Slashdot Mirror
Privacy Policies Heading Downhill
ipfwadm writes: "There's a good article in the NY Times about various internet companies changing their privacy policies to allow the selling of users' information to marketers. The article mentions Yahoo and how they changed everyone's marketing preferences recently, among other companies (including everyone's favorite, Microsoft)." We already did a story on Yahoo's changes, but this one is notable because Yahoo's former vice president for direct marketing blasts the changed policy. And LorenzoV submitted a story from Wired about TrustE failing to censure Yahoo over their changes. Again.
Users have 60 days to go to a page on Yahoo's Web site where they can record a choice not to receive telephone, postal or e-mail messages in various categories.
I did this the day the article ran here, and the amount of spam has been increasing steadily. It was at about 100 total messages since Yahoo pissed on its users as of a couple days ago (the previous spam rate was about one or two per day). So what happens to the people who don't opt out in 60 days? Do they get even more spam? Or is that what they're saving the phone numbers for?
Let's review. With a Yahoo account you get:
- Some web space with no FTP access.
- An e-mail account that can't be forwarded and can't be accessed except through the web.
- A privacy policy that changes whenever they need more money from advertising.
- Lots of ads plastered all over their site, with no logical pattern
And lots more useless crap!Oh well, I didn't need to actually use that account anyway. I'm just going to let the spam pile up until the mail quota is filled (that should take another month or so, maybe less).
Turns out there's a simple solution to Yahoo!'s decision to opt me in to everything. There's a "delete account" button.
I used my.yahoo.com as a home page for a good five years, I'd guess. Maybe it was time to seek another.
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