I came across this site and the application BoardingPass (http://www.travelogia.com/boardingpass/download.asp) that seemed like a wonderful idea for scoping out travel arrangements. Essentially, it vastly simplifies searching for air travel by aggregating a search through 20 or so different web sites.
I downloaded the BoardingPass application and installed it on my system. This service is free, but ad driven. You have to give up an email address, name and other info. I read the privacy statement where they “guaranteed” complete privacy of your personal information excepting what they would pass to the service when you booked flight arrangements through them. I figured that I might be able to make good use of this in the future, rather than having to wonder form site to site looking for the right connection. I gave up my real email address, name, address, etc.
I ran the BoardingPass application on some travel dates that I need to make arrangements for. They ran through their service connections and produced a nice list of results. But the results are very superficial and don’t list, for instance, flight numbers. It seems that only way to get this information is to click the BOOK icon. I figurer this would be OK, since I wasn’t actually going to book a flight at this time but need to see more detail. I was right in that the book display gave me the flight numbers (which I could use to try to further customize the arrangements by calling a particular airline). Once I had the information I needed, I clicked the cancel button to return to the main flight listing. I did this for a number of flight possibilities.
Within a few minutes of , I suddenly got a slew of email in my inbox welcoming me to Hotwired.com, Expedia.com, Northwest Airlines, Cheap Tickets and Trip.com, even though I did not book any travel. My real email address , name and other information was communicated to these services merely by the act of trying to obtain more information through the BoardingPass application. Each of these services registered me as a new user and will of course, now add to list of spam garbage that I get everyday.
Below are some relevant excerpts from the BoardingPass welcome message (for registering) and their current privacy statement. Note this statement: “We are committed to protecting your personal information-whether you are a TraveLogia.com Member or just interested in researching and booking travel”. To me, this states that if you don’t actually book something, then your information is supposed to remain protected. Clearly, this is a lie.
If anyone chooses to use this application, I would strongly recommend that you use a disposable or non-primary email address, name, etc. Otherwise, your information WILL be passed around indiscreetly by the mere act of searching for travel and the related details.
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Congratulations on successfully downloading, installing and registering as a FREE TraveLogia
BoardingPass user.
Your User Name is: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
We’re committed to making your travel planning and purchasing easy and safe. Your privacy is
guaranteed.
Your Personal information will not be shared or disclosed to anyone else without your consent.
On behalf of TraveLogia.com, we thank you again and look forward to helping you find the best travel values for your dollars.<Except for the purposes indicated in this Privacy and Security Policy, we will NOT disclose, sell, share, or rent any of your personal information, including your name, address, credit card number, or transaction history, to any third party.What Personal Information Does TraveLogia.com Collect and What Do We Do With It?
We are committed to protecting your personal information-whether you are a TraveLogia.com Member or just interested in researching and booking travel. Like you, we enjoy the convenience of shopping online. We recognize that privacy is an important issue. At TraveLogia.com, we appreciate your trust in us and remain committed to ensuring that your personal information is secure.Sharing of Personal Information
TraveLogia.com understands that, as an online consumer, you care about how your personal information is shared. We take your privacy concerns very seriously and are committed to ensuring your personal information is secure at all times. We will only share your personally identifiable information in the following ways:
When you book travel with TraveLogia.com, the personal information you provide us will be shared with the appropriate third parties necessary to complete your purchases. This includes the vendors you have selected (for example, airlines, hotels, etc.) as well as the third parties facilitating the transactions (for example, credit card authorization companies). The personal information we provide these third parties will ONLY be that which is necessary to ensure your travel arrangements are successfully confirmed and executed. <
), all you are giving out is a contact address, not personal information.
and I’ll never give them the chance to get on my screen.
