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> This data has never been, would never be, and will never be sold/rented/etc. to advertisers. This is kind of a straw man. These valuable data sets are typica
by SquishyPanda23 6y ago
> This data has never been, would never be, and will never be sold/rented/etc. to advertisers.
This is kind of a straw man. These valuable data sets are typically kept by tech companies to keep a competitive edge. For example, not even Google sells or rents user data.
The more relevant question is "is Stripe's valuation significantly predicated on revenue it can extract from the surveillance data it's collecting?"
My guess is that the answer to this is likely yes. Fraud prevention is the current product built on this data. But it would be shocking if the company never put the data set to additional uses.
- pc 6y ago> Is Stripe's valuation significantly predicated on revenue it can extract from the surveillance data it's collecting?" No, it's not. This telemetry is useful for helping businesses avoid crippling fraud losses and we don't use or plan to use it for anything else. I don't think investors even know about it. We're perfectly happy with the business model we currently have!
- SquishyPanda23 6y agoOkay thanks for the prompt response!
- pc 6y agoHey, that's not how arguments on the internet are supposed to go :-).
- fb03 6y ago^ What an insanely good interaction, right here.
- SquishyPanda23 6y agoHaha :) I'll take this moment to say I appreciate how active you've been on HN responding to questions every time a Stripe article pops up. I realize this can't be very fun for you to have this as the top result for the last however many hours.
- pc 6y agoIt's not super fun per se but Stripe is an important infrastructure service and scrutiny comes with the territory. I'm always happy to answer questions.
- chaps 6y agoI'm assuming that you store the info for a length of time. Just a couple questions, if I may: If Stripe is ever purchased or goes bankrupt, can you provide any reasonable assurances that this data won't be sold? If your company ever receives a search warrant for those records, how will you respond? Not really looking for in-depth answers! Thanks!
- zelphirkalt 6y agoWell, you are just 1 person though. Can you speak for the (potentially secret, never spoken until it is that time) mind of other founders and the ideas of investors now and forever in the future? That seems rather unlikely. The problem is also, that the damage done, when/if the data at some point is sold or hacked or whatever, cannot be properly compensated. What is your personal skin in the game, if that happens, besides going for a new, probably high paid job ('cause of impressive CV of being founder of Stripe)?
- dirtydroog 6y agoWhat user data doesn't google sell? https://developers.google.com/authorized-buyers/rtb/downloads/realtime-bidding-proto.txt https://developers.google.com/authorized-buyers/rtb/download...
- Gigablah 6y agoCan you point me to a page where I can buy that data?
- dirtydroog 6y agoYou have to register to receive their advertising feed.
- Rastonbury 6y agoTo be honest, Stripe does not need this data. To provide functionality, they collect all data on card payments, who's paying, who's the seller, seller volume. They can see which cards are used across which services and the like. Tracking mouse clicks and URLs is auxiliary imo would not move the needle for them right now, unless they move into advertising (not impossible long term, if they go public).
- thw0rted 6y agoThe cofounder says that the data they're collecting is part of the algorithm that has reduced their fraud numbers, and gives concrete data. Either they do need the data, or he's just outright lying, over and over, all across this thread.