Bukalapak, OLX Deny Findings about Collection of Private Information

Online marketplace Bukalapak and OLX have released a clarification statement regarding Opera Max's findings on the collection of private information by e-commerce firms around the globe.

Opera Max stated that Bukalapak and OLX are among the top 12 shopping apps that frequently send a high number of trackers.

Both Bukalapak and OLX denied the result and stated that the customer data they had collected was not sensitive and was used to develop their services to generate a better shopping experience.

As a company that applies a data-driven experience concept, Bukalapak confirmed that its customer data was important. Furthermore, the company stated that its collaboration with a third party did not involve customers’ crucial information, such as credit cards and escrow accounts. It also stated that although they still utilized HTTP protocols for their transaction processes, the option was safe and no data could be obtained from mobile or a public Wi-Fi connection. It also works together with a payment getaway that guarantees the safety of customer data.

Similarly, OLX said it only collected users’ open information without sharing it with other parties and that the data was used for service development and improving user experience.

However, the company currently does not use HTTP, although they used to employ it around five months ago.

Data management and privacy app Opera Max publicized findings that stated more than 50 percent of e-commerce apps for Android devices sent trackers to users. The study said that the tracker, or non-encrypted HTTP connection via mobile connection, could be used to share customer data with a third party. Opera Max also revealed a list of 12 e-commerce apps that often sent a high amount of trackers, including Amazon Shopping, JCPenney, Bukalapak and OLX.

Opera Max also quoted research that said that customers’ names, e-mail addresses, location, search terms and phone numbers were among the pieces of information shared with third parties.

- Disclosure: The original article is in Indonesian and syndicated in English by The Jakarta Post