4 ms·

Home Depot sent my email, details of stuff I bought to Meta, customer complains

58 points by LinuxBender 4y ago

MiddleEndian 4y ago
Doesn't surprise me at all. I've seen suspicious Facebook newsfeed items based on things I've purchased from them. Meanwhile, when I had Home Depot manage a kitchen counter installation for me, they called me on the phone and left me a voicemail telling me to call their installer people and tell them my email address. Some serious incompetence for a department that already knew my name when I gave them my number, and a company that has no problem sending me multiple emails after I buy a pack of screws.
- bluefirebrand 4y ago
  I've just started refusing to tell retail workers my email address at checkout. I'm buying a product from your store, I might not ever set foot in here again. I certainly don't need your company to contact me for any reason, I don't need you building a profile on me, I don't need you telling ad networks who I am and what I bought. Every now and then I get a pushy retail worker trying to convince me that I should just give my number or email or whatever and I usually make a note not to shop there anymore.
  - reaperducer 4y ago
    Every now and then I get a pushy retail worker trying to convince me that I should just give my number or email or whatever and I usually make a note not to shop there anymore. I tell them that I just moved and haven't set up my e-mail yet. That sees plausible enough to get me out of most situations. For the phone number, I have the number of a payphone at the county jail memorized. It doesn't take incoming calls. The reason the minimum-wage worker is hassling you so hard is because at some stores, if you don't collect enough customer contact data, you can get fired. I had a relative who worked at Macy's once, and this was a regular threat.
    - bluefirebrand 4y ago
      > The reason the minimum-wage worker is hassling you so hard is because at some stores, if you don't collect enough customer contact data, you can get fired Yea, I know. And I do have empathy for their position. I've worked retail and I used to get in trouble if I let a customer buy a laptop without pushing extended warranties on them. So I get it. I guess I just hope they don't hold it against me for not giving them my personal info just like I never held it against customers who didn't buy extended warranties
  - MiddleEndian 4y ago
    I don't tell any new people my email, but Home Depot already has mine for whatever reason. So be it. But since I needed to sync up with the installers and they already had the email, why not share it internally? Perhaps it was stored in some PII category that could only be used to advertise at customers but help them.
  - sebastien_b 4y ago
    “Hey Siri, remind me to not walk into this store when I’m near it” (as the salesrep continues with the pressure tactics)
somethoughts 4y ago
What I'm surprised about is this seems like it would be significant, highly proprietary intellectual property for Home Depot. Facebook is highly likely tagging those users as "home improvement interested users" and targeting entities buying ad placement for home improvement goods/remodeling services (i.e. Lowes and independent remodeling contractors) who would compete directly against Home Depot itself. Or at minimum its recursive because Home Depot's marketing side will probably at some point pay Facebook extra for this data.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- austinpena 4y ago
  It’s a symbiotic relationship. By providing Meta with this data, Home Depot is better able to target future buyers with more relevant ads. The reason Meta became such an advertising powerhouse is its ability to target. Targeting is made much better through the passing of “positive” signals.
austinpena 4y ago
Meta receives this kind of data from nearly every online store. Oftentimes it’s done through server side integrations which are completely unblockable by ad blocks. (Meta Conversions API) This system is available for other giants like TikTok and Snap, and to a lesser extent Google. For google you have to take extra steps to get around ad blockers. I would be surprised if any retailer spending money on meta ads DIDN’T do this. On a related note, I’m curious, why don’t ad blockers mess with the window datalayer? As far as I’m aware serverside Google Ta Manager tracking implementations rely on pushing to the datalayer on the client.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
SturgeonsLaw 4y ago
> Home Depot also referenced "consent fatigue" as a rationale for why, at the time the customer requested an e-receipt, it did not notify them of its practices of sharing information with Meta Man, they're skipping right past "just give them another consent button to click, they won't read it anyway" and going straight to "who cares if they consented, let's just do it". Anyone else noticed a continued pattern in the last couple of decades of wealthy corporations and individuals getting really flagrant with their abusive practices as they get more and more comfortable with the idea that they won't face any real punishment for their actions?
- klyrs 4y ago
  Consent fatigue = "I got sick of asking for consent and hearing 'no'"
ycombinatornews 4y ago
Someone randomly orders stuff from HomeDepot using my email. Different address and different (not mine) payment methods. Real orders. Real stuff. HomeDepot doesn’t do a thing about this. Either a glitch and user data mixup or some advanced scam
- tqkxzugoaupvwqr 4y ago
  If you feel adventurous, reset the account password and cancel the orders or close the account.
jeegsy 4y ago
I request paper receipts every time. Now I know I had the right idea
lazyeye 4y ago
This happens all the time. Anytime you join any kind of buyer rewards club you are probably giving them permission to upload your shopping history to Facebook. This happened to me almost 10 years ago.

58 points by LinuxBender 4y ago

Doesn't surprise me at all. I've seen suspicious Facebook newsfeed items based on things I've purchased from them. Meanwhile, when I had Home Depot manage a kitchen counter installation for me, they called me on the phone and left me a voicemail telling me to call their installer people and tell them my email address. Some serious incompetence for a department that already knew my name when I gave them my number, and a company that has no problem sending me multiple emails after I buy a pack of screws.

bluefirebrand 4y ago
I've just started refusing to tell retail workers my email address at checkout. I'm buying a product from your store, I might not ever set foot in here again. I certainly don't need your company to contact me for any reason, I don't need you building a profile on me, I don't need you telling ad networks who I am and what I bought. Every now and then I get a pushy retail worker trying to convince me that I should just give my number or email or whatever and I usually make a note not to shop there anymore.
- reaperducer 4y ago
  Every now and then I get a pushy retail worker trying to convince me that I should just give my number or email or whatever and I usually make a note not to shop there anymore. I tell them that I just moved and haven't set up my e-mail yet. That sees plausible enough to get me out of most situations. For the phone number, I have the number of a payphone at the county jail memorized. It doesn't take incoming calls. The reason the minimum-wage worker is hassling you so hard is because at some stores, if you don't collect enough customer contact data, you can get fired. I had a relative who worked at Macy's once, and this was a regular threat.
  - bluefirebrand 4y ago
    > The reason the minimum-wage worker is hassling you so hard is because at some stores, if you don't collect enough customer contact data, you can get fired Yea, I know. And I do have empathy for their position. I've worked retail and I used to get in trouble if I let a customer buy a laptop without pushing extended warranties on them. So I get it. I guess I just hope they don't hold it against me for not giving them my personal info just like I never held it against customers who didn't buy extended warranties
- MiddleEndian 4y ago
  I don't tell any new people my email, but Home Depot already has mine for whatever reason. So be it. But since I needed to sync up with the installers and they already had the email, why not share it internally? Perhaps it was stored in some PII category that could only be used to advertise at customers but help them.
- sebastien_b 4y ago
  “Hey Siri, remind me to not walk into this store when I’m near it” (as the salesrep continues with the pressure tactics)

somethoughts 4y ago

What I'm surprised about is this seems like it would be significant, highly proprietary intellectual property for Home Depot. Facebook is highly likely tagging those users as "home improvement interested users" and targeting entities buying ad placement for home improvement goods/remodeling services (i.e. Lowes and independent remodeling contractors) who would compete directly against Home Depot itself. Or at minimum its recursive because Home Depot's marketing side will probably at some point pay Facebook extra for this data.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
austinpena 4y ago
It’s a symbiotic relationship. By providing Meta with this data, Home Depot is better able to target future buyers with more relevant ads. The reason Meta became such an advertising powerhouse is its ability to target. Targeting is made much better through the passing of “positive” signals.

austinpena 4y ago

Meta receives this kind of data from nearly every online store. Oftentimes it’s done through server side integrations which are completely unblockable by ad blocks. (Meta Conversions API) This system is available for other giants like TikTok and Snap, and to a lesser extent Google. For google you have to take extra steps to get around ad blockers. I would be surprised if any retailer spending money on meta ads DIDN’T do this. On a related note, I’m curious, why don’t ad blockers mess with the window datalayer? As far as I’m aware serverside Google Ta Manager tracking implementations rely on pushing to the datalayer on the client.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

SturgeonsLaw 4y ago

> Home Depot also referenced "consent fatigue" as a rationale for why, at the time the customer requested an e-receipt, it did not notify them of its practices of sharing information with Meta Man, they're skipping right past "just give them another consent button to click, they won't read it anyway" and going straight to "who cares if they consented, let's just do it". Anyone else noticed a continued pattern in the last couple of decades of wealthy corporations and individuals getting really flagrant with their abusive practices as they get more and more comfortable with the idea that they won't face any real punishment for their actions?

klyrs 4y ago
Consent fatigue = "I got sick of asking for consent and hearing 'no'"

ycombinatornews 4y ago

Someone randomly orders stuff from HomeDepot using my email. Different address and different (not mine) payment methods. Real orders. Real stuff. HomeDepot doesn’t do a thing about this. Either a glitch and user data mixup or some advanced scam

tqkxzugoaupvwqr 4y ago
If you feel adventurous, reset the account password and cancel the orders or close the account.

jeegsy 4y ago

I request paper receipts every time. Now I know I had the right idea

lazyeye 4y ago

This happens all the time. Anytime you join any kind of buyer rewards club you are probably giving them permission to upload your shopping history to Facebook. This happened to me almost 10 years ago.