Are RFID Tags an Invasion of Privacy?

Some think that knowing where something has been, will give the supermarkets too much power!

Yes!

But you could argue that so is the Post Office, where every piece of mail you get could be easily logged. Add to that your telephone company, your mobile phone operator or your Internet service provider!

There is also a class of shopper for whom the supermarkets know a lot more about their purchases. These are the on-line shoppers, such as my wife and I, who regularly use two different chains for most of our groceries. Without RFID, they know exactly what we buy, when we buy it, when we like it delivered and how we pay for it. Some fairly simple analysis could produce a very detailed profile, especially when linked to details of our property.

We have not been pestered with any offers and I actually feel that the supermarkets are actually holding back from what they could do, so as not to cause any annoyance or invasion of privacy.

Consider our basset hounds, who eat between them one jumbo tin of meat every day. Or 365 tins a year! Where is the special offer of six months supply at a hefty discount? This and many other similar offers, would be to their advantage too, as they could be delivered directly from the manufacturer, without any intermediate handling.

So the tags may be an invasion of privacy, but one that may actually be in the customer's interest!