4 ms·

Interesting to read about the story behind this. I recently tried to use Airbnb to get a last minute spot in Boston. The most annoying part of the ID process wa

by graue 13y ago

Interesting to read about the story behind this. I recently tried to use Airbnb to get a last minute spot in Boston. The most annoying part of the ID process was that it acted like everything was cool, let me browse the site, let me make a reservation and put in my credit card info, and only then told me to give them tons of extra info before they would process the reservation. I actually tried to go through their process and it was quite draconian. They ask for tons of stuff. Last 4 of SSN was one part, and they also asked questions about streets I lived on years ago, specifically, which county those streets are in. They must have a contract with someone who has a database of this kind of stuff. But I got through that and was hung up on the last step, "Online ID", which requires a Facebook account (don't use it under my real last name), LinkedIn account (don't have one), or recording an introduction video (not possible while I'm sitting in a busy coffeeshop, also seemed like a pretty absurd ask). At this point I wanted to bail out but there was no "Cancel Reservation" button anywhere and they had my CC info hostage. So I had to close my whole account. By the way, this was an account I had previously used to book an Airbnb place with no problems, and got a positive review from the guy. The surprise ID requirements struck me as manipulative, as if they knew if they'd asked for all this stuff before I booked a night, I wouldn't have used their site. So they pretended they were going to hook me up with a room, then sprung this out of nowhere.

jrockway 13y ago
The "creepy questions" are a pretty standard identity verification scheme. If you ever open a bank or brokerage account online, you'll probably be asked these. They're used because they're simple and work reasonably well. Anyone can steal or guess the last four digits of your SSN or driver's license, but it's harder to learn random details of your life. (Then again, I recently answered the creepy questions for a friend of mine, so it's not protection against someone you know stealing your identity.) I don't know why Airbnb needs to know your identity, but I could come up with some reasons. Imagine someone signs up under your name as a host, and their first guests have their laptops stolen. Your name is going to appear on that police report, and that's a pain for you. If the whole fake identity scam can be nipped in the bud, though, this won't happen as often, making life easier for more than just Airbnb's users. I don't think that's a terrible thing. In a business where you're having total strangers stay in your house, is it really an invasion of privacy to ask you to verify you are who you say you are? This isn't an online blogging service or something, after all.
- amirmc 13y ago
  "In a business where you're having total strangers stay in your house, is it really an invasion of privacy to ask you to verify you are who you say you are?" Part of the complaint is that guests have been booking (and getting positive reviews) without such all-encompasing knowledge of said guest's personal history. Hosts have evidently been fine with this too. In other words, what problem is this change solving (because it's not solving the guest's problem and some hosts are arguing it reduces bookings for them). If it were in the power of the host to ask Airbnb to hold additional information on guests, then the situation would be completely different. You could then decide for yourself how much knowledge you're willing to provide (as a guest) or how 'verified' you want your guests to be (as a host). That doesn't seem to be the case here.
- JonnieCache 13y ago
  >but it's harder to learn random details of your life It's obviously not that hard, because airbnb are verifying the answers. I'm guessing any identity thief worth their salt has a way to buy rows from that dataset at a cheap rate.
- marcos123 13y ago
  > but it's harder to learn random details of your life. I wouldn't lean on that assumption for too much longer. It's becoming easier and easier for that to happen, especially when one naively gives out those random details to any form that pops up on their computer screen (...even if the creators of that form have a cool story about making amateur breakfast cereals).
- bm98 13y ago
  The "creepy questions" -- in the USA at least -- are just another revenue stream for the three credit reporting agencies. They (or third party companies paying them for the data) pull data from your credit report and then ask multiple-choice questions based on the data. It's absurdly insecure given the large number of people who have subscription access to credit reports (landlords, car dealerships, employers, etc.). Even more ridiculous is that the questions are based on data that is often false. A scammer who applies for a credit card in your name provides a false address; that false address is added to your credit report and now can become part of the identity verification scheme. And of course the onus is on you to fix the bad data held by these companies.
jimworm 13y ago
As a nomad, those address questions would be impossible for me to answer. This is particularly relevant because in 2013 I've started using Airbnb 100% of the time. Any others like me hit by this requirement will have to stop using Airbnb altogether, and while it's certain that we'll be a very small minority of users, we might still add up to a significant percentage in lost revenue.

by graue 13y ago

jrockway 13y ago

The "creepy questions" are a pretty standard identity verification scheme. If you ever open a bank or brokerage account online, you'll probably be asked these. They're used because they're simple and work reasonably well. Anyone can steal or guess the last four digits of your SSN or driver's license, but it's harder to learn random details of your life. (Then again, I recently answered the creepy questions for a friend of mine, so it's not protection against someone you know stealing your identity.) I don't know why Airbnb needs to know your identity, but I could come up with some reasons. Imagine someone signs up under your name as a host, and their first guests have their laptops stolen. Your name is going to appear on that police report, and that's a pain for you. If the whole fake identity scam can be nipped in the bud, though, this won't happen as often, making life easier for more than just Airbnb's users. I don't think that's a terrible thing. In a business where you're having total strangers stay in your house, is it really an invasion of privacy to ask you to verify you are who you say you are? This isn't an online blogging service or something, after all.

amirmc 13y ago
"In a business where you're having total strangers stay in your house, is it really an invasion of privacy to ask you to verify you are who you say you are?" Part of the complaint is that guests have been booking (and getting positive reviews) without such all-encompasing knowledge of said guest's personal history. Hosts have evidently been fine with this too. In other words, what problem is this change solving (because it's not solving the guest's problem and some hosts are arguing it reduces bookings for them). If it were in the power of the host to ask Airbnb to hold additional information on guests, then the situation would be completely different. You could then decide for yourself how much knowledge you're willing to provide (as a guest) or how 'verified' you want your guests to be (as a host). That doesn't seem to be the case here.
JonnieCache 13y ago
>but it's harder to learn random details of your life It's obviously not that hard, because airbnb are verifying the answers. I'm guessing any identity thief worth their salt has a way to buy rows from that dataset at a cheap rate.
marcos123 13y ago
> but it's harder to learn random details of your life. I wouldn't lean on that assumption for too much longer. It's becoming easier and easier for that to happen, especially when one naively gives out those random details to any form that pops up on their computer screen (...even if the creators of that form have a cool story about making amateur breakfast cereals).
bm98 13y ago
The "creepy questions" -- in the USA at least -- are just another revenue stream for the three credit reporting agencies. They (or third party companies paying them for the data) pull data from your credit report and then ask multiple-choice questions based on the data. It's absurdly insecure given the large number of people who have subscription access to credit reports (landlords, car dealerships, employers, etc.). Even more ridiculous is that the questions are based on data that is often false. A scammer who applies for a credit card in your name provides a false address; that false address is added to your credit report and now can become part of the identity verification scheme. And of course the onus is on you to fix the bad data held by these companies.

jimworm 13y ago

As a nomad, those address questions would be impossible for me to answer. This is particularly relevant because in 2013 I've started using Airbnb 100% of the time. Any others like me hit by this requirement will have to stop using Airbnb altogether, and while it's certain that we'll be a very small minority of users, we might still add up to a significant percentage in lost revenue.