Tag: home depot

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Mobile Syrup

Home Depot failed to get consent before sharing customer data with Meta, privacy office found

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) says Home Depot shared personal customer data with Meta without consent.

According to its investigation, the home repair store shared details, such as encoded email addresses and purchase information, from e-receipts with Meta through its Offline Conversions program. The feature contrasted in-store purchases with Home Dept ads shared on Facebook to examine how effective the ads were.

The investigation found Home Depot has been collecting email addresses to share e-receipts since at least 2018.

Information shared with Meta verified if customers had a Facebook account through an automated process. The emails were encoded, and Facebook employees couldn’t read them. However, Meta used personal information for user profiling and targeted advertising unrelated to Home Depot. The investigation says this was possible through Offline Conversions’ contractual terms.

Emails not connected to Facebook accounts weren’t linked to individual customers.

“While the details of a person’s in-store purchases may not have been sensitive in the context of Home Depot, they could be highly sensitive in other retail contexts, where they reveal, for example, information about an individual’s health or sexuality” a press release outlining the investigation states.

Home Depot said it “relied on implied consent,” and its privacy statement explains the company’s actions. The statement is available online or in print upon request at its retail locations. The company further said it didn’t share this information with customers before issuing e-receipts over “consent fatigue” concerns.

However, the OPC rejects the arguments, stating the privacy statement wasn’t “readily available” at retail locations, customers wouldn’t have any reasons to request such documents, and the practice wasn’t clearly explained.

“When customers were prompted to provide their email address, they were never informed that their information would be shared with Meta by Home Depot, or how it could be used by either company,” Commissioner Philippe Dufresne said. “This information would have been material to a customer’s decision about whether or not to obtain an e-receipt.”

Home Depot stopped sharing information with Meta in October 2022 and agreed to implement several OPC recommendations. This includes no longer sharing personal customer information with Meta until further notice and obtaining express consent from customers.

Image credit: Shutterstock 

Source: Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

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Cottage Life

Three urgent product recalls issued for Canadian Tire, Home Depot, and Best Buy

Photo by Shutterstock

A number of big-brand stores in Canada, including Best Buy, Canadian Tire, and Home Depot, have been hit with product recalls as Health Canada urges consumers to stop using certain items immediately.

Canadian Tire issued a recall, asking consumers to return any 043-5120 Mastercraft 7500W/240V Electric Utility Workshop/Garage Heaters w/Remote Control and Thermostat, Black, purchased from its stores. Similar to the Insignia air fryers, Canadian Tire said in its recall notice that the workshop/garage heater runs the risk of overheating, posing a burn and fire hazard.

Mastercraft Workshop/Garage Heater
Photo Courtesy of Canadian Tire

The Canadian Tire recall is batch-related, meaning it only affects Mastercraft workshop/garage heaters with the date codes: 08/2020, 09/2020, and 12/2020. You can find the date code on the Intertek sticker pasted on the product.

If you purchased an affected workshop/garage heater, you can return it to your local Canadian Tire store for an exchange or a refund. If you have any other questions, you can reach out to Canadian Tire’s customer relations at 1-800-387-8803.

Health Canada issued a recall for a 12/2 NMD90 75M Romex SIMpull cable (yellow), model number 47175576, sold at Home Depot. The recall affects cable batch numbers 616295, 616296, 616297, 616298 and 616301 with a time stamp between 12:41 and 18:02. You can find the time stamp printed directly on the cable.

Romex Yellow Electrical Cable
Photo Courtesy of Health Canada

The reason for the recall is that the yellow electrical cable’s neutral wire is a 14-gauge wire rather than a 12-gauge wire, as specified on the product’s stamp. This could impair the cable’s performance and prevent it from meeting safety codes and standards, said Health Canada in its recall notice.

Home Depot has sold approximately 1,734 spools of the cable in Canada, with all of the affected product sold between October 19, 2021, and October 29, 2021. As of April 8, Home Depot had not received any reports of incidents or injuries caused by the cable.

If you purchased a spool of the affected cable, Health Canada advises that you immediately stop using the product. If you have any questions about the cable, you can contact Southwire Canada’s toll-free support line at 1-833-408-0463, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST.

Health Canada also issued a recall for Insignia Digital Air Fryers, Insignia Analog Air Fryers, and Insignia Digital Air Fryer Ovens sold at Best Buy and through Amazon and Ebay. The affected products include model numbers: NS-AF32MBK9-C, NS-AF53MSS0-C, NS-AF55DBK9-C, NS-AF50MBK9-C, NS-AFO6DSS1-C, and NS-AF50DBK0-C.

Insignia Air Fryer Oven
Photo Courtesy of Health Canada

“The product can overheat, posing a potential burn and fire hazard,” Health Canada said in its recall notice. Between November 2018 and April 2022, Best Buy sold approximately 138,570 units of the affected air fryers and air fryer ovens in Canada and 634,522 in the U.S.

As of March 25, the company had received 36 incident reports in Canada regarding the affected products, including one report of minor injury and 68 incident reports in the U.S., including one report of minor injury.

If you purchased a recalled air fryer or air fryer oven from Best Buy, Health Canada advises that you immediately stop using the product and arrange to return the air fryer by registering online on Best Buy’s website or calling 1-877-650-5411 any time between 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday.

Consumers will receive an in-store credit at Best Buy equivalent to the cost of the air fryer product. Returns don’t require a purchase receipt, but Best Buy asks that you arrange the return through its website or over the phone instead of bringing the product into a store.