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Comment by tensor | Hacker News Reader

I agree, and I'm really against data surveillance. The data collected in this example is exactly what I'd expect, and frankly McDonalds should have the right to collect this. If you go to a local store all the time the owner will get to know your habits, this really isn't any different.

The red lines here would be adjusting pricing for an individual based on this dossier. Also, correlating this with data obtained from elsewhere would be really bad. Sharing this data with other parties would be really bad.

I think that would be the real story here. Is this data sold to 3rd party aggregators?

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Isn't offering app-exclusive deals adjusting pricing for an individual? I feel like that's the whole point of the service. You download the app and get something for it.

Offering frequent customers discounts or free things is a practice as old as the ages. The thing that companies are trying now is the opposite. They profile you and decide how much you can and are willing to pay based on your wealth, lifestyle, and other factors, then charge you as much as they humanly can.

I literally had my internet provider try this. I was moving and went to sign up for internet at my new address so I'd have overlap and not be without internet for any amount of days. Went to their website, saw the prices, called them up.

Well, they informed me that for "me personally" they wont' give me the prices listed on the website. Instead, the only option is a much higher price. I suppose I wasn't supposed to see those lower prices. I hadn't gone to their website in years and presumably the cookies got wiped, because after I logged in and went back to the website all the prices were gone, and it just said I had to call to get a price.

Airlines have also famously tried this, and the practice is spreading. It's consumer hostile and unethical.

I've had multiple accounts with McDonalds and over time, the discounts get worse and worse.

The hook you on the cheap Big Mac Meals, or $1 McFlurry, then over time they discover you actually enjoy Big Macs, so they give you less rewards for Big Macs, as you were likely gonna buy a Big Mac at full price anyways.

If you don't visit for a while, they'll notify you of a discount personalized to you, which is just on the edge of reasonable/worthwhile. You'll head to the store and spend money you would of otherwise not.

In the long run, the data tracking is designed to make you THINK you are saving money, but you are actually worse off! There is a grace period where rewards are good, you earn points and bonus points and you break even, but after a while it goes into a manipulative state to extract every cent from you.

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