4mo ago

PayPal implements default data sharing with third parties: users must manually opt out

www.techradar.com PayPal wants to share your data – unless you do this

The change of policy has been enabled by default

Depending on where you're based, you'll find PayPal's new data-sharing option under a different name. Remember, you may not see this at all if you're based in a country that doesn't allow it.
If you're in the US, you should head to your profile Settings and tap on Data & privacy. Under Manage shared info, click on Personalized shopping. You should see the option enabled by default. Toggle off the button at the right to opt-out.
If you are in the UK like me, you'll see something different after you head to your profile Settings and tap on Data & privacy.
Under Manage your privacy settings, here you'll see an Interest-based marketing tab – click on it. At this point, two options will appear: Interest-based marketing on PayPal and Internet-based marketing on your accounts. You have to tap on each of these and toggle off the button at the right to opt-out. These instructions can also apply if you're based in the EU.

Privacy @lemmy.ml

Landless2029 @lemmy.world

4mo ago

PayPal implements default data sharing with third parties: users must manually opt out

www.techradar.com /computing/cyber-security/paypal-is-set-to-share-your-data-with-third-party-merchants-unless-you-do-this

246 15

Privacy Guides @lemmy.one

ForgottenFlux @lemmy.world

4mo ago

PayPal implements default data sharing with third parties: users must manually opt out

www.techradar.com /computing/cyber-security/paypal-is-set-to-share-your-data-with-third-party-merchants-unless-you-do-this

201 9

72 comments

In the EU this kind of automatic opting-in to marketing/data sharing is against the GDPR as it requires explicit consent from user/customer. I'm in the EU and have those settings but they were both toggled off, as expected.
- UK here and they are turned on.
  Thanks a lot, Brexit :(
  
  they are turned on
  Ooh, violate my privacy, daddy.
  
  Even if the UK is not in the EU the GDPR still applies there, just the version it got while it was in the EU tho, no revisions
  
  UK but mine were off ¯(ツ)_/¯
- Also based in the EU, and mine were turned on
  
  Can you report that somewhere?
- Spain here, and both were turned on by default. Had to deactivate.
  
  Same in Germany
- Ireland here, so EU, and both were turned on.
  
  Is your account location set in GB?
  Mine is in Germany and opted out. But I think remembering that there was already a post quite some time ago about the same thing.
- Remember, you may not see this at all if you're based in a country that doesn't allow it.
  OP mentioned this
- What if I told you this option doesn't actually get respected?
  
  Then, hopefully, PayPal can look forward to spending at the very least 2% of their worldwide revenue to pay fines.
- Thanks, i was thinking id need to go check them later today and that it was kinda illegal. Now i can be rest assured its fiiine

Starting early summer 2025, we’ll be building more personal experiences for you.
Let's just keep it professional Fintech. Thanks for the post OP.

In the app, under Data and Privacy:
- Yep, they turned it on by default. It looks like you have until Nov 27th to turn it off before they share your data.
- Let us share products, offers and rewards you might like to help stores personalize your shopping.
  This sentence is a masterpiece of omission.

Confirmed this was enabled in my account. Fuckers. Also check out your search privacy settings in your PayPal account too. Also sharing info by default.

Ah so now they're a poor steward of my data as well as my money?
- Yea, paypal is bad news all around
  I guess most people don't know most banks have electronic funds transfer, or virtual credit cards, etc.
  
  Ye, i dont know how it is worldwide but here in west europe paying online with your bank is just like paying with paypal. The only advantages paypal has over my bank is its return policy and it technically not directly linking the purchase with my personal info.
  I havent used paypal in a while tbh...
  
  I know about all of those. But so many websites only accept PayPal - especially small businesses. There's a bunch of regulatory hurdles a website doesn't have to worry about if they just have PayPal take care of everything related to payment.

Thanks, disabled. If they want this kind of info then give users a reward for it like 1-2% cashback or coupons. This is just greedy.
- They can't give a reward for a "oh shit we're running out of hedge fund money, we need to stay solvent , let's sell out our user's data"
  
  They should have thought of that before hiring Will Ferrell to be a clown in a commercial for them.

Time to find another useless account I made as young idiot and delete....
God damn I am so tired of this

They also like to just hold onto large chunks of money arbitrarily.
Oh, you're going to take it up with customer support?
Lololol.

Good post. Just turned it off. I appreciate the heads up.

Mine was off, don't know if it's because I'm in California, but I toggled it back and forth to check and left it off.
- I'm also in California and it was toggled on.
  
  No idea. But I think I'll check it again every few days

I don't even see this option on my account. Old Canadian account, but my phone/Paypal app is EU.
- Nor I, on my in-Canada account. Desktop access only; I don't have the Paypal app installed on my phone.
  The article's image shows, under Manage your privacy settings, the options:
  Permissions you've given
  Interest-based marketing (which is the option pertinent to this issue)
  Interest-based marketing on PayPal
  Interest-based marketing in your other accounts
  Blocked contactsBut my account's options are:
  Permissions you've given
  Manage your cookies
  Marketing
  Performance
  Functional
  Essential
  Blocked contacts
  Possibly the Marketing checkbox is the Canadian version of this? I've got that checkbox turned off.
  
  Same account options as yours here on mobile, marketing is also off for me.
  Thanks for comparing notes!

Off by default for me (EU)
- Was defaulted on for me (EU)
  Not a lawyer but I don't think this silent opt-in is legal.
- It was on for me in Lithuania
- On for me in the EU

US only iirc

What is someone squatted on your email, starting an unverified account attached to your email address with their phone number, but the fuckers at PayPal won't do a thing about it?
- I had someone hijack my account last year, Like a dummy, I had failed to setup 2FA. I caught it in the morning after they worked it most of the wee hours. Phone and email had been changed. I contacted PP and to my surprise they were effective in righting everything. By the end of the day, it was corrected. I was absolutely shocked they were so helpful, but I guess it can happen. So, maybe try again?
  
  Trust me, we have tried. The problem is that while there was never a PayPal account verified to that email address, somehow a foreign number is attached to it. Every time we have tried to start an account with that email, the verification ping goes to that number, even though the email is unverified. We haven't found a way to tell PayPal to disassociate that number, because we never had any account attached to it to begin with.

Doesn't seem to show for business accounts FYI
- Can confirm it’s a no-show for business accounts, same for me in US

Good thing I deleted my PayPal years ago over a previous TOS change.
- What do you use instead?
  
  Just standard credit card processing for purchases and zelle or venmo for transfers.
  
  Crypto. Works great for everything I previously used PayPal for
  Edit: lmao people mad. For what it's worth BTC is screwed by txn fees and ETH isn't much better, and there's the whole scam thing going around, but crypto is still the best libre banking.

Cool, they banned my account some years ago and nothing of value was lost. And I don't think I even did anything to violate their rules, I only used it to pay rent for a few years and a handful of eBay purchases. My best guess is that someone "hacked" my account (my PW was pretty bad and in multiple breaches), but I tried logging in after years of not using it and couldn't do anything with it.
But yeah, nothing of value was lost. I haven't needed PayPal for years and don't need it now. Just say no and pay directly on whatever site you're buying at. I've bought tons of stuff from eBay and other online sites for years and it has never been an issue.
So screw 'em, just don't use their service.

Paypal needs to be deleted
- I can't believe we don't have anything to actually compete with it

Glad I deleted PayPal ages ago.

Just disabled. Thanks for the heads up.

It's not enough that we have huge costs for use, we found another way to squeeze every last penny out of you, so we're going to do that because we're greedy fucks

Dunno if they re-did something because I remember a post about something something paypal and privacy. Looked at it right now and it was already disabled
Maybe it's by default opt-out for EU-members?
Location: Germany (EU)

Disvusting... Need to delete it

PayPig

72 comments