No one saw it happen,
The world slept on,
The changes were set,
And the beast crept in.
The beast exposed you,
Your wife,
Your son,
Your daughter,
Your mother,
No longer were your secrets your secrets.
No place safe,
No secrets,
No surprises,
No happiness,
No joy.
The beast took it all,
When it changed its call,
The beast stole our right,
The beast crept through night.
Recently #ebay altered its #TOS on the use of its website under cover of the split with #Paypal. @ebay altered several key important privacy issues. The most debasing is the right of a user to delete their #ebay search history. When I first became aware of this I was sure that there was an error. However the more I dug the worse it got. #Internet forums are alight with questions, hopes and workarounds. None of them useful.
Why is this concerning?
The search/buying history is splashed on the users #ebay landing page after they log in. This can easily be seen by anyone anywhere the user may log in.
So why is this important?
Given there are some who may be embarrassed if their search history was ever seen. Many use @ebay to purchase #medical aids they would never buy in public. Some may be embarrassed by some items they must purchase due to culture. But the greatest issue that was replete in many #forums was a sharing factor. I will use my case. My wife and I share my #ebay account, most of the time she emails me the link of the item she wants, however sometimes she logs into my account. So now the problem. Recently I purchased a gift for my wife, a really nice two tone tablet cover. Now I do not want this #gift to be know to her. But if she were to log into my #ebay account right now she would see what I searched for on my @ebay landing page. But even if she did not hit the landing page the search history follows you throughout your visit on the left hand side.
Many of the people in forums (many @ebay controlled forums) expressed grave concern over the history, gift buying and sharing accounts. Many were concerned about upcoming #birthdays #Christmas and other events. In reply, some of those posters were encourged to tell their other family members to create their own accounts. Some of this advice was posted by insiders at @ebay. Interesting, is this an attempt by #ebay to create more accounts?
I think it abhorrent on the part of @ebay that they have stripped the #rights of the @ebay community to control the history of their own accounts. I think what may happen is @ebay will loose accounts, not gain them.
Shame on #ebay.