in Newswire Published on April 15, 2024

Home Depot Secretly Embedded Spyware in Marketing Emails, Class Action Claims

Carbajal v. The Home Depot, Inc. et al.

Filed: April 2, 2024 ◆§ 2:24-cv-00730

A class action alleges Home Depot has embedded tracking technology into marketing emails to collect recipients’ private data without their knowledge.

Defendant(s)

The Home Depot, Inc. Validity, Inc.

Law(s)

Arizona Telephone, Utility and Communication Service Records Act

State(s)

Arizona

Categories

Technology Retail Privacy

A proposed class action alleges Home Depot has secretly embedded tracking technology into its marketing emails to collect recipients’ private data without their knowledge.

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The 14-page privacy lawsuit claims the retailer has incorporated into its promotional emails “spy pixels,” which are tiny tracking tools “designed to go unseen” that capture personal information about consumers once they open the email. The suit contends that Home Depot has violated Arizona law by procuring residents’ email records without first obtaining consent.

Per the case, Home Depot uses an email tracking system provided by co-defendant and software company Validity, Inc. The complaint explains that when a consumer opens a Home Depot marketing email, Validity’s tracking technology automatically collects data about the device the recipient used, their IP address, when and where they opened the message, how long they looked at it, whether they forwarded it, if they clicked within the email and more.

According to the filing, Validity then stores and uses the recorded information to “paint a uniquely identifiable detailed picture” of each consumer to create advertising campaigns for Home Depot.

The plaintiff, an Arizona resident, says she often receives and opens Home Depot’s promotional emails. By doing so, the woman had her personal data captured by the embedded tracking tool without her knowledge or consent, the suit charges.

The case claims the defendants have invaded the plaintiff’s and other consumers’ privacy rights by “spying on them” each time they opened and read a Home Depot marketing email.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in Arizona who has opened a marketing email from Home Depot containing a tracking pixel.

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