Chick-fil-A just lost a customer

[retired1]

So, my phone is just about as secure as my computers at home. For Internet access, it has an ad blocker, malware protection and it runs 24/7 on a VPN. Imagine my surprise when I fired up the Chick-fil-A app and it flat refused to work.

Hmmmm, sez I. Let's do some troubleshooting and see what's up with that. First, I added it to the "bypass" list in AdGuard. Nope. No joy. Disabled Malwarebytes. Still no joy. Disabled the VPN. DING DING DING. We have a winner!

Immediately fire off an email stating I shouldn't have to disable security protocols on my device in order to use their app. Imagine my surprise when I received this in reply:

Thank you for contacting Chick-fil-A CARES
Your connection may blocked due to a private connection from your device or network. This often happens when the use of private ad blockers, private Wi-Fi, or a VPN is detected. For security reasons, the Chick-fil-A One App requires device information to grant access.
Here are some suggestions for mobile devices: Ensure your VPN is off and try switching from Wi-Fi to cellular data. If you're on a computer, check for browser extensions that might be blocking the necessary device information.
Unfortunately, if our system can't gather this information, security protocols may prevent access to your account.

We appreciate your loyalty to Chick-fil-A and we look forward to serving you soon.

My reply?

Wrong answer. Being able to collect data is never a good reason to tell a customer to disable security protocols. You just lost a customer.

Security reasons my hind end. They're collecting data for marketing purposes and couching it under the guise of "security". That's absolute horse dung. What a shame. I really like their food, but if they're going to lie through their teeth about why it's necessary to disable security protocols just to order via their app, I'd rather not do business with them.

 

[DavidOck]

For exactly that reason I have ZERO fast food apps on my phone. They all do the same, gather your personal data for sale. The price you pay for convenience and discounts. NO THANKS.