Tim Hortons was founded in the 1960s by hockey player Tim Horton, and is currently owned by the same multinational conglomerate that owns Burger King and Popeyes. Despite this, it's often marketed as being a core part of a certain wholesome ideal of Canadian identity, and so many Canadians will probably be disturbed to learn they were being spied on by what is effectively a national institution.Subscribe to our cybersecurity podcast, CYBER. Subscribe to our new Twitch channel.“In June 2020, we took immediate steps to improve how we communicate with guests about the data they share with us and began reviewing our privacy practices with external experts. Shortly thereafter, we proactively removed the geolocation technology outlined in the report from the Tims app. Data from this geolocation technology was never used for personalized marketing for individual guests. The very limited use of this data was on an aggregated, de-identified basis to study trends in our business—and the results did not contain personal information from any guests. We’ve strengthened our internal team that’s dedicated to enhancing best practices when it comes to privacy and we’re continuing to focus on ensuring that guests can make informed decisions about their data when using our app.”
Canada's Beloved Tim Hortons Spied on Everyone Who Used Its App, Regulator Says
Image: Bloomberg/Contributor
Hacking. Disinformation. Surveillance. CYBER is Motherboard's podcast and reporting on the dark underbelly of the internet.
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