Groupon sent out an email to announce its latest changes to its terms of use and privacy statement, bringing new information and understanding regarding the way in which it intends to obtain and use location data for leveraging mobile services.
The email explained that if the Groupon mobile app is used, then the user has automatically opted in for sharing data through his or her mobile device so that Groupon is permitted to obtain geo-location data from that device and apply it for “marketing deals to you (and for other purposes listed in the ‘How Groupon Uses Personal Information’ section of the Updated Privacy Statement)”.
Another alteration to the agreements discussed new forms of business relationships being established by Groupon as well as various new kinds of technology that will be implemented for use.
Groupon has already been highly successful in the online and mobile marketplaces for providing its members with discount offers from restaurants and retailers throughout the world. The Groupon website claims that since its creation in 2008, its members have saved over $2 billion.
It has already been available to iPhone and iPad users through an app that has been optimized for these Apple products. This has been working successfully for over a year, since March 2010. It permits its users to organize and redeem deals and make purchases. They are also capable of using the social networking platform Facebook’s Connect feature to benefit from real time mapping to find the Groupon deal locations.
Over the last few months, location tracking has been a controversial issue regarding the protection of an individual’s privacy. In June 2011, two bills were introduced in order to restrict the way that private firms and government agencies alike would be able to use this technology to obtain and use location data.
