Countdown's 'Everyday Rewards' Card & Your Privacy: Don't Say I Haven't Warned You

If this doesn't creep you out, I don't know what will.

In a recent commentary - https://www.thecustomer.co.nz/supermarket-loyalty-cards-food-for-thought - I wrote of my suspicions about the new "Everyday Rewards" card that Countdown is pushing at customers (who can no longer use their One Card, which didn't require formal registration if you didn't want to, and which also now incorporates and replaces the former "Smart Fuel" card offered by BP service stations).

Clearly, the discounts they tempt (almost coerce by their "specials" pricing structure, in my opinion) shoppers with, to sign up to have their data reaped and their privacy obliterated, must be well outstripped by the variety of profits they make from said data.

This "data" that the almost-always-unread-by-customers fine print says they can collect and use, includes (and is probably not even limited to) your phone number and address, your licence plate, video of you, audio recordings of you, your date of birth, and your IP address.

Fully creeped out yet? You should be.

According to a New Zealand Herald article, these conditions are "tucked away under a privacy policy link in the terms and conditions of Everyday Rewards".

But "Woolworths states video footage and audio recordings are used for security, theft prevention and safety purposes only."

Yeah, right.

And "other information gathered online and in-store can be used so the supermarket knows 'what, how and when you buy from us and your stated or likely preferences”.

The Herald article says that the Office of the Privacy Commissioner has voiced concerns and said part of the Privacy Act required agencies to be “open and transparent about what personal information they collect”, which requires a company to be "more proactive than just putting it in deep in their privacy policy”.

Still quoting the Herald article:

"The use of CCTV and audio capture came with great responsibility and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner said those who operated the recordings needed to be aware of how to manage privacy issues.

“We always recommend that agencies minimise the amount of personal information they collect. Any information that is collected should also be securely disposed of once it’s no longer needed for the organisation’s purpose."

The Privacy Commissioner says that if facial recognition or staff body cameras are used, signage alerting the shopper to the fact they are being filmed needed to be prominent in-store.

Here's How the Sneaky Bastards Get Away With It (Which Is Contrary to the Privacy Commissioner's Advice)

A "Woolworths spokesman" claims the chain takes customer privacy and data security very seriously (of course) and "is mindful of its obligations under the Privacy Act".

Yeah, right.

SO mindful, in fact, that (continuing quoting him from the Herald article):

“Our privacy policy is easily accessible from a range of areas: there are privacy pages on both the Woolworths and Everyday Rewards websites, a direct link to the privacy policy upon registration for an Everyday Rewards memberships and the policy is included in the first couple of paragraphs of both the online and EDR T&Cs,” he said.

“There are also FAQs on the Woolworths Privacy Centre, which references video footage, audio and number plates as information collected.”

Like, we all live to dive deeply into the legalese on Woolworths' / Countdown's privacy policy pages and associated detail hide-outs, right?

It Gets Worse - Now You're On Staff's Body Cams, Too

Wooworths says that - when you're being recorded on staff's body cams - you'll be “verbally advised that it is being turned on”.

Supposedly, that part of the new Countdown shopping experience is only for acts or threats of aggression.

But if you trust these people, that's on you. I most certainly DO NOT. And I most certainly object even more strongly now to having their incredibly invasive data-gathering-and-compilation offer shoved down my throat on every visit.

I'd rather forego the "discounts" and pay full price. Although, I doubt that prevents them from scraping up your data any way they can, all the same.

This is getting more and more Big Brother all the time, don't you think? As if they don't already make enough profit from your purchases and the opportunism of the duopoly they enjoy in New Zealand's supermarket "sector".

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