When a Company Is Put Up for Sale, in Many Cases, Your Personal Data Is, Too
Monday, July 6, 2015
When a Company Is Put Up for Sale, in Many Cases, Your Personal Data Is, Too
I have written about this before, but it’s worth reminding you. These days many companies offer an official privacy policy and an easier-to-read but not so official abridged version. Sometimes the two do not agree:
One example is Nest, an Internet-connected thermostat company that enables people to control their home energy use via their mobile devices. Acquired by Google for $3.2 billion last year, Nest has different online privacy pages with seemingly conflicting statements.One page, in colloquial English, says that the company values trust: “It’s why we work hard to protect your data. And why your info is not for sale. To anyone.”
Another page, containing Nest’s official privacy policy, however, says: “Upon the sale or transfer of the company and/or all or part of its assets, your personal information may be among the items sold or transferred.”
I know privacy policies are long and boring, but it’s worth at least scanning them to get a sense of what will happen to the information the company collects about you if they ever sell or go under. You may not like what you find.
Photograph by KylaBorg, of graffiti by Zabou
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