Starbucks Forces Wi-Fi Customers to Cough Up Personal Data

Megalith

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Starbucks customers who wish to take advantage of their local coffeehouse’s free Wi-Fi will have to provide a name, email address, and zip code going forward. While there seems to be nothing stopping visitors from giving false information, some are wary of the change, as the chain sees millions of customers, all of whom could potentially be mined based on the privacy policy.

As Starbucks begins to mine that data, will it end up creating the kind of personal profiles or customer “buckets” that Facebook, credit bureaus, and firms like Cambridge Analytica have fashioned? That’s probably inevitable. Will it sell that information? It will certainly share the data with third parties.
 
Companies already have this information and more when you download their reward apps anyway. Makes sense if they aren't going to charge for wifi, they'll be sending you emails with advertisements I'm sure.
 
This really doesn't bother me- as stated above, they're going to get this anyway. Further, it's not like legitimate advertising emails are actually a problem these days.

If I can get a cup of decent mocha and still get 20Mbps-30Mbps while using a VPN, I'm okay with that.
 
Any rewards member has their information already out there.
 
Makes me glad I never developed a taste for coffee.

This is just the beginning really. A lot of people are getting behind Kasperskys' online passport idea. I really wouldn't be surprised for that to become reality in the next 10 years or so.
 
I work for Starbucks in the Austin area and all I can say is, "We're doomed! DOOMED I say." When I got to work that day and was prompted to type in my info I gave them my high school email, fake name, and a random area code. All I got to say is thank god for VPN's.
 
So well they reduce their prices for coffee with this new revenue stream? Ha ha.
 
Well I'm not going to get hung up on them not putting an asterisk next to the word "Free" on their Free WiFi sign. Especially for a place that basically has people camping out for periods of time that well extends beyond how fast they can drink a cup of coffee, and in some cases not drinking any coffee at all.
 
I don't care. I have never even been to a Starbucks (I don't drink coffee) and don't plan on it any time soon. I don't have a problem with this anyway as you are providing some basic info for a service.
 
Just provide information from any people who work for Starbucks that you know :) ...
 
Sorry for noob question, but why is using a VPN at a public hot spot so important to you guys?
 
Sorry for noob question, but why is using a VPN at a public hot spot so important to you guys?

Public Wifi is open to all, you can pop open a packet sniffer near one and collect all the unencrypted data being sent around. On the most basic level, you open yourself up to everyday intrusion via shared files and services. At the more complex, even if they are using https you can still see the websites they are visiting and many times can piggyback on their connection to impersonate them on websites as you both are indistinguishable from each other as far as servers can tell. One snagged cookie is all that it takes for someone to be you on your banking site, amazon account, and so on when you both share the same IP.
 
If people are stupid enough to drink their burnt over priced coffee, sure they will have no problems giving them all this info and more just so they can sit in starbucks on their device looking special..
 
I make it a point to NEVER use those free WIFI spot, it doesn't matter which kind of establishment, I simply wont connect.

Even when I go to see my friends I dont connect to their network. The only network I'll connect to from time to time is when I'm at either my dad's or mom's place since I manage their network.
Otherwise, I can use my own data when I'm not at home.
 
the worse ive encountered not only has you inputting all the data BUT to ensure data is correct, send you an unlock code by SMS
 
oh theyre taking this much further. I was at a starbucks today and noticed this mandatory sign in bullshit, so of course i filled out their stupid little form with fake info. IT KEPT SAYING PLEASE ENTER A VALID EMAIL. It fucking KNEW every junk email I submitted was trash, even one's that weren't pure gibberish but a legitimate attempt to sound like a real email like [email protected]. Every single one of them failed instantly. Then I entered a real email of mine that just so happens to be a junk address AND IT WORKED. What a load of fucking garbage. The welcome message has a big Google splash screen so Google is partnering up with Starbucks for this. In fact I think the SSID was even called "Google Starbucks", so Google really abusing their surveillance on real vs fake emails. I immediately disconnected and just used my fucking hotspot instead. Fuck google for this.
 
oh theyre taking this much further. I was at a starbucks today and noticed this mandatory sign in bullshit, so of course i filled out their stupid little form with fake info. IT KEPT SAYING PLEASE ENTER A VALID EMAIL. It fucking KNEW every junk email I submitted was trash, even one's that weren't pure gibberish but a legitimate attempt to sound like a real email like [email protected]. Every single one of them failed instantly. Then I entered a real email of mine that just so happens to be a junk address AND IT WORKED. What a load of fucking garbage. The welcome message has a big Google splash screen so Google is partnering up with Starbucks for this. In fact I think the SSID was even called "Google Starbucks", so Google really abusing their surveillance on real vs fake emails. I immediately disconnected and just used my fucking hotspot instead. Fuck google for this.
They probably try to send an email to the address immediately to confirm its real.

Just make up some BS address somewhere while in safe browsing mode on someone else's computer and just use that.
 
This is to cut down and track illegal file sharing. If they can sell the data all the better.
 
This really doesn't bother me- as stated above, they're going to get this anyway. Further, it's not like legitimate advertising emails are actually a problem these days.

If I can get a cup of decent mocha and still get 20Mbps-30Mbps while using a VPN, I'm okay with that.
Is your VPN partnered with Google?
 
Name, address, email, and phone number are a dime a dozen. If someone wants that shit they can find it. It's pocket-change as far as data value.

I mean, I won't enter mine in - but my point is simply that names and addresses isn't exactly gold anymore - no one cares about sending mail advertisements or anything.
 
If their info gathering is similar to how they put "your name" on your cup, then, it will be encrypted already.
 
I make it a point to NEVER use those free WIFI spot, it doesn't matter which kind of establishment, I simply wont connect.

Even when I go to see my friends I dont connect to their network. The only network I'll connect to from time to time is when I'm at either my dad's or mom's place since I manage their network.
Otherwise, I can use my own data when I'm not at home.


pretty much this. there is no way to know that someone sitting there hasnt overpowered the signal and placed themselves in the middle, so that you are connecting to them and all data passes through their computer before going out through the real wifi AP.
 
Starbucks customers who wish to take advantage of their local coffeehouse’s free Wi-Fi will have to provide a name, email address, and zip code going forward. While there seems to be nothing stopping visitors from giving false information, some are wary of the change, as the chain sees millions of customers, all of whom could potentially be mined based on the privacy policy.

As Starbucks begins to mine that data, will it end up creating the kind of personal profiles or customer “buckets” that Facebook, credit bureaus, and firms like Cambridge Analytica have fashioned? That’s probably inevitable. Will it sell that information? It will certainly share the data with third parties.

If the service is free you are the product...
 
This really doesn't bother me- as stated above, they're going to get this anyway. Further, it's not like legitimate advertising emails are actually a problem these days.

If I can get a cup of decent mocha and still get 20Mbps-30Mbps while using a VPN, I'm okay with that.


I have found that many "free" public wifi providers these days have found some way to kill my VPN connection. A lot of the time I just suck it up and use my mobile connection instead. It's simpler than messing with it and trying to make it work.
 
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