HSBC's Email Tracking Failure Reveals Surveillance Capitalism in Banking
By
HotGarbage
Crisp on the outside, thoughtful on the inside. A keeper.
Summary
The author recounts a confusing experience with HSBC bank, where they received a letter claiming emails were being returned undelivered and requiring an email address update, despite the author receiving all HSBC emails without issue. The article explores how this situation reveals the bank's reliance on email tracking pixels and surveillance capitalism - HSBC can't conceive that their tracking methods might fail, assuming email delivery problems when their surveillance tools don't work rather than actual delivery failures. The piece critiques how financial institutions have adopted invasive tracking practices that prioritize monitoring customer engagement over reliable communication.
Key quotes
· 4 pulledI received a letter from them telling me that emails to me were being 'returned undelivered' and they needed me to update the email address on my account.
The problem, it turns out, is that surveillance capitalism is now so widespread that the bank cannot conceive that their own attempts to spy on their customers might not be 100% reliable.
HSBC can't conceive that their tracking methods might fail, assuming email delivery problems when their surveillance tools don't work rather than actual delivery failures.
The piece critiques how financial institutions have adopted invasive tracking practices that prioritize monitoring customer engagement over reliable communication.
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