Canadian privacy commissioner Daniel Terrain will report on Wednesday the results of an investigation into whether fast food chain Tim Hortons’ mobile ordering app improperly tracks aisles and comes from users without their explicit consent.
L’enquête d’une durée de 23 mois a eu lieu après que le journaliste du National Post, James McLeod, ait obtenu des données montrant que l’application Tim Hortons sur son téléphone cellulaire avait suivi sa position plus de 2700 fois en moins de Five months.
The geo-tracking occurred even when Mr. McLeod was not using the app, although the company’s website stated that the tracking would only happen when the app was open.
Commissioner Therrien conducted the investigation jointly with the privacy commissioners of British Columbia, Quebec and Alberta.
The investigation is expected to determine whether Restaurant Brands International, Tim Hortons’ parent company, complied with Canada’s national privacy law and obtained meaningful consent from users to collect and use their location data.
Upon initiating the investigation, the company’s statement expressed confidence that the issue would be resolved and that the app had already been updated to ensure that location data was only tracked while using the app, regardless of specific phone settings.
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