Walmart shopper raises concern about retailer collecting his data without his permission

Retail giants like Walmart and e-commerce sites such as Amazon thrive on user data, which helps them offer products that shoppers are more likely to buy. But while this is aimed at improving convenience, many are uncomfortable with companies keeping an eye on them. The conversation about the matter was sparked off on social media by one shopper, who claimed that he got a message from the retailer asking him to rate a product that he had purchased. The problem was that this shopper had purchased the product using cash and did not have his phone or any electronics with him when he got it. which made him wonder how Walmart got to know about his purchases.

John Graham (@attyjdgraham) shared his experience on TikTok, and as per a report in The Daily Dot, it received 3.2 million views. The item was a USB cable, and the reason Graham was so confident about not having his phone was that he had tried to take out his phone to show what kind of cable he wanted.

"Hey, how does Walmart know what I’m buying in cash?” he asked in the video. He first cleared a query about having the app on his phone that people may have. Graham said that he’d never had the app, and of course, did not have his phone when he made the purchase. He also revealed that it was a rather embarrassing situation as he struggled to explain what type of USB cable he needed.

“My phone was not on my person. I don’t think I even have my headphones on my person. I didn’t have any electronic devices on me,” he added. The report suggests that some viewers claimed that Walmart was using AI-powered surveillance tools, including facial recognition, to recognize shoppers even if they did not have any electronic devices with them at the time of shopping.

Some feel that Graham could have looked up the product he went shopping for earlier, but even that doesn’t explain the message asking for a review. Most people were concerned about their personal data being used in such a manner. “Former employee: Walmart has been experimenting with facial recognition for like 5 years or more,” one viewer wrote.

“So not only did you purchase it in cash with no electronics on you. The scarier thing is not only did they know who you were, but what email to send it to,” quipped another. “So not only did you purchase it in cash with no electronics on you. The scarier thing is not only did they know who you were, but what email to send it to,” one more user wrote.

For more of such content, follow @attyjdgraham on TikTok.

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