Watch Out for Loyalty Cards and Health Insurance!
Every time we use a loyalty card, we leave a very clear trail: what we buy, when we buy it, how often, and in what quantities. Those digital receipts turn into data. That data turns into a profile.
And profiles create inferences. Over-the-counter medicines, gluten-free products, items linked to a medical diet. Over time, these signals can reveal habits and sensitive details about a household.
On the health side, the stakes are even higher. In the US, more processes around claims and approvals involve automation. And the Change Healthcare cyberattack showed how fragile these large health and payment systems can be, affecting a huge number of people.
California launched a public tool called DROP to help people request deletion and opt-out from data brokers. The personal data market is now a major issue.
What does this mean for a family? Shopping habits and health data can contribute to a detailed risk and money profile, not just ads. Use loyalty cards only when the benefit is real. Check the privacy settings of loyalty programs and limit data sharing when possible. For health and insurance, ask what data is collected, how long it’s kept, and who it’s shared with.
Data doesn’t stay still. It moves. And the more detailed it is, the more valuable it becomes to someone else.
#ArtificialDecisions #MCC