I can come at this from two perspectives. A friend of mine works in an extremely high risk retail business. Not just for theft but for assault, indecent behaviour, drugs... you name it. They DON'T have anything except their own retail chain database made up of incident reports/CCTV and word of mouth with businesses around them to alert their staff to potential threats and as a result, have a really high turnover of staff because they're put at risk all the time. So something is clearly needed in cases like these to help protect staff. Auror is definitely not it though.
On the other side of the coin, I found out some years ago that I was being wrongly profiled by Woolworths in Australia. I started to notice an increase in the number of times I was being asked to have my bag searched at local supermarket, which I would call into at least 3 or 4 times per week because it was between the my house and my local railway station, and I had a daily commute. I originally assumed they were having some kind of ramp up of general security, until I noticed that each time, I was the ONLY customer having my bag searched each time. Woman with a pram she was unloading and loading stuff into... not searched. A group of mischievous teenagers with backpacks... not searched. An old lady with one of those nanna carts... not searched. Nobody else was being searched except me.
Then it started happening in the Woolworths near my workplace. Again, only me. Other people sailing through the checkouts (either staff or self serve) without being searched, but me, every single time. So I decided I was going to say no the next time it happened, and if they wouldn't let me go, they could call the police and they could deal with me instead. I was polite and respectful, but firm in that no, unless they were searching other people as well, they could not search me. They did call the police, I had a lovely chat to the two officers who came out, who agreed to investigate further and call me back.
They did call me back and told me I was on Woolworth's "database" as a potential shoplifter. Something I was definitely not doing - I'm autistic, I'm embarrassingly honest. Something which the police themselves read off me almost instantly. They told me that there was no way that they could take me off the Woolworths database, but they would have a word with my local Woolworths staff and advise them that they might be straying into some icky legal territory if they weren't careful. They must have, because I've never been searched by a Woolworths again.
Who knows what information there is on that database about me, but I like to think there is a wee note that says "This one isn't one to mess with."
Hi worms. Thanks for reading. I’ll be lurking around in the comments. But I just wanted to say: this is so creepy and I hate it.
In my mind if people are stealing from a supermarket to be able to eat (or any store to supplement their income) that is symptom of a more disturbing problem than retail crime, it shows our economic system is not providing basics for people.
Instead of addressing this underlying problem tech bros and cops are going all gung ho about crime and pretending that the shop floor is Fallujah. It’s not. It’s a fucking store. A more humane approach would be to use the millions and millions and millions of dollars invested into the company and which stores spend on it every year to make sure people are housed, fed, and employed.
I'm so annoyed by the name. Like they're going up against dark wizards and not retail shoppers.
Palantir being named after the palantíri *really* gets me though. They literally become sources of temptation and corruption, and are fucked by the Third Age.
There's something weird about tech bros when it comes to dystopian ideas.
You (like most normal people) correctly identified that the palantíri from Lord of the Rings was used by Sauron to corrupt people and is seen as very damaging.
Tech bros like Peter Thiel though think, wow that's cool. We should do something like that.
It's a bit like watching the Matrix and thinking "I wonder if we could turn people into batteries to generate more electricity" - JUST NO! Why the hell are you getting inspiration from this horrific stuff?
Exactly. It really is this simple but the people who benefit want to make it appear complicated. A humane approach doesn't make the big bucks, and in this society, it's money above everything. It's sick.
Thank you for this, been waiting for somebody to pick it up.
Does Auror use facial recognition software? I read something recently, I think a side quote in the Herald or Stuff, where the said they did not. But then I remember the stories about a year ago about supermarkets trialing such software.
In my mind they clearly do use it. I wouldn't at all be surprised if Golriz had been put into the system and was red-flagged the second she entered that packandsave.
It doesn't look like they are using full blown facial recognition (yet) but it does use "machine learning" based on images and descriptions. From a story from Cam Wilson:
"It analyses photographs or footage to suggest these features and then checks across other reports to link it to an existing profile of an individual, if relevant. This allows Auror to recognise individuals across its network even if the user isn’t aware of other users’ reports."
Which I guess might as well be the same thing if it can identify individuals based on their biometrics.
Yet again, this is something that will be particularly turned against the poor, the struggling and ethnic minorities. Shoplift once, and you're marked for life. Wearing scruffy clothes? Tick. Wearing a hoodie? Tick. Coming in to a shop with a headscarf? Tick. Having your child out something in the trolley when your back was turned? Tick. Inadvertently tapping mandarins instead of mushrooms? Tick. The shop clerk dislikes people who look like you? Tick. The list is endless and self-checkouts are installed in the full knowledge that they encourage shoplifting; indeed it's a built-in cost in all self-service stores. Making profit while putting temptation in the way of poor people is apparently acceptable. Don't complain about consumers' morals while secretly spying on them.
I was thinking about how this will absolutely be weaponized against disabled folks, too. If any behavior can be arbitrarily flagged as "off" then stimming, taking a long time to digest the visual stimuli of a packed display, fidgeting with or organizing merchandise (my autistic ass can't resist the siren song of arranging a store shelf -- something I've been told is suspicious as hell) will be noted and used to solidify the misconception that disabled folk, especially those with invisible disabilities or behavioral differences, are threatening.
The Privacy Commissioner is currently calling for submissions on a Biometric Processing privacy code. Auror behaviour is a major breach of many of the items of the draft code. Anyone interested in submitting can go to https://www.privacy.org.nz/news/consultations/
We’re a software company that provides retail crime reporting software services to retailers.
We act as an agent to those retailers and we only hold and process information on their behalf and at their instruction. Personal Information entered into the software is determined by the retailer and only after their staff have witnessed a suspected retail crime event in their stores.
Our retailer customers have a direct relationship with the individuals from whom they collect information. All information is owned and controlled by the retailer and Auror is unable to release that information directly ourselves.
In order to help our retailer customers meet their privacy obligations, we provide them with the ability to search, audit and download their own information from the software. If your information has been collected by the retailer following a suspected retail crime event in their store, and if the retailer determines your request is valid, they can undertake the actions to provide you with any information they may hold themselves, without involving Auror itself.
From here, your best step is to directly contact the retailer that you believe has collected your information following a suspected retail crime event and request that information. Retailers have their privacy contact information available on their websites. Note a retailer may require you to provide formal identification for verification purposes given requirements for accuracy under the legislation.
You are also able to connect with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for further guidance.
Waiting outside Noel Leeming this morning and next to the CCTV sign was an Auror sign that stated, “This business is part of the Auror community. Playing our part in reducing crime to keep our customers safe.” - given what I’ve heard about them this morning, I find this statement disingenuous. It’s much less about customer safety and more about profit safety and power accumulation.
Well, ignorance was bliss... This makes me so sad. I suspect I'm unlikely to be of that much interest to Auror et al (white middle-class mum who mostly online shops) but the fact that there is something profiling us all by stealth is just so...deflating? And sadly unsurprising. We're all smart enough to know who really suffers under this kind of system. Does anyone else not despair in reading that meat is the number one product uplifted from supermarkets? Perhaps if eating real food was actually marginally affordable, shoplifting would decrease.
And Leo Molloy can get in the sea. "let’s just leave it there because I’m a bit worried about her mental health" - he knows exactly what he's doing and worrying ain't it.
I use Malwarebytes as protection on my laptop. It has an email newsletter and it just sent a piece about how companies are using your location and browsing habits to increase prices while your online shopping. This means what I see on my screen (price on products) would be different to everyone else.
I fear it is all far worse with big tech than ever thought. I mean a fucking oligarchy ruling America was in comics when I was a kid, right?
WTAF?!! I remember hearing about McDonald’s doing this with their app but I had no idea this was potentially being rolled out more widely! It’s not surprising but it’s still rage inducing 🤬 As I type, my mind is desperately trying to think of ways to get round this and it’s giving “the walls are closing in” because it feels unavoidable 🥺
I saw it happen in real time the other day - had a link open on laptop, opened it on my phone so I could look at it when I got home, and by the time I refreshed the laptop window later the same day, the price had gone up by about $20. I can't remember the product, but I was just so annoyed I didn't buy it!
My first draft was actually 5000 words dissecting this aspect but David said I wasn’t allowed and there were bigger issues.
Here’s the short version: ostensibly in Harry Potter, Aurors are the Good Guys. But they are using their powers to track down actually violent verging on genocidal magic criminals.
Aurors didn’t go around sending Hogworts students who forgot to pay for their pack of Bertie Bots Every Flavour Beans when they walked out of Honeydukes to Azkaban.
It's not Josh Drummond's Harry Potter fanfic*... but I might post something over on my website about how these ghouls name their products after fantasy products and completely miss the point.
The most common question I get about this is "why on earth would you write a Harry Potter fanfic" and unfortunately this very fair question is best answered by reading the fanfic.
Oh my god, I have so thoroughly excised HP trivia from my brain I didn't even make this connection. I fully thought you were talking about some parodic YA series literally called Transphobia Wizards lmao
And here I was thinking there was widespread knowledge of Auror and how it's used. There's certainly a few people in the newzealand subreddit who have used it and/or know a decent amount about it.
A comment about "Shoplifting is not as big a problem as they make out" reminded me of when I was a student, and working night fill in a supermarket. I remember hearing that actual shoplifting was only a small part of the overall 'shrinkage' anyway. Although not sure if it's still the same these days. Pretty much every night there would be multiple trolleys full of damaged and expired stock in the storeroom.
Re expired stock - when I worked in hospitality, god forbid you take home any food instead of it going into the trash! Thankfully I worked with colleagues that were happy to put the leftover food "in the bin" that didn't have a camera nearby so we could instead divvy them up between us.
Even more disturbing than the police apparently finding out about this without the supermarket having complained is that somehow or other that odious little man Leo Molloy was involved.
Great time for me to mention that for those in Aotearoa New Zealand, our Office of the Privacy Commissioner is seeking feedback on a draft Biometrics Processing Code until March: https://privacy.org.nz/news/consultations/
I can come at this from two perspectives. A friend of mine works in an extremely high risk retail business. Not just for theft but for assault, indecent behaviour, drugs... you name it. They DON'T have anything except their own retail chain database made up of incident reports/CCTV and word of mouth with businesses around them to alert their staff to potential threats and as a result, have a really high turnover of staff because they're put at risk all the time. So something is clearly needed in cases like these to help protect staff. Auror is definitely not it though.
On the other side of the coin, I found out some years ago that I was being wrongly profiled by Woolworths in Australia. I started to notice an increase in the number of times I was being asked to have my bag searched at local supermarket, which I would call into at least 3 or 4 times per week because it was between the my house and my local railway station, and I had a daily commute. I originally assumed they were having some kind of ramp up of general security, until I noticed that each time, I was the ONLY customer having my bag searched each time. Woman with a pram she was unloading and loading stuff into... not searched. A group of mischievous teenagers with backpacks... not searched. An old lady with one of those nanna carts... not searched. Nobody else was being searched except me.
Then it started happening in the Woolworths near my workplace. Again, only me. Other people sailing through the checkouts (either staff or self serve) without being searched, but me, every single time. So I decided I was going to say no the next time it happened, and if they wouldn't let me go, they could call the police and they could deal with me instead. I was polite and respectful, but firm in that no, unless they were searching other people as well, they could not search me. They did call the police, I had a lovely chat to the two officers who came out, who agreed to investigate further and call me back.
They did call me back and told me I was on Woolworth's "database" as a potential shoplifter. Something I was definitely not doing - I'm autistic, I'm embarrassingly honest. Something which the police themselves read off me almost instantly. They told me that there was no way that they could take me off the Woolworths database, but they would have a word with my local Woolworths staff and advise them that they might be straying into some icky legal territory if they weren't careful. They must have, because I've never been searched by a Woolworths again.
Who knows what information there is on that database about me, but I like to think there is a wee note that says "This one isn't one to mess with."
Pinning!
Thanks for sharing that, Kath. So sorry to hear what you went through. That is a wild story. Can I PM you about it?
Absolutely!
That's crazy to read!
Hi worms. Thanks for reading. I’ll be lurking around in the comments. But I just wanted to say: this is so creepy and I hate it.
In my mind if people are stealing from a supermarket to be able to eat (or any store to supplement their income) that is symptom of a more disturbing problem than retail crime, it shows our economic system is not providing basics for people.
Instead of addressing this underlying problem tech bros and cops are going all gung ho about crime and pretending that the shop floor is Fallujah. It’s not. It’s a fucking store. A more humane approach would be to use the millions and millions and millions of dollars invested into the company and which stores spend on it every year to make sure people are housed, fed, and employed.
Also why do these ghouls always steal names from fantasy when they are very obviously the bad guys?!
I'm so annoyed by the name. Like they're going up against dark wizards and not retail shoppers.
Palantir being named after the palantíri *really* gets me though. They literally become sources of temptation and corruption, and are fucked by the Third Age.
/rant
There's something weird about tech bros when it comes to dystopian ideas.
You (like most normal people) correctly identified that the palantíri from Lord of the Rings was used by Sauron to corrupt people and is seen as very damaging.
Tech bros like Peter Thiel though think, wow that's cool. We should do something like that.
It's a bit like watching the Matrix and thinking "I wonder if we could turn people into batteries to generate more electricity" - JUST NO! Why the hell are you getting inspiration from this horrific stuff?
Exactly. It really is this simple but the people who benefit want to make it appear complicated. A humane approach doesn't make the big bucks, and in this society, it's money above everything. It's sick.
Thank you for this, been waiting for somebody to pick it up.
Does Auror use facial recognition software? I read something recently, I think a side quote in the Herald or Stuff, where the said they did not. But then I remember the stories about a year ago about supermarkets trialing such software.
In my mind they clearly do use it. I wouldn't at all be surprised if Golriz had been put into the system and was red-flagged the second she entered that packandsave.
It doesn't look like they are using full blown facial recognition (yet) but it does use "machine learning" based on images and descriptions. From a story from Cam Wilson:
"It analyses photographs or footage to suggest these features and then checks across other reports to link it to an existing profile of an individual, if relevant. This allows Auror to recognise individuals across its network even if the user isn’t aware of other users’ reports."
Which I guess might as well be the same thing if it can identify individuals based on their biometrics.
https://www.smartcompany.com.au/information-technology/grocery-chains-surveillance-tech-auror/
Yet again, this is something that will be particularly turned against the poor, the struggling and ethnic minorities. Shoplift once, and you're marked for life. Wearing scruffy clothes? Tick. Wearing a hoodie? Tick. Coming in to a shop with a headscarf? Tick. Having your child out something in the trolley when your back was turned? Tick. Inadvertently tapping mandarins instead of mushrooms? Tick. The shop clerk dislikes people who look like you? Tick. The list is endless and self-checkouts are installed in the full knowledge that they encourage shoplifting; indeed it's a built-in cost in all self-service stores. Making profit while putting temptation in the way of poor people is apparently acceptable. Don't complain about consumers' morals while secretly spying on them.
PS I like worms with good intent!
I was thinking about how this will absolutely be weaponized against disabled folks, too. If any behavior can be arbitrarily flagged as "off" then stimming, taking a long time to digest the visual stimuli of a packed display, fidgeting with or organizing merchandise (my autistic ass can't resist the siren song of arranging a store shelf -- something I've been told is suspicious as hell) will be noted and used to solidify the misconception that disabled folk, especially those with invisible disabilities or behavioral differences, are threatening.
I'm guilty of straighting things on a shelf and taking ages to choose merch quite often ...so there's probably a tick by my name haha.
No matter where I go I am constantly mistaken for an employee because I'm always staring at aisles too intently or straightening items lol
The Privacy Commissioner is currently calling for submissions on a Biometric Processing privacy code. Auror behaviour is a major breach of many of the items of the draft code. Anyone interested in submitting can go to https://www.privacy.org.nz/news/consultations/
They refuse requests.
‘Hi XXX,
Thanks for your email.
About Auror
We’re a software company that provides retail crime reporting software services to retailers.
We act as an agent to those retailers and we only hold and process information on their behalf and at their instruction. Personal Information entered into the software is determined by the retailer and only after their staff have witnessed a suspected retail crime event in their stores.
Our retailer customers have a direct relationship with the individuals from whom they collect information. All information is owned and controlled by the retailer and Auror is unable to release that information directly ourselves.
In order to help our retailer customers meet their privacy obligations, we provide them with the ability to search, audit and download their own information from the software. If your information has been collected by the retailer following a suspected retail crime event in their store, and if the retailer determines your request is valid, they can undertake the actions to provide you with any information they may hold themselves, without involving Auror itself.
From here, your best step is to directly contact the retailer that you believe has collected your information following a suspected retail crime event and request that information. Retailers have their privacy contact information available on their websites. Note a retailer may require you to provide formal identification for verification purposes given requirements for accuracy under the legislation.
You are also able to connect with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for further guidance.
We trust this helps.
The team at Auror.’
Waiting outside Noel Leeming this morning and next to the CCTV sign was an Auror sign that stated, “This business is part of the Auror community. Playing our part in reducing crime to keep our customers safe.” - given what I’ve heard about them this morning, I find this statement disingenuous. It’s much less about customer safety and more about profit safety and power accumulation.
I mean, at least they had a sign 🤷♂️
Well, ignorance was bliss... This makes me so sad. I suspect I'm unlikely to be of that much interest to Auror et al (white middle-class mum who mostly online shops) but the fact that there is something profiling us all by stealth is just so...deflating? And sadly unsurprising. We're all smart enough to know who really suffers under this kind of system. Does anyone else not despair in reading that meat is the number one product uplifted from supermarkets? Perhaps if eating real food was actually marginally affordable, shoplifting would decrease.
And Leo Molloy can get in the sea. "let’s just leave it there because I’m a bit worried about her mental health" - he knows exactly what he's doing and worrying ain't it.
I use Malwarebytes as protection on my laptop. It has an email newsletter and it just sent a piece about how companies are using your location and browsing habits to increase prices while your online shopping. This means what I see on my screen (price on products) would be different to everyone else.
I fear it is all far worse with big tech than ever thought. I mean a fucking oligarchy ruling America was in comics when I was a kid, right?
WTAF?!! I remember hearing about McDonald’s doing this with their app but I had no idea this was potentially being rolled out more widely! It’s not surprising but it’s still rage inducing 🤬 As I type, my mind is desperately trying to think of ways to get round this and it’s giving “the walls are closing in” because it feels unavoidable 🥺
https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2025/01/your-location-or-browsing-habits-could-lead-to-price-increases-when-buying-online?utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=b2c_pro_oth_20250127_januaryweeklynewsletter_nonpaid_v4_2_173771013811&utm_content=surveillance_pricing_header&s=09 link to the article from Malwarebytes to copy to browser.
The way things are going ‘dynamic pricing’ is probably coming to a physical store near you soon.
That's why price tickets are going digital in some stores. Instant repricing...
I saw it happen in real time the other day - had a link open on laptop, opened it on my phone so I could look at it when I got home, and by the time I refreshed the laptop window later the same day, the price had gone up by about $20. I can't remember the product, but I was just so annoyed I didn't buy it!
The old addage... Truth is stranger than fiction.
This is so incredibly creepy. Also for those of us in the UK/Europe, I'm wondering how it's GDPR compliant? Yuck yuck yuck, profiling in action 🤢
Don’t worry, it’s fine, Auror helps you comply with GDPR!
https://www.auror.co/the-intel/retail-crime-data-gdpr
🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃
Also it's not lost on me they named the system after the cops from the Transphobia Wizard Books
My first draft was actually 5000 words dissecting this aspect but David said I wasn’t allowed and there were bigger issues.
Here’s the short version: ostensibly in Harry Potter, Aurors are the Good Guys. But they are using their powers to track down actually violent verging on genocidal magic criminals.
Aurors didn’t go around sending Hogworts students who forgot to pay for their pack of Bertie Bots Every Flavour Beans when they walked out of Honeydukes to Azkaban.
Where I landed though was:
ACAB. Even wizard cops.
I would like to read this part II, if it became available.
It's not Josh Drummond's Harry Potter fanfic*... but I might post something over on my website about how these ghouls name their products after fantasy products and completely miss the point.
*Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/53927182
The most common question I get about this is "why on earth would you write a Harry Potter fanfic" and unfortunately this very fair question is best answered by reading the fanfic.
the what now?
Harry Potter
Oh my god, I have so thoroughly excised HP trivia from my brain I didn't even make this connection. I fully thought you were talking about some parodic YA series literally called Transphobia Wizards lmao
😂😂😂
So we are in the 'Hydra actually won, guys' timeline. Fucking great.
Given the name of the company, it’s probably more fitting to say “Deatheaters”.
And here I was thinking there was widespread knowledge of Auror and how it's used. There's certainly a few people in the newzealand subreddit who have used it and/or know a decent amount about it.
A comment about "Shoplifting is not as big a problem as they make out" reminded me of when I was a student, and working night fill in a supermarket. I remember hearing that actual shoplifting was only a small part of the overall 'shrinkage' anyway. Although not sure if it's still the same these days. Pretty much every night there would be multiple trolleys full of damaged and expired stock in the storeroom.
I feel VERY late on this, but glad we got there.
Re expired stock - when I worked in hospitality, god forbid you take home any food instead of it going into the trash! Thankfully I worked with colleagues that were happy to put the leftover food "in the bin" that didn't have a camera nearby so we could instead divvy them up between us.
From memory the supermarket could get a credit back on some of the stock in those trolleys, depending on how the supplier contract worked.
We didn't dare touch them as we were told (rightly or wrongly) that it would be considered theft, and the shop was covered in cameras.
I know you're not an ink guy, David, but WORM WITH GOOD INTENT would be an incredible tattoo. WWGI on the knuckles perhaps?
Would be a great tee shirt
Even more disturbing than the police apparently finding out about this without the supermarket having complained is that somehow or other that odious little man Leo Molloy was involved.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/golriz-gharaman-and-the-150-pakn-save-shopping-incident-supermarket-never-complained-to-police-who-tried-to-use-allegation-in-court/M5S6ON6RYZERXI6TNSEJWEMVRA/
I wonder it *that* is how the police came to know about it.
Great time for me to mention that for those in Aotearoa New Zealand, our Office of the Privacy Commissioner is seeking feedback on a draft Biometrics Processing Code until March: https://privacy.org.nz/news/consultations/
Will be putting in a submission.
Ed Snowden did warn us, but this is so damn alarming ......!
One step further......
Employee using Auror: Ooh,, yes, she's the one I want....I wonder where she lives. I think I'll watch her for awhile.....
I could go on, but you get the picture. This 'tool' very much enables real, live, life-threatening stalking.
Creepy!
We can’t do anything without being watched. And I’m saying all this by using my phone to communicate this. SMH