🍽️ OpenTable and “Silent” Data Sharing with Restaurants
In a recent expert interview, it was revealed that the popular restaurant reservation app — OpenTable — collects far more user data than most people imagine.
Moreover, this information is shared directly with restaurants, which can use it for customer analysis, profiling, or micro-targeting.
The expert (former White House CIO) emphasises:
If the product is free, you are the product.
📊 What Data Does OpenTable Collect and Share?
It’s not just basic reservation details. Collected data also includes:
- 🥂 Dining and drink preferences (e.g., wine, dishes, allergies),
- ⏰ Typical visit times – lunch, dinner, weekends,
- 💳 Spending level – average amount left at the restaurant,
- 🔁 Reservation cancellation history, even last-minute ones,
- ⌛ Behaviour style – whether you arrive on time,
- 🧭 General consumption patterns, which can be monetised.
All this creates a precise consumer profile that restaurants can use to…
🔐 How to Protect Your Privacy?
While OpenTable doesn’t break the law (it describes the data scope in its privacy policy), it’s worth following a few principles:
- Read the privacy policy, especially the data sharing section,
- Disable permissions the app doesn’t truly need (e.g., background location),
- Don’t log in via Google/Facebook if not necessary — this limits data correlation,
- Use unique email addresses for service apps (e.g., aliases),
- Don’t use “free” services without understanding the cost — often, it’s your data.
🧭 Summary
OpenTable or similar apps providing online services are convenient tools, but they operate on a model where user behaviour is precisely analysed. Collected data is then used by restaurants, influencing your experience “from the inside” — even before you enter the venue.
This case reminds us that in the digital world:
- Every app is an analytics tool,
- User privacy is currency,
- Convenience always comes at a price.
A conscious approach to apps and data is now a fundamental element of security — not just digital, but also consumer.
If the product is free, you are the product.
Get in Touch
If you want to learn more about privacy, cybersecurity, or need an app audit:
Email: biuro@wichran.pl
Phone: +48 515 601 621
Author: Piotr Wichrań – Court-appointed IT forensic expert, IT/OT cybersecurity specialist, licensed private investigator.
@Informatyka.Sledcza