In February my son called while vacationing in Maui with his precious family. I wish you could have heard the happiness in his voice! Humpback whales migrated to the bay in front of his hotel to give birth to their calves. “Mom! The whales are breaching 24/7 and you can hear them singing to each other when you put your head under water – you gotta come!”

How could I say no?

At 4pm we fired up our computers and were on a flight at 6am the next morning.

What happened in the hours between the booking and the flight was not fair. The cost rose over 140%!!! Somehow, flights became immediately unavailable, the hours and connections changed, and we were kicked out of searches. I was angry and frustrated – but not surprised. I find this frequently happens as I am looking for flights.

Welcome to surveillance pricing.

Businesses use your personal data to set whatever price they can get away with on any given day. They track our locations, race, past online purchases, browser history, and even our mouse movements. Then they use our personal data against us to predict our pain points and the highest amount of money we’re willing to spend on a good or service.

Here are just a few examples:

• Uber has been accused of hiking fares when phone batteries are low(1) or if the algorithms know that you take a particular route more often. (2) (Uber denies the claims.)
• Princeton Review reportedly charged more for test prep services to online customers from ZIP codes that contained higher Asian populations. (3)
• In one shocking case, travelers booking tickets with an IP address in the San Francisco Bay Area were offered a nightly rate for a Manhattan hotel room that was $500 more per night than the rate offered to consumers in the less affluent cities for the exact same room and dates. (4)

How is this fair?

If we were in a store, the price would be posted and all shoppers would pay the same. Not so online. Surveillance pricing is opaque. We can’t know how our personal data is being used against us to charge a different price- just because they can.

What can we do?

• Regularly clear search histories and clear cookies.
• Use a private browser or a VPN. Nord VPN is my favorite.

In the meantime, a few states have proposed bills that would ban surveillance pricing although. (CA, IL, NY, CO, and GA). (5)

I’m still feeling very salty about the flights to Maui, but the trip was priceless, and I will never forget it.

Happy Father’s Day to all the wonderful dads in our lives! I hope you spend your day building many happy memories.

Barbara

June 5, 2025

1. Hiking Fares When Phone Batteries Are Low
2. Higher Rates for Common Routes
3. Princeton Review Charges More
4. Bay Area Bookings
5. Proposed Surveillance Pricing Bills

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