Tim Hortons class action settled with coffee, pastry

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Tim Hortons class action settlement overview: 

• Who: Tim Hortons agreed to compensate its mobile app users with a free baked good and free hot beverage as part of a proposed class action settlement.
• Why: The class action settlement was proposed as a way to resolve claims Tim Hortons violated Canadian privacy laws by using its mobile app to collect sensitive location data from its users. 
• Where: The Tim Hortons mobile app is used by consumers throughout Canada and the United States. 

In June, Tim Hortons was accused of violating Canadian privacy laws by using its mobile app to collect large amounts of sensitive location data from individuals who downloaded it. 

The Canadian fast food chain allegedly used its mobile app to track the movements of users every few minutes of each day — even when they did not have the app open. 

Now, Tim Hortons is offering a free hot beverage and a free baked good as compensation to consumers who allegedly had their privacy violated after downloading its mobile app, The Verge reports. 

The proposed settlement agreement, which Tim Hortons has said is not an admission of any wrongdoing, would offer eligible class members a value of slightly under $9 CAD plus tax. 

Tim Hortons also committed to permanently deleting all of the geolocation it collected from its mobile app users, The Verge reports.

The allegations against Tim Hortons came to light after a reporter from the National Post discovered the company’s mobile app had tracked their location more than 2,700 times in less than five months. 

Tim Hortons class action settlement follows Canadian privacy watchdog investigation

Canadian privacy watchdogs investigated Tim Hortons and determined the app had misled members by not letting them know their location data would still be tracked even if the app was not in use, The Verge reports. 

The watchdog group reportedly alleged Tim Hortons tracked users throughout each day and allowed the company to figure out where they worked, lived and visited, including competing restaurants. 

Tim Hortons originally planned on using the location data to help with targeting advertising, The Verge reports. 

Last month, another Canadian company, Desjardins, agreed to pay more than $200 million to resolve claims it failed to protect the information of consumers during a 2019 data breach. 

Have you downloaded Tim Hortons mobile app? Let us know in the comments! 

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