A Very Personal Question of the Day

One of our commenters sent in a QOTD for us:

I have a Question of the Day for you: I signed up for Airbnb a few years ago (but never ended up booking anything) and when I first signed up, I didn’t need to provide anything more than the standard profile info — mobile number, payment method, etc.

Well, I logged in again recently to plan for an upcoming trip throughout Europe and with their new verification process I’m now asked to upload a scan of my passport and a link to my Facebook or other social media. Seems like a big risk, not to mention a lot of security and privacy to give up, to save a bit of money on accommodation.

Do other Billfolders think it’s worth saving money if the exchange is having all your personal information out there if and — considering how often it happens to companies from Uber to Ashley Madison — when Airbnb gets hacked?

So, the question of the day: is saving money now worth the knowledge that your personal information may end up in a hacker’s database in the future?

Support The Billfold

The Billfold continues to exist thanks to support from our readers. Help us continue to do our work by making a monthly pledge on Patreon or a one-time-only contribution through PayPal.