Out of a reflex of distrust, I refuse to participate in any kind of loyalty program of the outlet of the large retail store around the corner.
I tell myself that by refusing to join the loyalty program (which basically comes down to scanning an anonymous loyalty card every time I make a purchase), I prevent them from adding my correlations (what products I buy, in what combos, at what time) to their data.
But since I normally pay by card, I guess they can (and do) already do that with my bank account information?
If I would pay with cash, they can still see those correlations per purchase, but they can’t track my purchases over time?
- HobbitFoot ( @HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club ) English14•22 days ago
To the point where Target could figure out when someone was pregnant based on what they purchased.
- Brad ( @Brad@beehaw.org ) 4•22 days ago
It’s absolutely possible. It would depend on the store but I’m guessing a store that has a loyalty program is interested enough in analyzing customer data that they would use your credit card as a unique identifier of you as a customer, especially for transactions where there wasn’t a loyalty number entered.
- ⚛️ Color 🎨 ( @Corno@lemm.ee ) English2•22 days ago
It probably depends on the store. I habitually pay via physical money, because in the event of a cyberattack I can still use it.
- 10_0 ( @10_0@lemmy.ml ) 1•21 days ago
They use the loyalty card, because you accept the t and c of it when you use it