So retailers and malls are beginning to monitor all visitors' cell signals, which help create "heat maps" that glow red where the most foot traffic is-perfect for showing where to best place displays, in-store ads, and high-margin merchandise. Your mobile phone is an excellent device for tracking your shopping route. A Target spokesperson refused to comment about the store's use of video analytics and other tools, even though its privacy policy states that the retailer collects information "recorded by in-store cameras." Macy's, for example, employs video analytics, according to printed promotional materials from Cisco, a maker of such systems, but a Macy's spokeswoman didn't return our repeated calls for comment. Who's using them: "Most of the big chains are trying video analytics," says Robert Hetu, research director for retailing at Gartner, an investment research firm. The system can also nab shoplifters and identity thieves and examine the veracity of slip-and-fall injury claims, keeping fraud costs (and prices) down. What's in it for you: Stores use video customer counts to set staffing and reduce cashier-line backups. Last October, the Federal Trade Commission recommended clear disclosure to consumers, security standards for stored video, and customer opt-out or consent in certain circumstances. Stores don't provide sufficient disclosure, so you can't opt out to protect your privacy. If that info is not securely stored, it could be hacked. Your face and vehicle license plate can be linked. The video can be merged with a store's other data, such as footage of you at the cash register plus the transaction details of what you bought, for how much, using what credit card. There are even mannequins whose eyes are cameras that detect the age, sex, ethnicity, and facial expressions of passers-by. What's creepy about them: Gaze trackers are hidden in tiny holes in the shelving and detect which brands you're looking at and how long for each. With facial-recognition software, your mug shot can be captured and digitally filed without your knowledge or permission. The footage is then stored and catalogued for easy searching. High-resolution video cameras monitor all areas in and outside the store. "While most consumers understand a need for security cameras, few expect that the in-store video advertising monitor they're watching … is watching them" with a pinhole camera, says Pam Dixon, executive director of World Privacy Forum, a nonprofit research group in San Diego. And you probably never imagined that retailers would be so interested in spying on honest shoppers. Also, odds are you've never read or decoded what you've agreed to in bank, retailer, and app privacy policies. If all of this is news to you, it's probably because disclosure is poor to nonexistent, say experts familiar with these practices. The main goal of these surveillance methods, of course, is to get you to shop more and spend more. Even your bank account records are being pried into. Hidden cameras classify you by age, sex, and ethnicity, and even detect your body language and mood. Your face and car's license plate are captured and filed in searchable databases. But many walk-in retailers are taking spying to a new level. Cookies track our every move online, and salespeople follow us around high-end stores. We're used to being watched when we shop.
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