I asked them to delete my data, they said "Install our app"
A few days ago I sent a GDPR request to some company to delete my personal data. They said to install their app and send a ticket from the app. The email was sent from the email address to which the account is registered. Is this even legal?
No, it’s not at all legal for the company to do this. Reply and remind them they have one calendar month to comply from the date of your original request, otherwise you will make a complaint to which ever information regulator is correct for the juridiction they’re operating in.
I’m a lawyer specialising in Data Privacy, reply here if you need more help on this one.
Also feel free to name the company.
Fuck them and bless u lol
For now, I do not want to announce the name of this company publicly.
If they don't want to solve it amicably, then I will do so.
This is a bad decision, IMO. They may fix it for you, but then you've lost the opportunity to assist everyone who comes after you.
You posted asking the public for help. Please return the favor and report them, as you are legally supposed to do.
I will never understand why people complain online then do this. Why are you being such a pushover. What does amicably even mean to you?
Feetfinders.com? Heh
That reminds me, I might have to put in a formal complaint for a somewhat similar matter.
Bought concert cards years ago, and was never able to unsubsribe from the newsletter. I sent requests to every mail address I could find, and never even got a response. Still got newsletters every now and then though.
They also just make it unnecessarily hard to contact them, so at this point I'm not sure my messages even reached them, which hopefully is what explains their failure to comply.
Genuine question: Aren't you supposed to say "this is not legal advice?" if you identify yourself as a lawyer but you're not their legal council? Or am I mistaken?
expired
Man, Elon really does ruin everything. Can't even use X as a variable anymore without a disclaimer.
Fuck that, I refuse to give him the letter. He can pry it from my cold dead hands as he chokes on my liver!
An X is an X, the social network shall be known as X, formerly Twitter /J
"As you can see on this graph, the Twitter axis represents time, and the Y axis represents total number of unique visitors"
No. They are obligated to obey the law as written. They don’t get to create conditions.
GDPR clearly states you can contact any part of the organisation with your request. You can make your request verbally or in writing and they must acknowledge it. They can't refuse and make you use their app.
For fun send them a Subject Access Request and if they don't acknowledge it, report them to the ICO (if you're in the UK)
Name & shame.
Simply ask for the official company name, registration number and country as well as the prereree means of communication that they would like your local data authorities to contact them on.
Also make a 1 star review, stating that you are in talks with your local gdpr authorities about their way of handling privacy.
This worked for me last time a company asked me to download an app to delete my account
prereree -> preferred?
Yes sorry.. my fingers are not made for phones
no
I had this before, though not through a direct communication. Someone had gotten my email credentials somehow and installed a company's app and made an account. When I went through the support pages on the company's site to find out how to delete the account the only listed way was through the app itself.
They were accommodating and helpful when I emailed the company about it though. I just told them that I can't agree to the privacy policy and thus cannot install the app but still need the account to be deleted. They did it.
It is absolutely not
They were very friendly imo. No need to speak legalese or to be rude.
Just tell them that you can't or don't want to install the app.
If they don't help you, then you proceed to remind them that you are not required to install anything for them to comply with GDPR.
Being friendly doesn't negate the fact that they are out of compliance with the law. Even sending a second email to insist they delete your data is an undue burden.
You're right, but sometimes a bit of undue courtesy repays in dividends. Not every minor infraction is nefarious and not every minor infraction deserves reporting. A simple courteous reminder of their obligations may save both parties some undue hassle.
I can imagine this company doing this to ensure only authenticated users can have their data removed. There are other ways...but this was probably what they considered reasonable and painless for all, admittedly they (wrongly) didn't consider the audience of this community in that decision.
It's the bare minimum of friendliness expected in customer care. Most likely a macro which is normal with these kind of requests.
Time to speak corporate to them. Write out a GDPR removal demand letter. And mail it to them certified or whatever corporate mail does in your local jurisdiction.
I had a simmilar situation with Nicehash (crypto shit company), but I had 2fa enabled and just wanted to unsubscribe from useless newsletters. They asked for a photo of me holding a paper with my personal information. Still didnt solve that, but some comments here might help, following
You can just call them a crypto company, them being shit is kind of implied.
I understand the hate, especially in this community. IMO not all crypto companies are shit, but nicehash is leader in being shit 😉
I like how they end it with "greetings"
Yeah that should definitely be flipped with the GOOD DAY SIR at the end.
I SAID GOOD DAY
eBay does this too. They told me they can't access my data to delete it, that I have to log in with their website or app and send information to just get my data, let alone have it deleted.
Doesn't ebay delete the account after certain amount of inactivity? Just let it lapse then?
Don't think so. I haven't been able to login to my ebay account for 10+ years, still get emails.
Doubtful - I leave my account for years at a time between logins, and it’s still active (have had the account since 2002 or so, and have had at least a 10 year span without any use).
It's way too easy to spoof email "from" addresses.
There should be a way to do it through their website though. Requiring an app is just stupid.
They literally replied to his registered email and he has the reply. That would indicate that he has at least access to the account. So with OP's next email quoting the reply ownership over the associated email address should be reasonably established.
Their site is just a landing page, there's no login option or anything like that. Their business is a smartphone application.
Edit: Gmail uses SPF, DMARC and DKIM signing so spoofing is not possible if their email services are configured properly.
I don't know, maybe? If they have a process, no matter how laborious and roundabout, they can always claim that they have a process and that you have nothing to complain about, legally speaking. Their wagering that people will not go through all the bullshit, and they're unfortunately right. That's literally why they do it. The only correct response is to hound them relentlessly, going to Twitter (or something else idk these days, and I'm not calling it X), the press if necessary, and pestering as many government bodies and officials as you have to in order to make them get their fucking shit together. And then they'll make your particular situation of priority because now you're being more of a pain in the ass than actually doing their job is. They won't change the broken system, because one exception in a thousand isn't worth it to them to be bothered with.
Tldr, maybe but it probably won't help you, so make it as big of a headache for them as possible.
They don't get to make it harder to cancel than to sign up
In the EU you don't need to follow their process. Any GDPR request can be made to them through any channel and they must comply. If they don't, then the next step is to file a complaint with your local data protection office, or the data protection office of the European country where the offending company is represented.
Then you, kindly dispose urself of all my personal data.
—Dictated but not read, fuck you Me(also take me to ur leader)
OP send them one more request explaining that under GDPR you are not required to do anything more than request your data be deleted and they must comply. Explain to them that if they don't do so in a timely manner you will be contacting your country's data protection office and filing a complaint.
Use this template in chat gpt...
Can you write an official letter for removal of my private data for (company name) and (my name). Use a strong tone and legalese langage. Make sure you verify the timeframe they must respond (act with 30 days of this letter) and any other specific to make sure they know what my rights are and that I am serious. List the typical types of data they might have on me. And write in a 1800L lexile scale.
Catch 22: give ChatGPT your data, then try to delete your ChatGPT account using ChatGPT
I'm sorry but you live in another universe from not finding this the perfect letter.
From chat gpt
[Your Name] [Your Address] [City, State, Zip] [Email Address] [Phone Number] [Date]
[Recipient Name] [Company Name] [Company Address] [City, State, Zip]
Subject: Formal Request for Immediate Erasure of Personal Data
Dear [Recipient Name],
I am writing to formally request the immediate erasure of all personal data pertaining to myself, [Your Name], from your systems in accordance with Article 17 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This entails the deletion of my data from your databases and any other processing systems within your organization.
The categories of data I am referring to include, but are not limited to:
You are hereby instructed to ensure this erasure without undue delay and, in any event, within thirty (30) days of receipt of this letter. Failure to comply within this timeframe will compel me to take further legal action to enforce my rights under the GDPR.
I further request that you provide written confirmation upon successful deletion of my data, indicating that no personal data pertaining to me remains in your possession, custody or control.
In the event that you require any additional information to comply with this request, you may contact me via email or phone, as provided above.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this serious matter.
Sincerely,
[Your Signature (if sending a hard copy)] [Your Name (printed)]
Gmail. How ironic
That's really not cool that you're upfront about your assumptions. I'm moving from Gmail to another mail provider and, in the process, deleting accounts I don't use. Please don't assume in advance something you have no idea about.
Just because you content to a data stark foes not mean you consent to all data sharks.
Cool clickbait. By censoring the company you are complaining about you are removing any possibility of confirming the story. Why would you do this? you are supposedly mad about the company and thus airing a public grievance, yet what could is a public grievance if no one know the target of your ire? Well it's useless, so why would you post this? For internet points? Maybe go back to reddit.
The purpose of this post was to find out if what they do is legal. That is, if I have the right to file a complaint. I'm not obliged to tell you the name of the company. I have things to do and I don't care about "internet points", as you call them.
You say you don't "Care about internet points" and you have "things to do" yet you constantly post and comment on AI generated memes. It's ok if you want to enjoy things online. It's also ok if you do deeply care about internet points, but don't outrage farm.
Bro shut up PLEASE