MunVaRay

Cashback for grocery receipts? The Hidden Cost of "Free"

January 25, 2026•892 words

image

The Hidden Cost of "Free"

Right, so what I was saying is, isn’t it strange that there are apps these days where you scan your receipts and get some cashback, a discount, or points? It seems like free money. People start by scanning their own receipts, then they start collecting them from friends at school or colleagues at work just to get those extra points.

But here’s the reality: all those receipts are sent to companies that sell your life story to data brokers. These are companies whose entire business model is gathering every scrap of info about you to sell it to other people. That’s their entire business model.

The Data: As of 2026, the data broker industry is worth over $360 billion. They aren't just looking at what you buy; they are building a "digital twin" of you. *

Now, in America, we do have some laws. You can reach out to these brokers and opt out, but most people don't even know these companies exist, let alone that their information is being sold.

Your Data as a Product

What ends up happening is you start getting random mail or seeing weirdly specific ads. Let's say you bought a PlayStation 5. You didn’t search for it online or do anything else. You just scanned that physical paper receipt. Suddenly, you’re bombarded with ads for PS5 accessories. Some are good, but others are cheap knock-offs or flat-out scams.

This happens because those data brokers take your receipt and add it to your consumer profile.. They essentially build a digital version of you and put you into a "bucket" for people who just bought high-end electronics.

Legitimate brands and scam artists both buy access to those same buckets. They target you because they know exactly what is sitting in your living room, and you’re left having to figure out for yourself which ads are real and which ones are fake.

Someone's at the front door?

But it goes deeper than ads. Imagine someone is sleeping at home, deep in sleep, and suddenly there’s a loud bang. The door is broken down, police sirens are blaring, and they’re dragged out of bed. Let’s say it’s immigration services (ICE). Why did they come for him?

Those data brokers sell your info to their consumers (government, private companies, politicians, etc alike) who share with companies like Palantir or others, these are massive data analytics firms whose stocks are soaring right now. These companies buy your data legally. Your driving habits, your home address, your grocery list—it all leaves a digital trail.

Reference: Investigations by groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) show that agencies like ICE buy access to private databases—like utility bills and DMV records—to bypass the need for a search warrant. *

"Make Profiling Cool Again"

What do they do with it? They run it through AI to try and figure out who might be living here illegally. Maybe someone scanned a bunch of receipts from Mexican grocery stores or Hispanic shops. The AI looks at that, then looks at your map data: Are you visiting immigration lawyers? Which websites are you hitting? Once that digital breadcrumb trail exists, it’s available online for a long time.

And it’s not just receipts. Look at Ring sharing. There have been huge concerns about how these doorbells share footage with law enforcement and agencies like ICE. Even if you aren't doing anything wrong, your neighborhood becomes a web of cameras that you don't control.

The Bottom Line

If you have searched yourself, you’ll see that Google isn’t the only thing out there. There are "people search" sites that have your phone number, your relatives' names, and your past addresses all sitting there for a $10 subscription. I am not even talking about all your data sitting in the data black markets.

All I’m saying is: be careful. Nothing in this world is truly free. If you don’t pay the cost upfront, you pay it in the long run with a lot of interest. Don't share info if you don't have to. Some people don’t care, and that’s fine, but at least keep the important stuff offline. Don’t break the law, and don't give them anything they can use against you.

This shouldn't sound science-fiction to you at all. This is the reality we live in.

The emperors are naked and they command us to be the same. But they mistake their own filth for skin, and their shame for a crown. 🦁

-MunVaRay

Coming up next:
I’m going to cover how all these publicly accessible security cameras are becoming a total menace. It’s not just the movies anymore—anyone can grab these feeds and run them through tools that tell them exactly where that purple car with license plate XYZ went. Or worse, what PIN Susan was entering on her phone at the traffic light while the camera across the street was watching. I'll get into that next time.

Sources:

React to this post
👍❤️🫶👏👌🤯🤔😂😍😭😢😡😮

You'll only receive email when they publish something new.

More from MunVaRay
All posts