This season is my favorite season of the year. It’s Football Season. Now is the time when I get to indulge in one of my favorite pastimes, Fantasy Football. My Sundays are now consumed by my phone glued to my side with constant trips to the ESPN Fantasy app to check my scores are inevitable.
Here is something I haven’t thought of though- with all my clicks on the ESPN Fantasy app, how much of my self is being exposed? The app is free, but what is the cost of my privacy?
The Walt Disney Company Privacy Intro
As you may or may not know, ESPN is owned by the Walt Disney Company. Therefore, their privacy policy remains the same regardless of their brands, properties, theme parks etc.
I was not surprised when I opened up the privacy policy on the ESPN Fantasy app. I had seen it a million times when making reservations for a Disney vacation or participating on in an ABC sweepstakes. I never took the time to actually explore it, so I took a bit of a deeper dive.
A Deep Dive- ESPN Fantasy App Policy
What type of info is being collected?
According to the Privacy Policy on the ESPN Fantasy App, they collect two types of information; personal information and anonymous information. The policy also indicates 10 specific pieces they collect.
- Registration Information- by creating an account, the app collects information relating to my name, country of residence, date of birth, email address, username etc.
- Transaction Information- if I were to make a purchase through the app the business may collect my postal address, payment information etc.
- Public Forum Information- Info I provide on pubic forms and public posts
- Information from messaging- By using the chat info within my leagues, my info is subject to being collected.
- Information from a third party
- Location information- the application can collect location information through my mobile device
- Activity information- My preference information, content views and how many times I am using the app can be tracked.
- Device Data- My mobile phone can be identified and collected.
- Still or video images- not relevant to ESPN Fantasy, but more for personal properties.
- Call recordings- if I call the ESPN Fantasy help line, my call can be monitored.
While this may seem like a lot of information being collected, this is pretty typical of what any other business or application will collect. This particular application does allow users to choose what information they want to share and can personalize their preferences.
Why is it being collected?
The Privacy Policy indicates that the information collected can be used for personalizing content, user communication, targeting advertising, identifying violations on The Walt Disney company’s policies or illegal activities.
Where does the info go?
It is interesting as the writing style convinces users that the information collection is simply for the benefit of the user. However, the policy does indicate that “advertisers and third parties also may collect information about your activity on our sites and applications…” but does not indicate who the third parties are and what their purposes are.
Do they retain the information?
Even if someone stops using the application, the privacy policy indicates that it will retain personal information “for the length of time needed to fulfill the purposes outlined.” Since the “purposes” are not specifically defined, I could assume that the information provided can be used for ongoing customer research or for lawsuit proceedings as indicated in the “why is it being collected?” section.
Conclusions
Point blank, the ESPN Fantasy app collects a lot of personal information about me and my content usage. This is certainly eye-opening to dive into, however I do find it encouraging that the app provides a lot of detail on what is being collected and why, and gives users the opportunity to adjust their privacy settings. The Walt Disney company also provides a teaching experience by defining terms used within the privacy policy. This is a great way to help users feel more informed and provides good customer strategy. Hopefully by understanding your power of choice, you can protect your information and make informed decisions about the information you are willing to share.
dananalyze.com 