posted on April 7, 2002 08:28:31 AM new
Yahoo recently sent out an email regarding changes in its privacy policies. The email was long and they didn't quite spell out what they actually did that violates my (and your) personal privacy.
In a nutshell:
They went in to each account and changed all the settings on marketing preferences. Changed them all to "Yes" ... as in, "Yes, I'd like to have Yahoo send me emails from their advertisers."
The bottom line is ... they changed all of our preferences to indicate that "Yes, we'd like them to share our real names, home addresses and phone numbers and go ahead and send me advertising junk mail at home, and while you're at it, give me a call at home so we can talk about whatever you have to sell."
It is true. Go into your personal settings, click on marketing preferences, and you will see that all of your settings have been changed to yes.
Even if you think you didn't provide them with much personal information, they have imported information from other data bases. If you are a registered seller, for example, your auction information (which has to be accurate personal information) was imported into your main Yahoo account, and that information is now being shared with their advertisers.
They have nerve. They have balls. What they won't have is me.
I'm deleting everything I have that is associated with Yahoo. They have violated my privacy by changing my personal settings. I'm of the opinion they had no legal right to do that.
Go check your settings. You will see that yours are changed, too.
posted on April 7, 2002 12:04:29 PM new
Thanks for telling us. I will go check, on mine. I know in the last few days, I have received several mailings from Yahoo.
It is true, I also checked my account out. I bet that is why the auction bidders all of a sudden have become non-existant.
When I came back to Yahoo last fall, sales were better than before I left. Since the last FLD, nothing. Now I know why. They were headed in the right direction until this.
bp
PS: To change your preferences back, log into your Yahoo e-mail, scroll down the main e-mail page to Yahoo! Privacy Policy. Click on it. It opens a second window called Yahoo's privacy center. There, you will find a box to the left called "Assistance". Click on "Marketing Preferences" and you can make your changes there.
[ edited by barparts on Apr 7, 2002 03:31 PM ]
[ edited by barparts on Apr 7, 2002 03:41 PM ]
