Does Amazon data collection go too far? |
The Alexa toolbar, part of the Amazon family, has been under fire many times before as being too intrusive and in some cases even labeled flagged still today by spyware/adware vendors as a threat concern. Amazon’s A9 search is connected with Amazon, as is 43 Things. All this data sharing happening between the sites — or at least the capability for doing so. Amazon maintains that this sharing of information is beneficial to their customers because they can customize sales material (books, movies, music, etc) and other site features based on user activity.
Hmm.
I like tracking and customization of features and I don’t have a problem with Amazon using contexual search, but I do think that they push the privacy envelope about as far as it can be pushed by not allowing me as their customer to be able to tell them what they can and can’t do with information they are collecting from me. It’s one thing if the website is free, but when they use the history of my purchasing decisions to compare and contrast to help them make sales to others that’s a really gray area. Particularly when it comes to tracking what gifts I give others. I’m not sure how relative that is if a geek buys friends a towel set. So, are they going to determine that geeks like towel sets?
I digress. Amazon, if it really wants to be looking out for its customers, should allow its customers to opt-out of tracking.
TiVO tracks stuff too, and as a former paying customer (yup, we don’t have TiVO any more after years of service) I never cared for my inability to opt out of that. Again, it’s one thing if it’s a free service tracking what I do, but when I’m paying for it, I feel like they should let me control how my purchasing information is utilyzed in their marketing.
What do you think? Do you even care what’s done with your purchase history at a website?
Did this post make you go hmm?
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I would simply point out that the American (capitalist system) is driven by consumers voting with their pocketbook. If someone doesn’t like Amazon collecting info…then DON”T GO to the site. It is not like Amazon trys to hide how info is collected. Onced signed in personalized content is all over. Do some people just think that Amazon is good at mind-reading?
As for another example: everytime we walk into a retail store and use a credit card, isn’t every big chain collecting all the info off the card swipe? Free of charge and we hand it to them. Don’t like it…pay cash.
Oh that is right the net doesn’t allow cash, hmm?
Paying with anything other than green money hands over personal information every time. So these paranoid peopele should spank it down a notch. What is so valuable that they want to protect?
Comment by J Rams — March 28, 2005 @ 4:08 pm PST
J Rams - thank you for the well thought out commentary.
You are absolutely correct about people voting with their feet and to some extent that’s what I do. Amazon loses sales from me to local retailer Best Buy on a number of fronts. My wife loves Amazon and shops there all the time and I doubt she cares how much info they are tracking about her purchases. I’m guessing most housewives feel similarly.
And as I said in the entry, I like the customization but Amazon could turn a negative into a positive by offering their *paying* customers — maybe the ones who sign up for their yearly Prime service — additional functionality to be able to opt-out of some of the data collection activity. This way they can say: “pay us more and choose the tracking *you* are comfortable.” Amazon is clearly interested in offering *free 2nd day shipping to regular, repeat customers (*via Prime) so why not use this negative as a positive and market to these privacy-minded folks who are really concerned/upset about this and perhaps not using Amazon. It might be a selling point for them.
Yes, the option for those who are *not* paying customers is quite clear: don’t visit Amazon. Don’t buy from Amazon. No company however can survive with a middle finger displayed to their customers on any issue as important as their own customer’s privacy. Yeah, sure, maybe we’re just talking about a small, fringe group of privacy freaks that are up in arms here or maybe there’s fire where there’s smoke. Time will tell.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Jeff Bezos doesn’t do something like this in the future. There’s more upside than downside.
Comment by TDavid — March 28, 2005 @ 4:46 pm PST
I started receiving junk mail at home addressed to my mother and sister. My mother and sister have never lived with me in this house, but they have sent me gifts they ordered on Amazon.com. It’s apparent that Amazon sold its mailing list to the credit bureaus who have gotten my mother and sister scores of credit card offers at my address.
Comment by LKC — April 6, 2005 @ 8:53 am PST