Chicago — Groupon announced changes to their privacy policy on Sunday, saying they will collect more information from users to share with business partners. The company also outlined their use of mobile location information, citing their new changes will enable them to target online deals.
In an email to its over 83 million subscribers, the Chicago-based company said it wanted to make its consumer information easier to understand, and thereby, “provide greater transparency about our information handling practices.”
However, their new policy regarding mobile tracking may receive scrutiny from federal regulators, who are concerned about extensive tracking and consumers’ loss of privacy.
The Groupon NOW! mobile app disclosure states that it will collect and store user’s data for marketing purposes.
“In short, if you use a Groupon mobile app and you allow sharing through your device, Groupon may collect geo-location information from the device and use it for marketing deals to you (and for other purposes listed in the ‘How Groupon Uses Personal Information’ section of the Updated Privacy Statement),” the statement reads.
Groupon is currently under a pending IPO that could value the company at as much as $30 billion.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/6jfogts (Groupon’s Policy)
http://tinyurl.com/6zzmzcj (AllThingsD)
