I built the Loyalty Card Emulator 🪄 (apfelkompott.codeberg.page)

submitted 1 year ago by reibekuchen@lemmy.world to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

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Hey /c/privacy,

Similar to the idea that was proposed a month ago by @to_urcite_ty_kokos@lemmy.world, I built a little web app that allows one to "emulate" EAN13-based loyalty cards. I call it the Loyalty Card Emulator. 🪄

The app allows you to either select one of the built-in card numbers that I have found on the internet. (Only for demonstration purposes, of course!) Or you can just enter a code manually and create the loyalty card from it. The link to a card can be shared (e.g. if you and your SO use the same loyalty card).

At the moment, it is very basic and only has one single design that is supposed to visually mimic one of the biggest loyalty card providers that I know.

Architectural-wise, the app is written in TypeScript, powered by React and Vite. The app does not transmit and/or store your codes anywhere but on your device; it's a single-page application that runs entirely in your browser, without any server component.

The source code is publicly available here. The hosting is taken care of by Codeberg Pages - cheers for that!

Adding new card designs and/or preset codes can be achieved quite easily, so feel free to fork and contribute!

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[-] MidwayTheMagnificent@wayfarershaven.eu 14 points 1 year ago

This is awesome. Stateside they’re often tied to phone number, and/or buried in the (otherwise worthless) app

Shared loyalty cards really are a privacy necessity, I know exactly how much data those stores already have on me, and it’s a privacy nightmare.

[-] ErwinLottemann@feddit.de 1 points 1 year ago

not sure how loyalty cards work in the us, but i don't get how this should work with payback specifically.

you usually don't get any in-store rebate
you need to enable coupons which are tied to the card number, the coupons only lead to '200 extra points' or '3 times extra points'
the points are tied to the card number
you can buy things with points from their online store
you could pay with points, but that would mean you need to be sure there actually are points on that card (but to check that you would need to login to their portal or app)

the only thing that i can see is that you collect points for the person that 'owns' the number... 😐

[-] verdeviento@mander.xyz 5 points 1 year ago

While it's true that the person who 'owns' the number will get points from whatever you buy, this is still very useful in those stores (increasingly many, anecdotally) where the price is a lot lower at checkout when you have a card or associated phone number. 'Discounts', I.e. un-jacked up prices, only available when you sell your data.

[-] reibekuchen@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

I can confirm that this is the case at "Albert Heijn" in the Netherlands, where you can "save" a bit of money during checkout if you were to present your loyalty card.

[-] thanksforallthefish@literature.cafe 3 points 1 year ago

Here in the UK Tesco and Sainsburys now give a lower price at the till for loyalty card members

this post was submitted on 23 Sep 2023

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