Mark Weinstein, privacy expert, on loyalty programs: “Surveillance pricing egregiously invades everything about you”
Apps take all your data and use it, all the time. So says Weinstein, a renowned privacy specialist.
In today’s world of grocery apps, coffee chains, and airline rewards, what seems like a simple deal might be hiding something more sinister.
Mark Weinstein, a renowned privacy specialist, warns that loyalty programmes are not just tools for customer retention - they’re powerful surveillance engines.
Weinstein says that loyalty apps collect an astonishing depth of personal data: names, emails, purchasing patterns, location, device usage and more.
They don’t just track what you buy, they build a detailed portrait of who you are and what you might pay. According to legal experts, these programmes tap into cross-platform tracking, using cookies and device fingerprinting to follow users across apps and websites.
Your apps collect a ton of data from your phone. Your unique device ID. Your location. Your demographics. Weknowdis.
— Robert G. Reeve (@RobertGReeve) May 25, 2021
Data aggregators pay to pull in data from EVERYWHERE. When I use my discount card at the grocery store? Every purchase? That's a dataset for sale. pic.twitter.com/r052qqNsxe
“The algorithm instantaneously determines the maximum you’d be willing to pay”
“The data nearly every site and app has access to includes your current and historical tastes, opinions, browsing and spending history, geolocation, demographics, income, credit line access and much more,” Weinstein explains. “Then, supercharged by psychographic analytical AI, the algorithm instantaneously determines the maximum you’d be willing to pay for something you’ve either just searched for,”
The consequence? A phenomenon called ‘surveillance pricing’.
“Surveillance pricing is when companies use your personal data to decide what price to charge you for a product or service,” he says.
“Surveillance pricing egregiously invades everything about you to determine what you, as an individual, would most likely be willing to pay, rather than the universal pricing model we’re all historically used to.”
“Loyal customers require fewer incentives to purchase because they are ‘regulars,’” Weinstein adds. “Here’s an example of this twist: a Washington Post reporter who was a Starbucks Rewards member found that his app showed fewer promotions during months he bought more coffee.”
Which apps might be affected? I hear you ask. Every. Single. One. Of. Them. From airlines to retail to travel, anything that gets you to sign in is likely using your data, says Weinstein. “Loyalty apps are data goldmines,” he says. “Every purchase, every click, every time you open the app gets recorded and analyzed. It’s all feeding information about your habits, income level and browsing patterns.”
🚨 Those “loyalty” points aren’t rewards — they’re surveillance.
— The Lever (@LeverNews) October 21, 2025
Corporations like Kroger, McDonald’s, and Starbucks are using digital rewards apps to track your data and charge you exactly what their algorithm thinks you’ll pay.
📬 From today’s Lever Daily → The only… pic.twitter.com/hFoAIfwzJR
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Before I go, it would be remiss of me not to offer some tips on how to avoid this phenomenon: going ‘incognito’ on your browser, using a VPN, or clearing your cookies are all solid ways of making sure that the pesky internet goblins stay out of your business.
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