Do You Have Privacy Concerns about the New MagicBands?

[*NikkiBell*]

On this week's show, Pete and members of the team discuss privacy concerns related to the new MagicBand system. What are your thoughts on the topic? How will you use the bands? Do you feel that the cons outweigh the pros?

 

[Mike2023]

Personally, For my family, I can't think of any cons.

Most of the stuff that can be done with Magicband can be done with your park tickets if disney was to choice to do it. The band at its base is just a new medium to store your ticket/room key information.

There is so much potential, I can't wait to see what they do with it.

 

[LilyWDW]

I have no issues with it.

It is optional.

Also, it is Disney property.

 

[WaltD4Me]

For me, it's a little too soon to tell. I do worry about things like the glitch with the CM not pushing the "clear folio" key. Like Pete said, every new thing has glitches no one thought of.

 

[lugnut33]

None.

The thing I worry about is them getting smelly during the heat of summer. Yuck.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

For me being disabled having a wrist band to open my room, enter the park and pay etc without having to keep getting out a ticket, credit card , room key etc is a real bonus. I would be kidding myself as we stay on disney property anyway and charge most items to our room card that they dont already track what we are doing! So I see it as a bonus. It is optional as OP said. I will be trying FP+ for parade for sure!

 

[Mike2023]

None.

The thing I worry about is them getting smelly during the heat of summer. Yuck.

This is a good point. Im hoping they build one into a watch of some sort. There going to have premium options for sure. If one is a watch I'm happy.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

My only concern is whether they will sell the info. If it all stays within the Disney family of companies I am fine.

 

[kbsmall84]

What info would they sell?

 

[sayhello]

They probably don't have any more info on those bracelets then you currently have on your grocery store rewards card. Certainly not that much more than is already on your KTTW card...

Sayhello

 

[WebmasterJohn]

For me being disabled having a wrist band to open my room, enter the park and pay etc without having to keep getting out a ticket, credit card , room key etc is a real bonus.

Thanks for bringing this perspective to the discussion. It wasn't something I considered and I think it's an awesome benefit for many folks in a similar situation as yours.

 

[SA mom]

Disney already knows all about my trips. They know which park I'm in, they know which fastpasses I use, they know where I'm eating, and what I'm buying.

The only thing that bothers me is what was mentioned on the podcast about a certain key needing to be pushed to end your RFID transaction. I could see that being an issue. That and only getting 3 fastpasses!?!?

 

[*NikkiBell*]

I have 100% no concerns about the MagicBand system. I will use it fully and don't worry about being "tracked." Disney already does that through my credit card purchases and AP use. Besides, this going to make the experience all that more amazing!!!

However, I will make sure that I either use gift cards like I normally do or ask the CMs to push the "Clear Folio" button whenever I make a purchase. I don't want any issues with that.

I did confirm that this was happening with a few CMs last week. Apparently they are working on fixing the issue, but unless the code is re-written so that they don't have to tap a separate button, this will be a potential problem. I'm hoping to get a band in two weeks so I can see how this plays out.

For those interested, here's the thread Pete discussed on this week's show:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3042694

 

[cslittle999]

I do have some concerns about where Disney could go with the MagicBands. Imagine RFID sensors at the entrance to every ride and store. It's possible for a reader to pickup chips in about a 3 foot radius. This would give Disney the potential to actually track your path through the park. This does sound fairly paranoid but it is all quite possible.

 

[WebmasterMike]

Raspberry Pi + RFID Reader + Cellular Data Card = Nefarious people Tracking guests' Magic Bands as they enter and leave a resort. Nothing like telling the crooks that you are leaving.

I am not worried about Disney using the information as much as I am about the ability of someone putting a transponder on my wrist that any yahoo with $50 in parts can read and track my movements and patterns.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=FgQjsUUiNrE

The MagicBands transmit in the clear and not encrypted because the bands are only transmitting a unique ID number, like a serial number. The distance a band can be read is determined by the Antenna on the reader and the antenna on the band. The band has gain of +/-0db, so the power of the reader antenna is what determines the distance that the band can be read. a 12db antenna will have a theoretical distance of around 10 meters. A 20db antenna (Yagi or Corner reflector) will be able to read your MagicBand at 20 meters.

Disney is only considering the direct impacts of RFID and not the indirect impacts.

 

[sayhello]

I do have some concerns about where Disney could go with the MagicBands. Imagine RFID sensors at the entrance to every ride and store. It's possible for a reader to pickup chips in about a 3 foot radius. This would give Disney the potential to actually track your path through the park. This does sound fairly paranoid but it is all quite possible.

I don't understand. Why do you care if they know where you are in the park, or what rides you are going on? What do you think they're going to do with that information that is so dire?

Sayhello

 

[ColoradoDisney]

First, let me answer the question asked. No, I am not concerned.

If this truly concerns you, I recommend some significant precautions including:

-get rid of your loyalty cards
-stop paying with credit cards for anything
-ditch your frequent travel cards
-don't use a mobile phone
-cancel your Internet service
-stop on line purchases
-no more google
-cancel your etoll transponder
-give up your us passport

And the list goes on and on

All the mentioned service do detailed tracking of you.

I am not saying we should not hold Disney or any other organization/corporation to privacy standards. I am just saying it is not very realistic in this day and age to say you are not going to use a service simply because you might be tracked in some manner. You can decline to participate but you will leave many benefits on the table. I like the free airline tickets I earn. I like the discounts I get at the grocery store. I like all the free google services.

 

[Halbleib1]

A big concern I have is if Disney makes this work is it going to cross over into the rest of my life at some point on a larger scale than what is done now? Is this the beginning of my every move being tracked? I have already seen other companies take Disney's business practices/ideas and implement them in their own business. I particularly do not want the govt to get any such ideas. I know many will say that can not happen because of laws and our rights etc. The problem is laws can be changed and some rights particularly when it comes to privacy have to an extent been taken away already.

Despite all of the concerns I don't know if we will use it because as much as I like to plan I do not like the idea of scheduling my fastpass times so far in advance. I also do not like it is only for one park each day. We already do not attach a c/c to our room card so that isn't an issue for us. However I didn't like how their online check-in made me give my c/c number in order to use online check-in this past Dec. In the past it asked if you wanted a c/c attached and if you clicked no it did not require a card number but this time there was no way to opt out. When I got to the resort sure enough they had attached it to my room card so I had them remove it. Hopefully that was not a sign of things to come.

I think on Disney's end the biggest issue is going to be that so much more is having to be done online. I am very frustrated with their photopass website right now that I don't know if I will buy it again. Their website can not keep up with the number of pictures and people on at any one time. I can only imagine the frustration trying to book/change fastpass times etc. Esp from inside the park where 1000's are trying to do the same thing over their wifi setup.

 

[cslittle999]

I don't understand. Why do you care if they know where you are in the park, or what rides you are going on? What do you think they're going to do with that information that is so dire?

Sayhello

Overly targeted marketing. Knowing what I purchase is one thing but knowing which stores I enter, where in the store I go and how long I spend in each part is too much. Imagine a text message encouraging you to go back to a store you visited earlier in the day because Disney knows you're more likely to buy from stores you visited in the morning and spent more than 10 minutes in. It's stalker creepy.

Take this out of the Disney context. If it was a different company would you allow it? Would you allow it at home? I think everyone is giving Disney a break because we like them but they are still a large corporate entity and they are going to aggressively use the information that they collect.

 

[Mike2023]

Raspberry Pi + RFID Reader + Cellular Data Card = Nefarious people Tracking guests' Magic Bands as they enter and leave a resort. Nothing like telling the crooks that you are leaving.

I am not worried about Disney using the information as much as I am about the ability of someone putting a transponder on my wrist that any yahoo with $50 in parts can read and track my movements and patterns.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=FgQjsUUiNrE

The MagicBands transmit in the clear and not encrypted because the bands are only transmitting a unique ID number, like a serial number. The distance a band can be read is determined by the Antenna on the reader and the antenna on the band. The band has gain of +/-0db, so the power of the reader antenna is what determines the distance that the band can be read. a 12db antenna will have a theoretical distance of around 10 meters. A 20db antenna (Yagi or Corner reflector) will be able to read your MagicBand at 20 meters.

Disney is only considering the direct impacts of RFID and not the indirect impacts.

I get your point and you do bring up some good ones. But, what would someone gain by putting that much effort into reading the cards?