Adding to what sid said , loc data is required to serve and user explicitly knows that his loc is being shared.Blinkit is able to trace the type of location , they might be extracting from the building name or hit map providers to identify the type of location. Blinkit might be adding some validation conditions to remove false positives to avoid mis classification of customers, like what are the prev orders of the user ?, etc., So net net blinkit is not collecting anyother info from the user. They are just consuming the info better. Coming to privacy , i think its kind of okayish i feel in this scenario. Think about payment companies , banks. They know a lot about us. They can mine a ton of info about each of us. Cred takes access to your entire email account. But still its allowed. They are the custodians. They are given the responsibility of the data. So collecting info + responsibility should work i guess.
I agree. I think the larger point here is that all information is being given by the user knowingly.
As long as blinkit doesn't use it for other purposes or sell that info to other parties, it still doesn't feel like a breach of privacy.
Data/Identity privacy in India is still very nascent. The larger issue is also that most consumers don't understand the seriousness of privacy breaches.
Isn't that why we have so many bank/card frauds happening these days.
Blinkit’s initiative to prioritize orders from hospitals and offer emotional support is commendable, as it adds a human touch to their service. If consent was explicitly obtained, it aligns with data protection principles. However, on an ethical level, this raises important questions about user privacy. Identifying that an order is from a hospital indirectly reveals sensitive information about the customer’s circumstances, which could be considered personal health-related data.
Privacy laws such as India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP Act) and globally recognized frameworks like GDPR classify health-related inferences as sensitive personal data that require higher standards of protection. Even with consent, companies must ensure data minimization—only collecting and processing what is absolutely necessary—and provide clear opt-out mechanisms.
A more privacy-conscious approach could be to prioritize orders silently without explicitly stating the reason or offer a general goodwill message to all users in priority zones. While personalizing customer experiences is valuable, it should always be balanced with ethical data handling practices.
On a lighter note everyone acknowledges Data privacy is a “Myth”
I think the general thought around privacy and data protection is valid. And I agree.
With that said, the larger challenge is this--when you're ordering food or groceries, you will need to provide an address.
And when you're in a hospital, there is a high chance the address of the place has the word "hospital" in it.
So as a consumer you don't have a lot of options to protect where you're ordering from.
Yes. It is also the job of the providers (in this case Blinkit) to protect user's data and privacy.
Like you said, laws in India are way behind when compared to the West, so while we should get there ASAP, it might be a long and bumpy journey before we get there.
Adding to what sid said , loc data is required to serve and user explicitly knows that his loc is being shared.Blinkit is able to trace the type of location , they might be extracting from the building name or hit map providers to identify the type of location. Blinkit might be adding some validation conditions to remove false positives to avoid mis classification of customers, like what are the prev orders of the user ?, etc., So net net blinkit is not collecting anyother info from the user. They are just consuming the info better. Coming to privacy , i think its kind of okayish i feel in this scenario. Think about payment companies , banks. They know a lot about us. They can mine a ton of info about each of us. Cred takes access to your entire email account. But still its allowed. They are the custodians. They are given the responsibility of the data. So collecting info + responsibility should work i guess.
I agree. I think the larger point here is that all information is being given by the user knowingly.
As long as blinkit doesn't use it for other purposes or sell that info to other parties, it still doesn't feel like a breach of privacy.
Data/Identity privacy in India is still very nascent. The larger issue is also that most consumers don't understand the seriousness of privacy breaches.
Isn't that why we have so many bank/card frauds happening these days.
Blinkit’s initiative to prioritize orders from hospitals and offer emotional support is commendable, as it adds a human touch to their service. If consent was explicitly obtained, it aligns with data protection principles. However, on an ethical level, this raises important questions about user privacy. Identifying that an order is from a hospital indirectly reveals sensitive information about the customer’s circumstances, which could be considered personal health-related data.
Privacy laws such as India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP Act) and globally recognized frameworks like GDPR classify health-related inferences as sensitive personal data that require higher standards of protection. Even with consent, companies must ensure data minimization—only collecting and processing what is absolutely necessary—and provide clear opt-out mechanisms.
A more privacy-conscious approach could be to prioritize orders silently without explicitly stating the reason or offer a general goodwill message to all users in priority zones. While personalizing customer experiences is valuable, it should always be balanced with ethical data handling practices.
On a lighter note everyone acknowledges Data privacy is a “Myth”
I think the general thought around privacy and data protection is valid. And I agree.
With that said, the larger challenge is this--when you're ordering food or groceries, you will need to provide an address.
And when you're in a hospital, there is a high chance the address of the place has the word "hospital" in it.
So as a consumer you don't have a lot of options to protect where you're ordering from.
Yes. It is also the job of the providers (in this case Blinkit) to protect user's data and privacy.
Like you said, laws in India are way behind when compared to the West, so while we should get there ASAP, it might be a long and bumpy journey before we get there.