Skip to main content

Etsy’s new social features expose buyer names, histories

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Online marketplace Etsy has made a name for itself serving as a clearinghouse for unique hand-made, artisan, and vintage items that have trouble selling in more-general sites like eBay. However, the site is now rankling many of its members through the quiet introduction of a new “Circles” feature apparently intended to enable users to easily find other Etsy users with similar interests…but which has exposed many users’ names and purchase histories to the entire Internet.

Etsy billed the new feature as a way to “find your friends,” and mostly touts the new functions as a way to import contact lists from services like Gmail and Yahoo Mail to automatically set up connections with Etsy users people know. However, Etsy’s new offering also includes a feature search, enabling users to search on user names and full names (if one has been entered); those searches not only show a user’s entire purchase history, but are accessible without logging into Etsy first. And that means they’re indexable—and searchable—via search engines like Google and Bing, creating scenarios where searching for someone’s name in Google might pull up a link of embarrassing Etsy purchases. Purchase histories are exposed via feedback left between sellers and users—even if a user has never left feedback of their own, their account would be exposed if a seller left feedback to that user.

Recommended Videos

Ars Technica‘s Jacqui Cheng has likened Etsy’s new Circles to Facebook’s disastrous Beacon feature, which exposed users’ actions and purchases on other sites as part of their Facebook history without first requiring consent. Facebook was quickly targeted by a class-action lawsuit and FTC complaint over the feature; it shuttered the service in 2009 as part of a settlement, and donated almost $10 million to an organization advocating online privacy.

In a post in a forum frequented mostly by sellers, Etsy founder Rob Kalin has indicated the ability to make purchases private is “on our product roadmap.”

Etsy may well face legal action: although the company did send an email message to users announcing the new Circle’s feature, Etsy enabled the feature for all users without consent, rather than enabling users to opt-in if they were interested. As a result, Etsy’s action may be the legal equivalent of changing their privacy policy without user consent—actions like that have gotten technology companies in trouble going back as far as 2004, when the FTC found computer maker Gateway had disclosed customer information without consent.

Geoff Duncan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
Elon Musk says Grok 3 will outperform ChatGPT, DeepSeek in the coming weeks
Grok app on an iPhone.

Elon Musk has confirmed that his AI chatbot, Grok 3 is currently being finalized and will be available in the next one to two weeks, according to Reuters.

Speaking in a video call addressing the World Governments Summit in Dubai Musk described the AI tool as “scary smart.”

Read more
Presidents’ Day Dell Deals: XPS, G16, monitors and more on sale
The Dell XPS 14 open on a wooden table.

Presidents' Day is a nice three-day reprieve from work, and it's also a nice excuse to do some shopping. And Dell is certainly ready, with business laptops, monitors, and more discounted on their website and across Amazon. We've picked out our favorite deals, largely from the best Dell products out there -- and products we've personally reviewed or have hands-on experiences with. Here, we present that list to you so you can get some of the best laptop deals and monitor deals around. Remember that as these deals are coming out around the Presidents' Day holiday (though not all of them have explicit "Presidents' Day" markings) they very well might end soon, so plan your purchases accordingly.
Dell S2425HS Monitor — $110 $140 21% off

This sleek monitor with a modern look has integrated speakers, a 100Hz refresh rate, and a 4-star TÜV Rheinland eye comfort rating. The 24-inch Dell S2425HS is a great second monitor for your home office or second study. You won't find many monitor deals with a price lower than the starting price of $140 that this one sports, much less the reduced $110.

Read more
1Password vs. NordPass: which password manager is best in 2025?
1Password and NordPass reviews appear beside one another on a PC monitor.

1Password and NordPass are among the most popular and best password managers available. Both offer significant improvements over the built-in solutions you get from Microsoft, Apple, and Google, making it hard to choose between them.

I've reviewed the latest versions of 1Password and NordPass in 2025 and can share some insights into the differences and compare prices to help you discover which offers the best value for you.
Specs

Read more