this post was submitted on 23 Oct 2023
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Privacy

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A few days ago I sent a GDPR request to some company to delete my personal data. They said to install their app and send a ticket from the app. The email was sent from the email address to which the account is registered. Is this even legal?

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[–] [email protected] 24 points 11 months ago (3 children)

They were very friendly imo. No need to speak legalese or to be rude.

Just tell them that you can't or don't want to install the app.

If they don't help you, then you proceed to remind them that you are not required to install anything for them to comply with GDPR.

[–] [email protected] 76 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Being friendly doesn't negate the fact that they are out of compliance with the law. Even sending a second email to insist they delete your data is an undue burden.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 11 months ago (1 children)

You're right, but sometimes a bit of undue courtesy repays in dividends. Not every minor infraction is nefarious and not every minor infraction deserves reporting. A simple courteous reminder of their obligations may save both parties some undue hassle.

I can imagine this company doing this to ensure only authenticated users can have their data removed. There are other ways...but this was probably what they considered reasonable and painless for all, admittedly they (wrongly) didn't consider the audience of this community in that decision.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 11 months ago (2 children)

A simple courteous reminder of their obligations may save both parties some undue hassle.

Actually, the customer is already getting undue hassle, while the company is just breaking the law. Why can't we just expect better?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Remember that you're talking to some poorly paid person that has to deal with unhappy people all day and probably doesn't even agree with these policies. This is no different than being in a restaurant - don't be rude to service people. Be polite, but firm. You can express that you're unhappy and that this isn't acceptable in a way that doesn't come off as berating some first level service drone.

[–] [email protected] 54 points 11 months ago

It's the bare minimum of friendliness expected in customer care. Most likely a macro which is normal with these kind of requests.