For my latest @PostTech privacy experiment, I traced how my credit cards sell me out.

I found 6 types of businesses that could mine and share elements of each swipe.

And very few would give straight answers about what they’re doing with the data. https://t.co/OQuWtdwNeF pic.twitter.com/pM5G3i8kH5

— Geoffrey A. Fowler (@geoffreyfowler) August 26, 2019

When I teach about #BigData, I start off by talking about sources of it. When I mention credit cards and loyalty cards, people look at me like I'm so boring. My comeback is "Who could best predict when I'm going to die? My doctor? No, my Tesco Clubcard. They know what I eat." https://t.co/FxcEujz4ld

— David Stillwell (@david_stillwell) August 27, 2019

We knew this was happening, it is major source of how we are tracked online, but this is still a wild read. https://t.co/ZCRB4FPMXH

— Ben Bajarin (@BenBajarin) August 26, 2019

Yikes. When you swipe your credit card, here's who gets your data:
-your bank
-your bank's marketing partners
-co-branded card partners
-Visa/MasterCard (who may onsell it)
-the store (who may share it)
-the store's bank
-swipe machine company
Source: https://t.co/V6nV1rSXJl pic.twitter.com/iAmvGq4h16

— JP Koning (@jp_koning) August 27, 2019

Congress has been helping the banksters cheat their customers for ages, and this is one example. https://t.co/uX1HgSehfc

— Dan Gillmor (@dangillmor) August 26, 2019

I bought 2 bananas with 2 different cards at Target, and compared what happened.

Data ended up with marketers, Target, Amazon, Google and hedge funds, to name a few.

And its entirely legal in the U.S.

Our data problem is bananas.https://t.co/OQuWtdwNeF pic.twitter.com/foCMJXr32g

— Geoffrey A. Fowler (@geoffreyfowler) August 26, 2019

I’m digging the trend in tech journalism lately of breaking down what happens behind trivial interactions like reading an article in your browser or buying something with a credit card at a retailer https://t.co/L4uc7aI1CX

— Kyle Russell ? (@kylebrussell) August 26, 2019

“People can have different views on whether it’s worth exchanging data for airline miles or cash back. But how are we supposed to make informed decisions when we don’t know where our data is going?” https://t.co/9bCCvCR3AY pic.twitter.com/kaWiwoOGl6

— Angela Bassa (@AngeBassa) August 27, 2019

Fantastic and SUPER upsetting. https://t.co/OaGXqva95G

— Molly Wood (@mollywood) August 26, 2019

New @washingtonpost by me:

The mole in your money.
The probe in your purse.
The bug in your bank.

Credit cards have a privacy problem we ought to be talking about at least as much as reward points:https://t.co/QxFMOlxcwd pic.twitter.com/KzZqLqEvID

— Geoffrey A. Fowler (@geoffreyfowler) August 26, 2019

“Credit cards are a spy in your wallet — and it’s time that we add privacy, alongside rewards and rates, to how we evaluate them” https://t.co/VObriqQdha

— DHH (@dhh) August 27, 2019

This is eye opening. https://t.co/5EEpkdLu3v

— Khoi Vinh (@khoi) August 27, 2019

What's the harm in credit cards sharing our data?

Spending patterns can reveal enough to blackmail you.

And as @hoofnagle says, it puts consumers at a disadvantage. “The more they know about you, the more opportunities there are for manipulation.” https://t.co/OQuWtdwNeF

— Geoffrey A. Fowler (@geoffreyfowler) August 26, 2019

The spy in your wallet: Credit cards have a privacy problem https://t.co/fvGLnpvHqI

— m_pszStevenSinofsky (@stevesi) August 27, 2019

The spy in your wallet: Credit cards have a privacy problemhttps://t.co/87mDuhzrjd

— Go24 (@Go24_Ortega) August 27, 2019

In a privacy experiment, we bought one banana with the new Apple Card — and another with the Amazon Prime Rewards Visa from Chase. Here’s who tracked, mined and shared our data. https://t.co/0X0NrULdXA

— RR Apple (@RRalstonAgile) August 27, 2019

The new Apple Card’s best feature is privacy.

It prevents partner bank Goldman from sharing with marketers.

What’s disappointing is it doesn’t introduce much new tech to combat all the other companies mining data — including Mastercard & retailers. https://t.co/OQuWtdwNeF pic.twitter.com/B9L7Uv7p0S

— Geoffrey A. Fowler (@geoffreyfowler) August 26, 2019

The spy in your wallet: Credit cards have a privacy problemhttps://t.co/1X7B8TRxCZ

— Frank Denis (@jedisct1) August 27, 2019

Titanium Apple Card has two different on-boarding methods.

Mine required me to use my iPhone to activate.

As pointed out by @gassee, his wife’s just appeared in her wallet.

Anyone know why?

Side note: @gassee’s take on Apple Card is a solid read:https://t.co/tmQIqe1IhF pic.twitter.com/8oYm9lm5t8

— Dark Mode Dave (@davemark) August 27, 2019

Super piece by @gassee on the Apple Card "What vs How" https://t.co/mcJF4dbLo6

— Dave "Identity is the New Money" Birch (@dgwbirch) August 25, 2019

Card: What vs How - Monday Note by @gassee https://t.co/hTiP0aL3an
…the new payment system is a classic How vs What proposition —and the “How” wins.
If I were in the consumer finance industry, I’d think long and hard about Apple playing the How vs What game in my territory.

— Juan Tatay - silta (@juan_silta) August 27, 2019

"Does the world need a new credit card, especially one without any outstanding perks? The answer lies in the way the Apple Card works rather than in the number of miles or the cash rebate percentages."https://t.co/8xcnFX4Eug

— John Deighton (@HBSmktg) August 27, 2019

"Rewards isn’t the game that Apple Card is playing." - @gassee
Apple is not the company to make the "best" in the field. It is the company to redefine what "best" means for an individual. https://t.co/mz1VeXMLNX pic.twitter.com/Hb4AewAOkD

— Subrahmanyam KVJ (@SuB8u) August 26, 2019

Apple Card: What vs How

“For a sufficiently large number of Apple customers, the new payment system is a classic How vs What proposition — and the “How” wins”

by @gassee #Startup#Founder#VentureCapital#FinTech#Apple https://t.co/u31UGYwLNX

— Gianpiero Massa Tofo (@massatofo) August 25, 2019

I just published Apple Card: What vs How https://t.co/8y30kZSqRv

— Jean-Louis Gassée (@gassee) August 25, 2019

'How does the Apple Card work?': A guide to using Apple's new credit card and its features https://t.co/EzHOk0nMJb

— BI Tech (@SAI) August 26, 2019