Arvind Shyamsundar

@arvisam.bsky.social

In 2025 (less than 30 days away), PayPal will start selling your transaction history for targeted advertising. I very highly recommend logging into your account and going to Settings > Data & Privacy > Personalized Shopping. If you're reading this, turn that off RIGHT NOW before you forget.

A screenshot of PayPal's terms of service. Big wall of legalese text, which I will be pasting in below. You don't need to read it, here's the important part: 

"The key update to the Privacy Statement explains how we will share information with merchants to personalize your shopping experience and recommend our services to you. Personal information we disclose includes, for example, products, preferences, sizes, and styles we think you’ll like. Information gathered about you after the effective date of our updated Privacy Statement, November 27, 2024, will be shared with participating stores where you shop."


Here's the whole paragraph: 

We are updating our Privacy Statement to explain how, starting early Summer 2025, we will share information to help improve your shopping experience and make it more personalized for you. The key update to the Privacy Statement explains how we will share information with merchants to personalize your shopping experience and recommend our services to you. Personal information we disclose includes, for example, products, preferences, sizes, and styles we think you’ll like. Information gathered about you after the effective date of our updated Privacy Statement, November 27, 2024, will be shared with participating stores where you shop, unless you live in California, North Dakota, or Vermont. For PayPal customers in California, North Dakota, or Vermont, we’ll only share your information with those merchants if you tell us to do so. No matter where you live, you’ll always be able to exercise your right to opt out of this data sharing by updating your preference settings in your account under “Data and Privacy.”

Fun fact: If someone quotes a post of yours in a way that is unwelcome (as is commonplace on Twitter/X) there is a tool to combat the unwanted attention. Simply click the three dot menu on the quote post & click "Detach quote". This removes your post from their quote post. Useful to know, do share!

An image showing what I describe

Also, new folks, please know that when it comes to trolls, jerks, chuds and other undesirables here in the sky, we subscribe to the idea of “Don’t Engage, Just Block.” The block function is superpowered and expunges them entirely from your timeline. They hate it! Block with wild abandon! Don’t wait!

Day 2 of #PASSDataSummit! Today I deliver the #WIT Luncheon keynote - Amplify Your Voice: Strategies for Visibility and Influence at Work. I look forward to seeing some of you in the audience! The session will ALSO be live streamed at 12:30 PM PT - passdatacommunitysummit.com/about/news/w...!

Watch the free livestream during PASS Data Community Summit 2024 - PASS Data Community Summit

Following a successful launch last year, we’re pleased to announce that we’ll be livestreaming 17...

passdatacommunitysummit.com