Tesco are profiling you, even if you dont shop there

[AlanG]

Guardian article

exert

Tesco is quietly building a profile of you, along with every individual in the country - a map of personality, travel habits, shopping preferences and even how charitable and eco-friendly you are. A subsidiary of the supermarket chain has set up a database, called Crucible, that is collating detailed information on every household in the UK, whether they choose to shop at the retailer or not.

....


When it comes to my personal information, I'm a natural paranoid. So when signing up for a Tesco Clubcard to get those cashback vouchers and offers, I made a point of providing as little information as the application would allow.

No matter. According to Tesco's disclosures under the Data Protection Act (DPA), in the year my card was in use the supermarket managed to build a substantial - if rather wayward - portrait of this reluctant shopper's habits. A formal DPA request, followed by numerous letters to and fro, a terse telephone conversation and finally, a fax explaining that, yes, this information would be used in a journalistic exercise, finally produced two sides of information.

I dont know whats more scary, that they are profilign you by buying info from other companies even if you dont shop there or they try to hide the info through various systems to bypass Data Protection legislation to allow you access to what infi they store on you.

Seeing as I dont have a clubcard but live with 3 people who do I wonder what they think about me?

Although Ive just remembered I signed up with my address as abertay uni whilst checking out their shoppign system at uni for a project

[Rebelius]

Resistance is futile.

seriously though, tesco are taking over. It's great. I don't have a clubcard, my girlfriend does though, and it gets us 10% off all our shopping cos she's a tesco employee.

Come to think about it, their profile for Sarah is going to be very wrong. They'll have her as living in Kirrie, working in edinburgh and eating a hell of a lot of food for 1 girl.

I like tesco, they're good people to work for. Good starting wage, good safe working environment, time and a half on sundays, plenty of overtime available. Much better than the coop or washing dishes in a hotel which seemed to be what most people at school did.

[RealR]

Soon their statements will contain reccommended purchases (like amazon doies, which id a good thing) as well as setting you a list of possible matching single people based on shopping habits and err personality ~but when they take over the world they'll force people who dont match to marry so we have to spend more there.~

I have to admit, having my information and shopping habits on a database doesn't bother me. I have a spam filter on my email so they cant annoy me there with offers and junk mail comes in handy when you are out of bog roll.

On a plus note of tesco having all your information... when the next census thing comes out i can just write "phone tesco, i'm account number...."

~~ no [s][/s] tags (or in html... <s></s>)

[Rebelius]

maybe one day, there'll be little machines just inside the door and you punch in your number and get a personal "common items" list so you dont even have to write your own shopping list.

[RealR]

Originally Posted by Rebelius

maybe one day, there'll be little machines just inside the door and you punch in your number and get a personal "common items" list so you dont even have to write your own shopping list.

or combined with ID cards you just wake up, swipe your card and food is ordered.

seriously though. i dont think this is too bad. its not respectful of people's privacy but our phone calls and emails are no doubt being monitored by someone somewhere (should they choose to) for "national security" reasons, plus some hackers, so if companies have my details and can use it to make shopping easier then meh better than people using my data to hack my life

[deadmike]

the information they collect is probably benefiting us in a lot of unexpected ways. supermarkets may pretend to be big and tough, but the reality is, we buy what what we want, so if they dont stock it theyre shit out of luck. building up shoppers profiles can only give us more of what we want.

i shop regularly at tesco's and genuinely think its the best supermarket around.

also i dont give a toss if some file somewhere knows that i buy a jumbo pack of french ticklers and litre bottle of water based eazie lube.

whats more frightning is the "freedom of info act". one day some young anarchist is going to catch on to this and cause all sorts of mayhem. my mate works for the council and he says if someone wants every planing application for perth for the last 50 years, hes got to provide it in 28 days. thats just insane.

[gord]

Originally Posted by Rebelius

Resistance is futile.

seriously though, tesco are taking over. It's great. I don't have a clubcard, my girlfriend does though, and it gets us 10% off all our shopping cos she's a tesco employee.

I like tesco, they're good people to work for. Good starting wage, good safe working environment, time and a half on sundays, plenty of overtime available. Much better than the coop or washing dishes in a hotel which seemed to be what most people at school did.

Agreed.

Tesco are doing well now, but they won't always do well. Look at Marks and Spencer for example. All the anti-capitalists and friends of the earth groups will have to find another target eventually. Hopefully themselves.

[Thanatos]

Tesco have to have my details because of the new soviet advert


a) i may be interested in buying a dress
b) i dress sovietcore an love sovietness (not the shitty designer laber one)
c) tesco have cctv in my bedroom....... :-o (tesco value porn)
d)most likely.. i have a clubcard. therefor they have my details

[Lynnie]

Originally Posted by Thanatos

Tesco have to have my details because of the new soviet advert


a) i may be interested in buying a dress
b) i dress sovietcore an love sovietness (not the shitty designer laber one)
c) tesco have cctv in my bedroom....... :-o (tesco value porn)
d)most likely.. i have a clubcard. therefor they have my details

so thats you i watch on my lonley friday nights

Tesco is ace, you can go in for bread and come out with toys and some cheap dvds and a dvd player to watch them on all for like £50 and they sell cute mini pink calculators that are very handy at work

[Thanatos]

Originally Posted by Lynnie

so thats you i watch on my lonley friday nights

its a stunt double

[odium]

me in a german shirt

[odium]

Originally Posted by deadmike

i shop regularly at tesco's and genuinely think its the best supermarket around.

.

just how much are they paying you?

[gabrillowise]

Originally Posted by gord

All the anti-capitalists and friends of the earth groups will have to find another target eventually. Hopefully themselves.