Check Privacy Policies at Shopping Portals
Recently I did an interview with a reporter from a West Coast newspaper for a story on shopping portals -- it hasn't run yet and we'll tell you when it does. I can make a point to this blog's readers without stealing the story from the paper: Make sure you check the privacy policies at online shopping malls and portals before you use them. Why?
Remember that one of the ways these sites make revenue is by collecting and aggregating user data and passing it on to stores in the "mall" (or to whomever wants to pay). You're going to have to give away a fair amount of information to register for the bonus programs offered by these portals, so glue some toothpicks to your eyes and actually read the privacy policies. Some of the ones we looked at for the story are ambiguous. As to whether the various types of points, bonus bucks and green stamp promotions are really worthwhile -- do they save you money? -- we'll revisit that question later.