Update, 2/27: MyPoints immediately corrected the problem; see the comments to this post. Thanks, MyPoints!
I don’t know if I’d call this a major privacy violation, but I’ve noticed it and thought that MyPoints members should be aware of it: When you do a web search on MyPoints and then click through to visit one of the websites that come up in the results, your first name is transmitted to that website (along with your search term). How do I know? Because MyPoints members are doing web searches and ending up on my site.
I can tell you that MyPoints member Sinda found my site by doing a MyPoints Web Search for “reward tv” and Barbara, Jessica, Debbie, and Dan found me by searching for “mypoints”. Maria looked up “mypoints.com,” while Kate and Jessica found me by doing a MyPoints Web Search for “extrabux.”
If you’d like to review MyPoints’ privacy policy, it’s here. If you have a problem with MyPoints’ transmission of your real first name to any websites you visit through searches on the MyPoints Web Search, I’d suggest you email them at memberservices@mypoints.com
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
wow…that’s kinda creepy…i’m the kate you’re talking about….i liked using that because it was an extra 50 pts a month, but now i’m reconsidering….
Many thanks for pointing this out, it was not intentional. The member name has been removed and we are no longer passing the first name to 3rd party sites. Our members’ privacy is and always will be our number one priority.
Also, thanks for the great site; CompareRewards is an excellent resource for recent news pertaining to online rewards programs.