I’ve spent my entire life being careful and cautious about my personal information and finances. I’m not going to let Link take me down. I’ll report back after my call.
Okay it’s been a process, but here’s what I’ve done. I tried calling Link on Monday, but in order to speak to a representative I needed to enter my 12-digit account number, which I was never given and it made me think that an account wasn’t actually made, even though it said it was after I clicked on the button that said Verify Your Email.
I then contacted security@wyze. It was faster and easier than trying to speak to a Wyze representative on the phone, who told me they didn’t know anything about Link. I received a response that said:
“When you updated your payment method on the Wyze website, the checkout was processed by Link, a payment service used by our payment processor, Stripe. The email you received from Link (“Thanks for using Link at Wyze/Verify your email”) is part of their normal flow and, based on what you described, does not indicate a security breach or that your Wyze account has been compromised. Wyze and Link are separate services. We don’t have access to your Link account, so we’re not able to delete or manage that account from our side. If you’d like to remove your information or close your Link account, you would need to do that directly with Link using the options provided in their emails or on their website. Using Link for checkout does not change how Wyze protects your account or your subscription with us. Your Wyze account and payment still remain secure.”
Although informative, they passed the ball back to Link, who on their website says if you have concerns about the use of your private information, you should contact your merchant directly, which I did.
I went back to Link’s website and clicked on their privacy information email button, which opened privacy@stripe.com. I told them my story and that when I contacted Wyze Security they directed me to contact Link. I asked them if I have an account at Link, which is the message I got after clicking on Verify Your Email. If so, how do I delete it without knowing the 12-digit account number? I said I don’t want an account with Link, I only want to pay my annual fee to Wyze. I also asked them what personal information of mine they have other than my email address and my credit card number and will they be sharing my information with other companies? I said I DO NOT WANT MY PERSONAL INFORMATION COLLECTED OR SHARED.
I’ll share their response when I get it.
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Thank you to carverofchoice for all the information about how to remove your personal information from companys’ websites. I found it helpful and useful.
Thanks for doing all of this and sharing the info here! I wish we didn’t need to go through all of this, but I am afraid this is the way things go until we can get better pro-consumer laws in place.
Here is the response I got from Stripe Privacy. Apparently, the Delete Account button I clicked on to close the account (that was automatically created without my permission) did reach them even though I never got any confirmation of this at the time. I highlighted in bold where they say Wyze created the account and also information about their retention of personal data:
Upon a thorough investigation conducted via the email address you reached out from, we have identified a closed Link Account.
For some context, Link is a Stripe product that allows you to save your payment details and identity information for online purchases in one place. Using Link, your details will autopopulate on the checkout page while purchasing from Stripe Merchants. It is possible that a Link account was created during a checkout process with a Stripe Merchant. The Stripe Merchant responsible for the creation of your Link Account is ‘Wyze’.
We can confirm that your Link account has been closed and scheduled for deletion along with your personal information in accordance with our retention policies.
Please note that Stripe may retain some personal data even after account closure where permitted by law, including to comply with our legal obligations. For example, Stripe has anti-money laundering and financial regulatory obligations to retain records for certain specified periods. For more information, please visit https://link.com/in/privacy#5-security-and-retention.
If you are asking us to delete any stored card details related to payments made via Stripe, please note that Stripe is a payments processor that works with businesses to help them accept payments through their websites, apps, and in store. Stripe is used by thousands of online businesses (https://stripe.com/customers).
If you would like to request the deletion of your personal data from your merchant, please contact your merchant.
Please note that we do not transfer your personal data to third parties in exchange for payment. However, we may provide the data to third-party partners, such as advertising partners, analytics providers, and social networks, who assist us in advertising our products and Services to you. Because these third parties may use the data Stripe provides for their own purposes, Stripe’s provision of data to these parties may be considered a data “sale” or “sharing” as those terms are defined under the CCPA and other applicable US privacy laws.
You can opt out of targeted advertising and any related data “sales” or “sharing” here: https://stripe.com/cookie-settings
In terms of data sharing, we currently don’t sell your data. If this were to change, we’d offer you an easy way to opt-out as required under law.
Please let us know if you have any other questions.
Best regards,
Stripe Privacy Team
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I also read on Link’s website that the personal information they store includes name, location, phone number, date of birth, IP address and device ID. Goes to show you how easy it is for companies to get that information on their own by sharing/selling.
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I find it very frustrating that Wyze told me they had nothing to do with creating an account in my name on Link and advised me to contact Link to delete the account. Then Link told me it was Wyze that created the account and that I should contact Wyze to delete any personal information. Neither company will take responsibility for creating the account and I’m the one who will deal with any repercussions of my information being sold/shared/compromised. Nice.
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