Foursquare has loads of data on users’ habits, but the information it can share with merchants has been tightly limited. Until now.
The mobile check-in service has quietly updated its privacy policy to say the company will share your history of visits with any merchant you check in to, allowing everyone from your local baker to your neighborhood dive bar to your favorite national pharmacy chain to see just how often you’ve been visiting their venue in recent days, months, or possibly years.
Take, for example, the owner of your favorite bar. Under the old system, if you checked in once at 11 p.m. and again the next day at noon, the owner would only know you are a repeat customer if he checked Foursquare’s database before 3 p.m. on the second day. Even then, he’d only see that you had visited once before; he wouldn’t know it was barely 12 hours prior. Under the new policy, the bar owner will be able to take his time checking the Foursquare database, and Foursquare is empowered to show him the exact date and time of all your prior visits. If the owner can put a name, face, and detailed dossier to his die-hard customers, he will have even greater incentive to buy Foursquare ads, which can be targeted at regulars. That means more revenue for Foursquare, which has reportedly had trouble convincing investors to support its $760 million venture capital valuation.
Foursquare’s current privacy policy and an accompanying document allow merchants to see limited information about you if you’ve checked in within the last three hours or if you’re one of their 10 most frequent visitors. In those situations, the merchant can see your total number of check-ins along with your name, photo, and linked accounts, like Twitter or Facebook.
Under the new privacy policy set to take effect Jan. 28, far fewer limits are placed on those same merchants. They will be able to see information on more customers, according to an e-mail Foursquare sent to users Dec. 31, being able to see everyone who checked in over an unspecified period longer than the current three hours.
Foursquare also isn’t specifying any limits on how much of your history will be visible to places where you’ve checked in. In a new section of the privacy policy about sharing with “Businesses, Locations, Events and Brands,” the company simply says that “when you check-in to a particular location that is a ‘claimed location’ your check-ins are shared with that location in order for it to better provide services to you.” An accompanying FAQ, linked in the privacy policy, provides little more detail, saying only that merchants can see “who has recently checked into their location and/or event as well as a list of frequent visitors to their location.”
Foursquare told users about its expanded sharing of personal information over the holidays, strongly hinting that it wanted to keep the change quiet. Like other media outlets, Wired has been unable to reach the company for more specifics on the change. The last thing Foursquare wants is for users to worry about privacy and stop checking in. At the same time, CEO Dennis Crowley has said Foursquare is trying to find new ways to leverage its huge trove of user data, a key asset as the company, backed by more than $70 million in venture capital, tries to turn a profit.
As Foursquare tries to make more money by sharing more information, it is wise to be wary of blowback. Much more than Facebook or Twitter, Foursquare is the social network people take with them into bars, nightclubs, and other semi-private, semi-shady venues. And no one wants a drinking buddy who blabs.
Bartenders Get Your Foursquare Dossier
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Bartenders Get Your Foursquare Dossier
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Bartenders Get Your Foursquare Dossier
