Loyalty cards - Invading our privacy?
It was said by David Blunkett that loyalty cards which we sign up for readily are much scarier in term of privacy issues than national identity cards. He said it was about time someone looked into how the personal data was stored by such operators.
How much information do these cards keep about us and are they truly comparable to ID cards?
Government ID cards would contain biometrics like fingerprints and iris scans and be compulsory by 2013 and would hold information from medical details, benefit entitlements and possibly criminal records and be available to the police and the necessary authorities.
But how much information do loyalty cards really store about us and is it fair to compare them to state ID cards?
Schemes like Nectar are voluntary and collect limited personal information on shopping habits and are regulated by the Data Protection Act of 1988.
Basic information like name, address, sex, and contact details are provided on sign up and people can choose to opt out of certain questions they are uncomfortable with like numbers in the household, number of cars etc.
Members can also choose whether or not to provide additional information such as how many people there are in their household, how many cars they own and where they shop.
After this, when the card is used to collect points, details of the date, location and points earned - but not what was actually bought - are sent to Nectar.
The data is stored in one of the country’s largest databases and is not shared or sold on. An explanation of what the data will be used for is provided on sign up and opt out options are provided.
Brian Sinclair, Loyalty Management UK’s client services director, says:
Not only do we not collect information on what brand of toothpaste you’re buying but to be honest, we don’t care.
We do not capture information about what’s actually in people’s shopping baskets, though others may do.
However, members, such as Sainsbury’s may also use the scheme to gain more detailed information on the products bought, which they will be used for marketing purposes.
