3 ms·

It isn't, which is why I'm surprised more people don't opt out of those things. Both physical analytics and electronic analytics are reprehensible, imo.

superuser2 15y ago
Really? It's "reprehensible" for a website to know how many people visit, what countries they come from, what pages they spend most time on, what buttons are most effective, etc? Tracking between unaffiliated websites is a different story, but the mall is only tracking our movements around the mall, just like any website that gives a damn about user experience is going to track you around its pages.
- politician 15y ago
  This information is sufficient to track you through unrelated visits to the mall, and paired with CCTV video, sufficient to associate you with your face. It's also a small step to associate you with your credit card purchases at various stores.
  - nl 15y ago
    It's also a small step to associate you with your credit card purchases at various stores You do realize that they (the credit card companies) already do this (and have for years), right?
    - politician 15y ago
      Do they have your face on file? Do they provide this purchasing information to malls?
billpatrianakos 15y ago
I don't see it as the least bit reprehensible. See, I'm not one to care much about tracking and privacy like others are. Some people just hate any tracking at all and want total privacy. I'm not them. At the same time though this does concern me. This mall thing really is innocent. They're trying to maximize profits and provide a better experience for the customers. Fine. Same with website Analytics. It gets scary when you think of the future implications of this. In an ideal world we would be okay with this kind of tracking and we'd be confident that they won't pry too far. But we don't live in that world. We're dealing with people who will see that they can get this innocent and totally legit data and then begin to push the limits to the point where people's privacy truly is being invaded. So this stuff is cool with me but I'm also prepared for something more sinister to come down the pipeline in the future.
seanp2k2 15y ago
>"which is why I'm surprised more people don't opt out of those things." Because people don't know about them. That's also why there isn't more public backlash -- they're just doing what they can [barely] get away with legally.

superuser2 15y ago

Really? It's "reprehensible" for a website to know how many people visit, what countries they come from, what pages they spend most time on, what buttons are most effective, etc? Tracking between unaffiliated websites is a different story, but the mall is only tracking our movements around the mall, just like any website that gives a damn about user experience is going to track you around its pages.

politician 15y ago
This information is sufficient to track you through unrelated visits to the mall, and paired with CCTV video, sufficient to associate you with your face. It's also a small step to associate you with your credit card purchases at various stores.
- nl 15y ago
  It's also a small step to associate you with your credit card purchases at various stores You do realize that they (the credit card companies) already do this (and have for years), right?
  - politician 15y ago
    Do they have your face on file? Do they provide this purchasing information to malls?

billpatrianakos 15y ago

I don't see it as the least bit reprehensible. See, I'm not one to care much about tracking and privacy like others are. Some people just hate any tracking at all and want total privacy. I'm not them. At the same time though this does concern me. This mall thing really is innocent. They're trying to maximize profits and provide a better experience for the customers. Fine. Same with website Analytics. It gets scary when you think of the future implications of this. In an ideal world we would be okay with this kind of tracking and we'd be confident that they won't pry too far. But we don't live in that world. We're dealing with people who will see that they can get this innocent and totally legit data and then begin to push the limits to the point where people's privacy truly is being invaded. So this stuff is cool with me but I'm also prepared for something more sinister to come down the pipeline in the future.

seanp2k2 15y ago

>"which is why I'm surprised more people don't opt out of those things." Because people don't know about them. That's also why there isn't more public backlash -- they're just doing what they can [barely] get away with legally.