Can you delete your Starbucks account? – [Answer] 2022

Answer

We cannot delete your Starbucks account. If you have any questions about our Privacy Policy or need to change or delete your account, please contact us at [email protected]

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Delete an account for your mobile app, a rewards card, or an online store? The answer is yes. Just go to the company’s website and follow the prompts. If you can’t figure out how to do it there, you’ll probably get some answers on Starbucks’ forums. (The coffee purveyor has both a general forum and one specifically for mobile commerce.) But in most cases, this may not be enough to delete your personal data from Starbucks’ systems. A paid-for loyalty account will still have records of your purchases on file—and those are likely never going away unless they’re encrypted with super-strong passwords or destroyed through corporate policy. This poses concern as more retailers move toward using loyalty cards as a replacement for cash registers.

Do you have to give up your identity when you delete an account?

When you sign up for a loyalty program, either online or in-person, the retailer will ask for your name and other identifying information. That can serve as a security measure designed to make sure that only one person is logged in at any given time. But it also has privacy implications—especially if you want to remove yourself from the company’s database (for example, if there’s been a breach of customer data). In this case, Starbucks’ asks users who want to close their accounts to provide “your full name, email address and phone number [used] when registering,” according to its website. These will be removed from its systems after the account is closed.

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How can you tell if a loyalty program has your credit card information?

Some companies may sell or otherwise share personal data as part of their customer loyalty programs—including the names and expiration dates for reward cards. If you want to see what merchants have that information, simply look them up at your credit card issuers’ websites. They may also offer alerts, such as when a new merchant ever starts using your data, or if an existing one uses it in another channel like mobile payments. Without these alerts, shoppers could have no idea that they’re handing over valuable data with every purchase—not to mention how all of those purchases are being tracked across various retailers’ databases. CreditCards.com offers an in-depth guide on how to find, view, and protect your credit card information.

Can you delete your home address from loyalty programs?

Many retailers will ask for an email address when creating a loyalty account to save time at checkout. They’ll also ask for a mailing address—which is used for sending rewards cards or coupons. While deleting these addresses can prevent the company from reaching you via post with more goodies, it won’t necessarily keep their systems from recording this information in the future. Eventually, companies may offer digital alternatives that are less prone to tracking customer data than traditional mailings—think smartphone updates or messages pushed directly to smart appliances like refrigerators and dishwashers (or even cars) through the Internet of Things. A few retail companies, such as the vitamins and supplements seller LuckyVitamin.com, already have begun providing digital rewards programs that don’t require a mailing address at all.

When you sign up for a loyalty program, do they really share your data with other businesses?

Yes—but not necessarily right away. Even if retailers say they’re not going to sell personal information, there may be circumstances where it will hand over some of its customer data to business partners or others who want access to its “treasure trove,” says Liran Eshel, CEO at the retail analytics firm NovoCrowd. These cases might include giving vendors access to shoppers’ purchase histories in order to offer them better products or services through partnerships between companies in unrelated industries or even sharing data with researchers. But retailers will typically only share data that’s been anonymized—meaning they can’t identify a specific person to be used for research purposes, he says.

If you want to avoid this kind of sharing altogether, try not signing up for loyalty programs at all: Eshel points out that many retailers’ benefit plans don’t just rely on third-party vendors. They also provide services themselves. For example, Macy’s offers credit card payment processing and gift registry function through other companies like First Data, but it also handles some tasks itself—such as collecting customer information and offering coupons during the checkout process. In this case, you’d have to opt-out of these services if you wanted to keep your information from being shared.

Do you have to sign up for loyalty programs?

When companies give customers only the option of “opt-out” when signing up for a loyalty program, they know you’ll probably just click that box and move on . But there are also instances where most shoppers either don’t see an opt-in box at all or are forced to skip it because they don’t have time to read through pages of terms and conditions when buying something offline, Eshel says. So if you’re not interested in joining one of these programs, be sure to pay attention—you may have no other choice but to miss out.

If I’ve opted out of a company’s loyalty program, does that mean my data is safe?

Even if you’ve opted out of a loyalty program, it doesn’t mean your data is protected from being collected by other services.

In many cases, retailers will continue to collect customer information even after individuals have decided not to participate in the rewards program—and they may not mention this fact upfront when joining these programs. Some companies also change their privacy policies over time, adding language that says they can collect and share additional data with third parties than previously stated. And then there’s the security part: loyalty programs are growing in popularity as a target for cybercriminals because valuable personal data like credit card numbers and home addresses are kept on retailers’ servers until shoppers redeem their points or coupons. So while consumers may be walking away from loyalty programs because they feel like it’s too much of a hassle to receive rewards and keep track of their points, there are still many reasons why retailers want that data.

It may seem like loyalty programs aren’t worth the trouble, but they’re still one of the main ways that retailers can keep you coming back to shop. So even if you don’t want any part of it (or just give up on getting those points after a while), remember that your information is still being tracked in many ways—whether or not you do something tangible (like sign up for a rewards card) to make it happen.

The good news: You have more control over this than you think. Eshel recommends consumers protect themselves by finishing their shopping before checking out online and spending time researching companies in order to find where certain data practices are discussed—as well as what consumers can do about them . Shopping at brick-and-mortar stores also gives you an opportunity to ask store associates about how data is being collected, and some retailers are even providing privacy policies on their websites.

Still not sure if you should be signing up for loyalty programs? Here’re a few things to consider:

*As mentioned above, rewards cards can come with three types of costs: annual fees (which can range from $25 to hundreds of dollars), interest on the balance if you carry over a balance from month-to-month and the possibility that participating in these programs could make your credit score worse because issuers may report negative information related to your use. Your best bet? Use it sparingly, pay off your bill in full every month and try not to live off your credit cards.

*Not all loyalty programs are created equal, so find out how each one works before deciding whether or not you want to join in on the fun. Make sure to check your credit card’s rewards program too, because it may be more worth your while if that’s where you do most of your shopping anyway.

*A few companies—including U.S.-based Brandsmart USA and Irish company New Look recently got rid of their reward programs altogether. And even though loyalty cards can help save consumers money over time (when used properly), there is a chance you could end up spending more on merchandise than you would have normally if you’re always looking for ways to redeem points and coupons. So remember: Rewards are amazing, but consumers should still try not to get too hooked on these programs if they want to lower their overall spending.

*The average American household that participates in a rewards program spends approximately $1,635 annually at those stores, which may seem like a lot—especially when you consider the fact that reward cards often come with annual fees. But maybe it’s worth it if helps save you money in the long run and makes shopping easier for you.