Am I risking anything by being on Vinted?

2 million 385 276 euros. That’s the huge fine imposed on Vinted by Lithuania’s personal data protection authority, according to data from the National Commission for Information Technologies and Freedoms (Cnil). “Since 2020, the CNIL has received numerous complaints against the company Vinted, which mainly relate to the difficulties people have faced in exercising their right to data erasure,” the press release states. Most of the complaints come from France, the country where the most customers have the used platform.

The report reveals that Vinted has implemented a “stealth ban” system. Understand. a strategy that makes it possible to “make the activity of a malicious user (who does not respect the rules of the platform) invisible to other users” without the latter realizing it, “with the aim of encouraging him to leave. the platform. If this functionality has good intentions, the CNIL does not approve of the “conditions in which it is implemented”. According to the French authorities, this secret ban violates the rights of users “especially because they were not informed about this measure and this could lead to discrimination”. Vinted told AFP that he “fundamentally” disapproves of this legal decision, adding that it is not based on “any basis” and that it sets “a new precedent that. [va] outside of both existing legislation and industry practices. This development, however, puts a debate on the table: are we protected when we browse Vinted?

Personal information. “high priority” for Vinted

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which entered into force on May 25, 2018, is a European text that regulates data processing “in an equal manner throughout the European Union,” according to the government’s website. This text aims to both strengthen the rights of individuals and those involved in data processing. But no one is safe from unpleasant surprises. For its part, the Vinted site is clear on the subject, stating that user data is one of their “top priorities.” The company explains that it works with secure payment service providers and takes necessary measures to protect the personal data of its users. He also notes that if hackers break into the app, “they’ll never see all of your personal information” using the familiar informality required on the platform.

Messages that are encouraging at a time when procurement applications in France are growing, sometimes in the wrong direction. Here we are thinking about Temu, a fast fashion giant available in France from April 2023 that was suspected of espionage. Information provided by CNN, which in April 2023, during an investigation, found that the Pinduoduo group (Temu’s sister company) was able to interfere with Android smartphones and thus “access users’ contacts, calendars, notifications and photo albums without their consent.” .

Be alert

To avoid unpleasant surprises, every user has simple measures to take to protect their personal data as much as possible, even before any download. Starting by reading the terms of use of the application you are going to download, do not fill in the information marked “optional” during registration, carefully configure the applications to avoid displaying too much information about the application (email address, phone number, etc.). And, obviously, no company will ever repeat it enough. never reveal your passwords.