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I absolutely HATE shop.app (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 week ago by DaddleDew@lemmy.world to c/goodoffmychest@lemmy.world

8 comments fedilink hide all child comments

It's always the same story. You order something from a website, had your guard down, miss the purposefully easy-to miss button to refuse sharing your information with Shop.app and then BAM. On the next screen thanking you for your purchase you see a notification that says "We've saved your payment information with shop.app" and realized that you've been dark patterned into doing the online shopping equivalent of catching herpes.

Now they have your e-mail, your phone number, your address and your credit card information saved and easily accessible to anyone who hacks your e-mail or their databanks. You have to go to their website, log in with the credentials they stole from you and request for your account to be deleted. But if it took seconds to create the account, somehow it takes them 30 DAYS to delete the account. The dumb thing too is that there is no real way to tell if they truly deleted your account because if you try to log in they'll ask you for your e-mail and phone number, which they will use to create a new account without your permission if didn't exist before.

Those are blatant predatory practices and if it isn't illegal, it absolutely should be. I really hope they get hit by a giant crippling class action lawsuit. Or a train, whichever happens first.

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[–] tyler@programming.dev 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I’m very confused by what you are saying here. So you chose the shop app way of paying, or it was the only option, and the only thing you forgot was to click “not save”?

Like, they are still the ones processing your data. They get your email even if they don’t create an account for you.

Use a credit card generator to buy stuff online. Then it doesn’t matter if it gets stolen. Privacy.com is available in the U.S. not sure what’s available elsewhere. And you can use fake names and addresses with them.

[–] DaddleDew@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

No. I did not use their app and I never will. It was an ordinary third party shopping site and I was trying to pay with my credit card information like online shopping has always functioned.

But if you order from a retailer who is affiliated with them, you have to remember to click the "not now" at the bottom of the order form.

This is blatant use of dark patterns. For the last 20 years it has always been a box to check for "remember my information". People tend to overlook that statement if they're in a hurry or distracted. The big orange "pay now" button right below it makes it even less noticeable.

Seriously, look at it. It is essentially saying "If you don't click on this link before you complete the transaction you agree to the Shop terms and conditions". This is a whole new level of asshole design.

[–] tyler@programming.dev 3 points 1 week ago (2 children)

No. I did not use their app and I never will. It was an ordinary third party shopping site and I was trying to pay with my credit card information like online shopping has always functioned.

To be clear, you did use the shop app, you just didn’t realize. That’s the screenshot you’ve shared.

This is blatant use of dark patterns. For the last 20 years it has always been a box to check for "remember my information". People tend to overlook that statement if they're in a hurry or distracted. The big orange "pay now" button right below it makes it even less noticeable.

I agree with this. To be clear they probably make an account for you no matter what, since it’s impossible to fulfill an order without doing so. How else would you get shipping information, updates, etc. but yes, they should really make it more clear.

Also I wonder when that changed that, or if it’s location dependent, because I remember it being a check box that was deselected by default.

[–] DaddleDew@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

To me "using an app" means using an actual app that is on your device. This is a screenshot from the checkout process on a website that isn't owned by Shop, but is clearly partnering with it. No Shop app is involved, it is in my browser.

Also you can complete the transaction without signing up with Shop. You do if you click on the "not now" link before checking out. Or by paying with Paypal. This perfectly demonstrates how insanely confusing all of this is.

[–] tyler@programming.dev 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I’m telling you this from a programmer perspective. That checkout screen you are seeing is Shop code, running on the webpage you’re using. It’s not code from whatever company you’re buying from. Shop is in control of it.

In addition, you’re “signing up” with shop no matter what you do here. Shop needs all of your information to complete the transaction, and will continue to need it until months have passed and the company that is selling you the product has completed their taxes and whatnot.

No matter what, shop will retain your information for a very long time. The only difference is whether or not you get an account to view that info, not whether they retain it.

[–] rhymeswithduck@sh.itjust.works 0 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Well that's even worse then.

[–] tyler@programming.dev 1 points 1 week ago

In what way could you partner with a store front without giving information to that storefront? Tell me how it would work.

[–] numbermess@fedia.io 3 points 1 week ago

They definitely create an account-ish record for you when you purchase on one of their hosted stores, whether you voluntarily register a new account in a traditional sense or not. There is sort of a composite key of the shop's unique store ID and references to personal information collected about during your session, such as the email address you use when checking out. If you've used your email address on one hosted store and then use it again on another, your customer record will be associated with both stores. I work on this stuff every now and then. They already know all about you, and I don't really feel that it's necessarily super evil, but I also don't think it's marvelously great either. It's just kind of a practical use of the solution to a problem lots of retailers don't want to solve/maintain/fund themselves, and so they pay the platform do it for them.