Is Surveillance Pricing Ripping You Off? How To Stop Your Data From Being Used Against You

What Is Surveillance Pricing Anyway?

You may be the victim of surveillance pricing without even knowing it. But what does that even mean?

Surveillance pricing is the increasingly popular practice where some online retailers adjust prices for individuals based on data collected about that person, including browsing history, location, purchase history, and more. They often use third-party intermediaries to adjust those prices.

According to a preliminary report released by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in early 2025, these third-party intermediaries can even track your mouse movements. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do about it.

Key Findings on Surveillance Pricing

The initial report from the FTC on surveillance pricing reveals that online retailers frequently use personal data, such as browsing history and location, to target consumers with different pricing for the same products.

Based on documents from firms like Mastercard and Accenture, the FTC showed how intermediaries adjust prices by tracking various consumer behaviors. This can include the type of product, mouse movements, and unpurchased items left in shopping carts.

This ongoing study underscores the potential widespread, data-driven pricing practices used to reshape how products are sold and how much consumers pay for them.

How Consumers Are Affected by Surveillance Pricing

Instead of having fixed prices for products, surveillance pricing allows retailers to adjust the price or promotion of a product based on individual data and consumer behaviors. If the data suggests that the consumer is willing to pay more, the price will be higher.

“Surveillance pricing means consumers lose the ability to compare prices accurately because what they see may be tailored to their behavior, location, income level, or even browsing history. Should someone be charged a higher price just because they live in a certain zip code, or because they made a bad online purchase last year? Thanks to surveillance pricing, that’s the world we’re living in,” said Michael Mezzatesta, economics and climate educator, and founder of Better Future Media.

Who’s Paying the Price?

About 273 million Americans, or 80.4%, now shop online, according to a survey by Capital One. Collectively, they spent about $1.36 trillion online in 2024.

“Since surveillance pricing happens mostly online, most people will have no idea they’re being shown different prices based on hidden algorithms, making it nearly impossible to make informed purchasing decisions. In the worst cases, this practice erodes trust in markets, where fairness should be a given, not a privilege reserved for those with the best data protection habits,” Mezzatesta said.

How to Protect Yourself

Consumers can not easily recognize when they are victims of surveillance pricing because it’s designed to be invisible. But there are clues to be seen by those who are wary.

“There are clues consumers can use to tell when surveillance pricing might be at play. For example, if consumers notice fluctuating prices after repeated visits to a site, or different prices across different devices–or their peers are seeing different prices–those are all signs they are likely experiencing surveillance pricing influenced by personal or device data,” said Mezzatesta.

Proactive Steps to Take

To protect themselves from surveillance, consumers can take several proactive steps to safeguard their personal information and ensure fair pricing.

• Use a VPN: A virtual private network, or VPN, masks your location and browsing activity to prevent targeted pricing. There are free VPNs while a subscription service costs about $10 per month.
• Clear Browser Cookies Regularly: Clearing the cookies from your device regularly limits the ability to track your online behavior because the data has been deleted.
• Browse in Incognito Mode: Your browsing history and personal data aren’t saved when browsing in Incognito mode.
• Compare Prices Across Devices: Check prices on different devices to spot potential price differences.

“The bigger issue is that individuals shouldn’t have to outsmart an opaque system just to get fair treatment and transparent pricing. This is where regulation needs to step in,” Mezzatesta said.

Current regulations, such as the FTC Act and the California Consumer Privacy ACT (CCPA), aim to protect consumers by promoting transparency and control over personal data. However, these laws do not fully address surveillance pricing, leaving gaps in consumer protection.

Is This Price-Fixing?

The FTC defines price fixing as “an agreement (written, verbal, or inferred from conduct) among competitors to raise, lower, maintain, or stabilize prices or price levels.” Basically, companies can’t set prices or terms after setting up an agreement with their competition because consumers expect the basic laws of supply and demand to apply. But then the question becomes, is surveillance pricing “price fixing”?

“The simplest solution is to make algorithmic price fixing illegal. And there is a legal precedent for this: Under US antitrust laws, price fixing due to corporate collusion is illegal. The issue is that the development of automated price-setting algorithms has created loopholes in existing law,” Mezzatesta said.

Mezzatesta asserts that corporations will need new rules regarding collecting and using personal data because of the rise of big data algorithms. He claims that’s how we ensure the algorithms don’t discriminate against specific sets of consumers.

“Additionally, enforcement mechanisms should be in place to prevent predatory pricing that exploits consumer data to extract maximum profit from the public. At a minimum, companies should be required to disclose when prices are being personalized, and on what basis.”

The Bottom Line

Online shopping offers unmatched convenience, making it a preferred choice for many consumers. However, shoppers want to feel comfortable purchasing online without worrying about unfair pricing.

Unless stronger consumer protections are passed into law, you will need to stay vigilant and take steps to ensure your data is not exploited.