Security News > 2020 > January > Customer Tracking at Ralphs Grocery Store

To comply with California's new data privacy law, companies that collect information on consumers and users are forced to be more transparent about it.

The form proceeds to state that, as part of signing up for a rewards card, Ralphs "May collect" information such as "Your level of education, type of employment, information about your health and information about insurance coverage you might carry."

It says Ralphs may pry into "Financial and payment information like your bank account, credit and debit card numbers, and your credit history."

Ralphs says it's gathering "Behavioral information" such as "Your purchase and transaction histories" and "Geolocation data," which could mean the specific Ralphs aisles you browse or could mean the places you go when not shopping for groceries, thanks to the tracking capability of your smartphone.

Other information? This can include files from "Consumer research firms" ­- read: professional data brokers ­- and "Public databases," such as property records and bankruptcy filings.

News URL

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2020/01/customer_tracki.html