) No way I'm disabling ad-blocking (Pi-hole) to enable them to work.

    2) The impact psychologically to your decision making for purchases.

    • Switchblade88 on 29/11/2022 - 15:39
      +4

      I just disable my Pihole to do the clickthrough and that's it. What are they going to do with my sales data? Show my online ads that I can't see??

      You want to manipulate my purchasing decisions, dear seller, give me a good deal on OzBargain. I'm right here waiting!

    • ForbiddenCouponJutsu on 12/12/2022 - 14:37

      I'm pretty sure you can just whitelist the cashback pop-ups.

  • melk on 29/11/2022 - 11:01
    +8

    This is OzBargain, people will forget a lot for $5 (Shopback data breach anyone?). Yes, I use cashback.

    • Taro Milk Tea on 29/11/2022 - 11:23

      Yeah, I think these days, any savings are welcomed…even for $2 cashback…lol.

      But no, I will not sell my data for these things.

      • melk on 29/11/2022 - 11:31

        I respect that, since it's only becoming harder everyday.

        Lots of sites using account creations (sign up bonus / reward points) + cookies to track.
        Credit cards offering spend&save offers or % credit back at certain shops.
        Companies/Services that you pay for and provide info, selling or just leaking your data anyways.
        Basket/Trolley tracking systems w/ cameras in supermarkets and more

        Ideally you always shop in store with a mask and sunglasses on with cash only (at different stores, so you're not known as that person)

      • mbck on 29/11/2022 - 11:45

        https://www.ozbargain.com.au/user/231050/voted

        Interesting, you've upvoted on a few in the past. Granted it's a 5 bucks one there

  • Clear on 29/11/2022 - 11:04

    Cashback sites like Cashrewards/Shopback gets their income.

    Let's say they get 10% cashback for the referring you. They pay you a percentage of that, e.g. 6% and pocket 4%.

  • Muzeeb on 29/11/2022 - 11:18
    +4

    Look at all the upvotes to get $3 back for a voucher on ozbargain.

    Obviously most don't give a sh!t about it.

  • Leho on 29/11/2022 - 11:23
    +3

    It's impossible to be anonymous online anyway so might as well get paid for it 😂

  • coffeeinmyveins on 29/11/2022 - 11:38
    +2

    Is it really worth selling your own private info for some small amount of cashback?

    What browser do you use?
    Do you use Google to search?
    Do you use Facebook, Instagram?
    Ever signed up for a competition?

    I've got news for you then

    • melk on 29/11/2022 - 11:57

      Sometimes people forget how some of the largest companies in the world make their money. Of course, I only suffer through Bing search to earn $0.50 after a year of searching, making me the victor.

    • PeelThis on 29/11/2022 - 12:32

      Even people giving up other's details to these services like Google without you knowning.
      You might use a fake name for your Google account, but if mutiple people have synced their contacts with Google and have listed your first name, last name, mobile, email, work email, birthday, address, workplace etc then they already know a lot.

      • coffeeinmyveins on 12/12/2022 - 14:45

        This is the same reason why Facebook had the "like" widget on every website. Ever wonder why it was on porn sites and you'd think "who the F would like a porn thing for FB". It was for data tracking.

    • ForbiddenCouponJutsu on 12/12/2022 - 14:40

      This 100%.
      Cashrewards is just a drop in the ocean of sites that collect your data.
      This one just tends to give you a bit of benefit when you use it, THATS why it's popular.

  • pegaxs on 29/11/2022 - 11:41
    +4

    Is this like the certain website that had their servers hacked and everyone's details stolen… but in apology, they gave a $3 voucher to everyone who gobbled it up and upvoted the offer to the moon?

    It appears that a lot of people place the price on their personal data at around a $3 random gift voucher.

    • pharkurnell on 29/11/2022 - 12:55
      +1

      Well put… sadly well put.

    • coffeeinmyveins on 12/12/2022 - 14:45

      OZB is full of people who will salivate over the thought of saving $5 even if it means spending literal hours of their time to do it, so this doesn't surprise me in the slightest.

  • Cheaplikethebird on 29/11/2022 - 11:42
    +3

    Oh no not my consumer data that is already being harvested when I enter my details at checkout😨

    • follow on 29/11/2022 - 12:13
      -3

      put fake details. you only need to put your address as real

      • Cheaplikethebird on 29/11/2022 - 13:13
        +2

        Do you really do that? Seem like more risk than it's worth.

        "Consumer behaviour data is incredibly valuable to businesses. It can be used to manipulate and influence consumers through direct marketing, behavioural advertising and even personalised pricing."

        I'm not really worried about this as I will research and price watch considerably before making any major purchase.

        Also as @mboy wrote below it's a drop in the ocean.

      • coffeeinmyveins on 29/11/2022 - 16:12
        -1

        "We're sorry, your warranty claim was denied because the details you've provided us does not match the data entered during checkout"

        • follow on 29/11/2022 - 17:08

          what do you mean? do they check your ID when if you are claiming warranty?

  • Ryanek on 29/11/2022 - 11:55
    +1

    Your private info is used to sell you things that may be of more interest to you. Win win.

    In all seriousness I dont really care they know how often I buy toilet paper.

    • Ughhh on 29/11/2022 - 15:17
      +1

      Your private info is used to sell you things that may be of more interest to you. Win win

      It's like putting items in your cart, but not checking out. Basically telling the store that you like this item, but not committing to it because of the price. Some will then send a voucher to lock you in.

      I've found and purchased some really good deals via personalised ads, all things I was and needed to buy anyway.

      Like credit cards, you need self control.

  • franco cozzo on 29/11/2022 - 12:49

    never did before …even less likely to now

  • mboy on 29/11/2022 - 13:01
    +6

    Take it from someone who has worked in the data industry for 10+ years: the kind of tracking the OP is describing is seriously a drop in the ocean compared to how pervasively, say, Facebook and Google track their users (both within their platforms, and across other websites).

    OP if you're that worried about being tracked: closing your Google and Facebook accounts (if you do indeed have and use them) would quite literally make x1000+ difference in limiting how you're tracked online, compared to the impact that simply avoiding Cashback sites would.

    I did a big write-up of how Google and Facebook track you across websites in a thread earlier this year in case anyone's interested:
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/711557#comment-12382328

    Full disclosure, I'm a Google user and I'll continue to be. I'm not advocating not using them, just pointing out that if the OP's concerned about this, he should really be more concerned about the bigger picture.

    • Space Clown on 29/11/2022 - 13:38
      -4

      Well, I disagree with your statements because for one people deliberately turn off their adblockers and turn on third party cookies to access cashback sites.

      The Google/Facebook issue is negligible in the big sense, as most people on Ozbargain probably use an adblocker. Likely this extends to the rest of the population as well. The data collected is of a different nature.

      • mboy on 29/11/2022 - 13:54
        +2

        Ad Blockers aren't the be-all-end-all. They're good at blocking ads because they can block calls made to domains that they identify belonging to ad networks, but they're not as good as suppressing web analytics tools and website trackers from executing.

        At best, they can send 'do not track' (DNT) requests (which is what most popular browsers already do by default anyway, with the exception of Chrome which doesn't do it by default) but those requests can be ignored. Websites and trackers can choose to honour 'do not track' requests if they want, but the general consensus is that most of them don't simply because there's no legal requirement for them to.

    • Stopback on 29/11/2022 - 14:26
      +1

      I let google track my movements

      I can go back five years and see where I went

      It's a lot of information to give up but it's kinda cool knowing how far I drove or how long ago I went to the doctors

      • Clear on 30/11/2022 - 08:49
        +2

        Google Timeline. I use this for tracking time at clients for timesheets. Super useful for holidays for tracking where you went and where photos were taken.

  • [Deactivated] on 29/11/2022 - 13:20
    +1

    Is it really worth selling your own private info for some small amount of cashback?

    No.

    And that's assuming they can be trusted to manage your information at all. Some cannot.

    • Switchblade88 on 29/11/2022 - 16:25
      +1

      User image checks out

      • [Deactivated] on 29/11/2022 - 16:54

        🤣

  • [Deactivated] on 29/11/2022 - 13:39

    It depends what you mean by privacy. If you mean I will get spam calls, emails, or my data hacked and leaked to be used by identity thieves, then yes, I care. If you mean my anonymized random purchasing decisions, no I do not care at all.

    I don't use them because there's no guarantee that it will work and I'll actually get the money, not because of privacy. I'd also prefer to just get a discount instead of sharing that discount with third parties.

  • veetor on 29/11/2022 - 13:44

    I let a survey company monitor my phone and browser history for $30 in gift cards a month. At this point I've given up any expectation of privacy and only aim to maximise my return because I'd feel like a chump to be the only one not making money off my data.

    • MeesusEff on 29/11/2022 - 14:51

      I'm on that one too! I just installed it in my spare phones/tablets that my kids just watch YouTube Kids on, monitor away 😂

  • scotty on 29/11/2022 - 14:20
    +5

    Everything you do on the Internet forms data point that can be collected by someone and potentially used for commercial purpose. For example the deals you've voted on OzBargain & the deals you looked at can tell us what kind of person you are which I guess can be used for targeted advertisement. OzBargain does not have to "sell the data" either — it can sell a package to advertisers. For example "banner ads to reach out to all Eneloop voters" for 50% more CPM, and Energizer or Duracell might be interested in those…

    Just that I'm too lazy to do all these.

    Likewise, cashback sites collect actual transaction data — the brand you shopped, the product you purchased and the actual amount you spent — those are super useful data that I doubt even Google or Facebook have (unless retailers give them out willingly, or Gmail intercepts all the receipts, which I don't believe they are doing). They don't actually have to sell data either, but advertisement packages such as "send promotional emails on behalf of advertiser to users who spent $5,000 or more on computers this year". Dell, Lenovo or HP's business unit might be interested in that.

    Well. I'm still going to use cashback — Cashrewards or Shopback, whichever gives the best cashback rate at the moment. "At the risk of losing your privacy" — most people don't have any to begin with. However I'll echo what Hybroid has said, don't make it psychologically impacting your purchase decision.

    • DoctorCalculon on 29/11/2022 - 19:30
      +1

      Some good points.

      But you forget to mention none of the user information provided during sign up are ID verified.
      After the SB hack, a lot of folks would have changed to using burner emails.

      So, these cashback providers have access to your spending patterns (as do FlyBuys and Everyday Rewards).
      But do they know your legal name, DOB, address, etc. unless you willingly provide them?

      • scotty on 29/11/2022 - 22:22
        -1

        They don't know, but why should they? PII isn't the only thing that matters. Your fake persona's transaction history across multiple retailers can still have commercial value to other retailers or marketing companies.

        Yes, Flubuys & Everyday Rewards (and most loyalty programs) operate the same way, although they have smaller scope / have access to less retailers' transactions, comparing to a cashback business. Same with credit card companies. That's why "losing your privacy" probably isn't that much a big deal, because multiple parties have already had access to those data.

  • bongom on 29/11/2022 - 14:26

    You have no privacy whatsoever since the Identify and Disrupt Bill 2021 was passed by both sides of Federal Government.
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/648527

    This New Legislation Makes It Legal for Australian Police to Hack Your Devices
    https://thelatch.com.au/identify-and-disrupt-bill-2021/

  • MeesusEff on 29/11/2022 - 14:54

    I rather have personalised ads, it came in pretty handy when I was looking for a mattress during Black Friday. Rather that then getting stupid ads of stuff not in my area or 'hot sexy singles waiting for you'. Spam calls automatically blocked and spam goes into junk folder so not too fussed. Identity and password theft would be the one that annoys me

    • JimB on 29/11/2022 - 15:07

      Do you know where I can find said hot sexy singles waiting for you?

      • Switchblade88 on 29/11/2022 - 16:27
        +1

        You need to make sure it's in your search history

        "Alexa, find my hot sexy singles in my area"

      • MeesusEff on 29/11/2022 - 17:25

        According to this post, you just need to sign in to a cashback site and google it once. Then you'll have too many to handle 😉

        • JimB on 29/11/2022 - 17:32

          Too many hot sexy singles to handle?

          Sounds like a challenge

  • Sinnerator on 30/11/2022 - 08:13
    -2

    Why is it more than half the people don't care about their privacy but as soon as you post nudes of them on reddit it's all wahh this wahh that?
    Let strange pervert companies go thru your phone, pics, messages, emails and internet history = not a problem.
    Have upstanding bastions of society admire your form on reddit = big problem.

    • franco cozzo on 30/11/2022 - 09:16

      …i cant think of anything more horrendous or horrifying than nudes of redditors

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