Though they’re the perfect way to mine personal data, including your name, email address and phone number, even credit card details, businesses using QR codes for patrons to order food and drinks continues unabated after lockdown, with Melbourne-based platform Mr Yum just announcing they’ve raised $89 million in capital.
The third largest start-up ever in Australia, three-year-old Mr Yum has big-name backers on board, such as Kogan chief Ruslan Kogan, Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar, musician Rufus Do Sol and basketball superstar Patty Mills.
Chief executive of the company Kim Teo has acknowledged the trend that has grown through the pandemic is now here to stay, with the public now used to it. This is despite there being risks to your private data, as we have previously reported.
Obviously, social distancing and patron numbers in venues saw a rise in QR food ordering, as well as many venues having staff shortages. Platforms such as Mr Yum and M & U were perfectly placed to take advantage of that, while having to use QR codes to check in everywhere rapidly made it a commonplace experience for everyday Australians.
“We haven’t seen any decline in use post-lockdowns,” says Ms Teo. “And that’s the reason we’ve been able to put this round away.”
The round was led by US investment firm Tiger Global, including investments from AirTree Capital and TEN13. Tennis Australia also participated.
When ChannelNews recently visited the M & U website, we found no information on where the data they collected was stored. There was also no Privacy Policy or opt out button to stop the collection of personal data collected when doing something as simple as buying a cup of coffee.
Mr Yum’s Pivacy Policy openly states that they will store your information and may provide it to third party providers, and may send you direct marketing communications. They do, however, say you may request access to information they hold about you at any time.
