Keen to hear thoughts on other users of Shopback after reading this article on TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/14/how-the-rewards-app-freeca…
Shopback NZ harvesting data?
dryburn on 15/04/2026 - 11:34
Last edited 15/04/2026 - 11:57 by 1 other user
Last edited 15/04/2026 - 11:57 by 1 other user
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Yeah, i thought this was known. Everyone is collecting my data, at least with Shopback, I have been getting to see some $$$ back from it. More than I can say for most apps.
https://www.choice.com.au/data-protection-and-privacy/data-c…
https://support.shopback.com.au/hc/en-gb/articles/3600391148…
They have to collect data in order to operate as a cashback business, since in order to attribute the sale to you & pay you the commission refund, they need to know your identity, what merchant you bought from, what you bought, when you bought, and if you're using mobile, coarse location data and details about your device / browser user agent and so on.
They say they don't sell your data, but that doesn't mean they don't share the data. If you read the Data Protection policy you'll see a section relating to that and it basically says they share the data with any business that works with shopback, including law enforcement.
Obviously the more you use it, the more data they'll have on you, but this is really not any more different from frequent flyer points / rewards programs that track your purchases whenever you swipe a membership card to earn points.
Yeah, this is marketing 101. Of course Shopback and other similar companies are collecting your data, as much as they possibly can within the terms you agreed to, and (sometimes to a lesser extent) the law. They don't give you cash back because they're being nice, they do it because they make money from collecting and aggregating your browsing habits, purchase history and other data about you. LOTS of data.
Check out the Honey scam to get an idea of some of the shadier practices in the industry.
Cheapies always love a good deal, but make sure you know who's paying and how when you think you're getting something for nothing.
whats the link to shopback?
they have: your bank account number, purchase data , name , email … thats the price of getting cashback :)