Best Buy

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Best Buy

Basic information
Founded	1966
Legal Structure	Public
Industry	Electronics Retail
Also known as
Official website	https://bestbuy.com/

Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American multinational chain of stores that specializes in retailing consumer electronics.

Consumer Impact Summary

User Privacy Concerns

• Collects extensive personal data (including sensitive information like fingerprints and health data)
• Tracks users across devices/browsers without honoring "Do Not Track" requests
• Shares/sells data with third parties by default
• Opaque privacy policy with difficult opt-out process

Business Model Issues

• Discontinued app support, rendering products partially functional
• Limited compensation (partial gift cards, max 10 devices) with short 56-day claim window

Incidents

This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the Best Buy category.

Discontinuation of Insignia Connect app

Main article: Best Buy discontinuation of Insignia Connect

On November 6, 2019, Best Buy discontinued support for their Insignia Connect app, resulting in major functionality losses for affected Insignia products that used the service. Best Buy did provide compensation to affected customers, however, this was only in the form of a partial refund, issued in the form of a virtual gift card that was determined by the product type. Customers were also only able to redeem up to a maximum of 10 serial numbers for product refunds, even if they owned more than 10 affected products. Refunds for affected products has since ceased, as the window to apply for compensation only lasted for 56 days from the discontinuation date.

Collaboration with the FBI

The FBI payed Geek Squad employees as informants. Geek Squad employees reported "indecent material" found on laptop brought in for repair to the FBI.

Anti-consumer Practices

Data Privacy Concerns

According to Best Buy's privacy policy, the company may collect, sell, and share information that users willingly provide, as well as information gathered through various tracking technologies.

In general, users may be asked to provide the company with their name, various forms of contact information, and payment information.

In "certain situations," users may also be asked to provide:

• Driver's license number
• Social Security number
• Demographic and lifestyle information
• Health information
• Fingerprints
• Facial/wrist geometry (although the policy states this occurs in real time and the data is not retained)

The company may also collect data that users do not knowingly or explicitly provide:

• Camera and sensor data (from physical store locations)
• User IP address
• User browser information, browsing history, and referring URL
• The unique IMEI/UDID or MAC address of users mobile device
• The IDFA (Apple ID) or AAID (Google ID) of users mobile device
• Location information

This data collection can occur directly through users browser/device, or through third party web tracking technologies such as cookies, pixels and tags.

All of the above information can be sold or shared with third parties, including Best Buy's "subsidiaries" and "affiliates."

The policy exhibits some additional traits that privacy-conscious individuals would likely find concerning:

• Users are opted in to data collection/sharing by default.
• The company does not honor the "do not track" request some browsers are able to set.
• It is not easy to quickly read the policy and understand exactly what is collected and how it is shared.
• Opting out may require users to provide some information that the user doesn't want collected.
• Opting out must be done per browser/device, and is stored with a simple browser cookie. If the cookie is erased, the user must opt out again.

Hidden/Unapproved Subscriptions

Several users have reported that Best Buy enrolled them in Best Buy's Geek Squad and/or My Best Buy subscription services without their consent.

Enablement of Device Trade-In Theft

According to Best Buy’s Trade in Program Terms and Conditions, it is stated that the customer must “agree that Best Buy, its parent company and affiliates, will not be responsible under any circumstances for any loss or damage to the Item.”

In the event a shipping carrier or warehouse employee steals, damages, or otherwise tampers with a traded in device, the customer is left defenseless. Especially in cases where the device’s value is awarded in “trade in credit,” a chargeback is not possible.

In correspondence with Best Buy’s executive resolutions team, it was stated that:

While Best Buy provides the prepaid shipping label for mail‑in trade‑ins, we are not able to file or pursue carrier claims for trade‑in shipments. Once a trade‑in package is verified by our Trade‑In Center as received without the device inside, the determination is final under the Online Trade‑In Program Terms and Conditions. In these situations, Best Buy does not provide carrier claim support, internal intake documentation, or trade‑in compensation.

This presents a condition where:

1. Customer is required to deactivate Stolen Device Protection or similar features under the terms of the Trade In program to result in a successful trade
2. Customer has no ability to contest Best Buy’s “decision” claiming packages have arrived empty
3. Customer has no opportunity to file a claim with the shipping carrier, as Best Buy (the creator of the label) is the shipper, and refuses to file or assist in filing carrier claims (
   • “We do not file or complete claims with carriers for lost or damaged packages, nor do we award trade-in value for those items.”
4. Shipping carriers, warehouse staff, or members of the general public who have identified a package bound for Best Buy’s warehouse can steal devices en route to Best Buy without consequence.

Additional Reading

Collaboration with the FBI

EFF's FOIA regarding the FBI paying Best Buy to act as an informant [1] and [2] Archived at: [3] and [4]