Hacker News Reader

Comment by Brajeshwar | Hacker News Reader

I have had many experiences where I tried to order tea at a small tea-stalls (digitally empowered) on the streets of India, and first thing they ask is my phone number! I reject anyone asking my phone number unless dire and a must-one. I also noticed that almost everyone will blurt out their number when anyone ask them.

View on HN

Last two years, maany shops and malls started collecting names and phone numbers of visitors in the guise of COVID xontact tracking

But do people still put up with this? Here I haven't seen this for a long time.

Some businesses do exactly the same thing in the US. It is fascinating to be a bystander and hear how willing most people are to just give over their phone number. And of course, not just the store could be recording it, anybody within earshot could.

Most people do it to get a discount, or convenience of some sort such as a text when your food order is ready for pickup.

Many times, yes. But even places like great clips do it, and they're not giving discounts. At best, they might send you ads that give you coupons you could have gotten anyway.

Always worth remembering, in any case, that someone always registers <your-area-code>-867-5309. Use that to get discounts wherever, like Safeway. I remain a little surprised they didn't long ago put that number pattern on a blacklist.

What do they do with the number?

In the U.S., if it's a supermarket or a large chain store, they either sell it to other companies, or use it as a unique ID for your purchase history and customer profile. Sometimes both.

I'm not sure what a small-time tea stall would do.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com