Consumer Rights Wiki - User contributions [en]

Web cookie

2026-03-16T03:14:31Z

Vandetta: finish filling out basic cookie categories. do add more if you think a new category of significance to add to the chart

A web cookie, is a small chunk(s) of data served(shared) to the client(browser) that can be used for a variety of purposes. One of the most common being a website login identifier that serves a session cookie that is able to be sent back to the server to prevent needing to authenticate numerous times. The web cookie, has a bunch of other common names such as HTTP cookie, browser cookie, and cookie. for the sake of simplicity this article will be using the term cookie to represent all types of cookies.

==How it works==
When a user(person) visits a website, you may be first prompted with user preferences such as what data can be used with the site. that information is likely stored by your browser agent as a cookie so that information or popup will not show again. Cookies are often a good practice as it offers clients a better experience when navigating their site when visiting. Of course there are a bunch of other cookies that do exist but for now we will focus on a few categories that these cookies fall under
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Cookie Type
!Use Case
!Risk
|-
|Form Cookie
|When using a site you may be required to fill out a form field, that information can be stored by your agent when making a purchases or even renewing your licence making the experience more streamlined the next time you plan on making additional purchases on a website like that.
|Depending on implementation such as if cookies are not properly encrypted by your browser and site your using you may be at risk if a malicious actor decides to swipe your cookies which could also include password and saved payment information
|-
|3rd Party Cookie
|These cookies can be used when companies have different registered domains or transferring the user to prevent annoying information duplication or joint partner domains that may be working with a third party vendor. However these cookies are more often than not used as tracking indicators about user behavior and what other sites you visit.
|Considering the risk is it worth having third party cookies that silently track you? Many companies and brokers are ramping up their usage of tracking users with this metric along with browser fingerprinting to serve you targeted ads based on what pages you look at or search for
|-
|Authentication Cookie
|Are often tied to accounts that you use to prevent having to re-login each time you need to do an action with your account. these are usually stored as session cookies which generally have a shorter lifespan or even expire after your tab session has ended with the browser
|These tend to be less risky, in cases where these tokens are stored short term and encrypted can provide you with much needed convenience. But in cases where your browser may be compromised either by malware or browser extension can have your session cookies hijacked and used to access your account
|-
|Tracking Cookie
|Often malicious, but can be used to track sites performance and metrics based on reoccurring traffic and visits made with minimal overhead
|Usually sites will try to access third party cookies to learn more information about you with also adding there own. with this information they can calculate Value based pricing and targeted products that you may have recently looked at in previous weeks or days with a FOMO offer discount
|-
|Preference Cookie
|Often the least identifiable cookie on a site, this can be used to store specific preferences like a footer dismissal to how many results should show from a search to provide better functionality and efficency especially if the site has no account system.
|While this could possibly be used to track you, the information doesn't necessarily give you away. Since many that do implement this are domain specific cookies and not third party cookies as referenced earlier
|}

==Why it is a problem==

====Targeted advertising====

====Value based pricing====

====Cross Website tracking====

==Examples==

*Honey using cookies to share new affiliate codes with other users, this also had included many private exclusive discount codes that employees or veterans got for shopping at stores costing businesses tons of money
*Microsoft placing cookie tracking on school student devices https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/27/microsft_illegally_installed_cookies_ruling_austra_school/
*Imgur using tracking cookies to serve ads to users from third party sites [[Imgur]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Common terms]]

Web cookie

2026-03-15T22:14:50Z

Vandetta: start creation rough draft, unfinished!! trying to keep it simple with less complex wording for GA(general audience) consumers can understand

Doordash

2026-02-09T04:23:18Z

Vandetta: add some more cases from the source (no links for them yet) since citing is such a pain i'll try to finish the article soon

{{CompanyCargo
|Description=American store-to-house delivery service primarily used for food delivery.
|Founded=2013
|Industry=Delivery
|Logo=Doordash.png
|ParentCompany=
|Type=Public
|Website=https://www.doordash.com/
}}
[https://www.doordash.com/ DoorDash] was founded in June 2013, initially starting as PaloAltoDelivery.com before rebranding to Doordash. The company was founded by three Stanford students Tony Xu, Andy Fang, and Stanley Tang. Its focus is delivery on a wide variety of items, some items include fresh meals from nearby restaurants, groceries, convenience store items, OTC (Over the Counter) medicines, flowers, etc... This service mainly operates in locations within the U.S. (United States), Canada, and Australia.

==Consumer-impact summary==
Over the years of operation DoorDash has found itself in many controversial consumer and workers violations. Some of the most notable being:

*Withholding dashers funds (up to weeks or months) for delivering orders
*Lack of Business transparency especially with delivery fees and higher menu pricing
*Exposing millions of sensitive dashers and company information in a breach
*Adding restaurants to their platform to order without the business's consent
*Using driver tips to cover the cost of other deliveries
*Using [https://wiki.rossmanngroup.com/wiki/Buy_Now_Pay_Later BNPL] (Buy Now Pay Later) services to target the financially challenged consumers
*Using AI to falsely advertise what menu items look like
*Subsidizing Dashpass subscriptions by passing commission rates onto business's
*Multiple lawsuits due to unfair business practices

==Incidents==

===Withholding funds for contracted drivers===
According to Doordash, <blockquote>"Dashers get paid on a weekly basis for all deliveries or tasks completed between Monday - Sunday of the previous week (ending Sunday at midnight local time). Payments are transferred directly to your bank account through Direct Deposit and usually take 2-3 days to show up in your bank account, so payments will appear by Wednesday night."<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2025-04-08 |title=When do Dashers get paid? |url=https://help.doordash.com/dashers/s/article/When-do-Dashers-get-paid?language=en_US |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=Doordash}}</ref></blockquote>Even though they are treated like contractors they are still payed within a weekly basis instead of a quota based system. Many users who contract with Doordash need funds quickly to be able to cover daily expenses. This puts the dashers in a tough spot relying on cash tips, if any, to continue to get by until they are able to retrieve their weekly pay. However Doordash has already thought of this and created Fastpay.<blockquote>"Fast Pay allows Dashers to cash out their earnings daily for a small fee of $1.99. This means that Dashers can receive their earnings on demand through DoorDash, rather than waiting for their weekly direct deposit or using a third party service."<ref name=":3" /></blockquote>By holding dashers funds they are incurring free interest on the money by not paying out the dasher as soon as a delivery is completed. By taking advantage of desperate workers they can make more money off of the original transaction.

===Charging users unclear "fees" for delivery===
Like many businesses, Doordash does need to cover expenses that the company has. The issue lies with the transparency of how they do business with the customer base within their app. Many consumers have taken a legal class action lawsuit against Doordash.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Mayer |first=Chloe |date=2023-06-09 |title=DoorDash Faces $1B Lawsuit Over Delivery Fees: 'Dupes Naive Consumers' - Newsweek |url=https://www.newsweek.com/lawsuit-doordash-sue-iphone-android-1805387 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Newsweek}}</ref> The suit alleges Doordash's unfair Value based pricing by leveraging their algorithm and pricing model changes on a per customer basis; and not what they order. Specific examples include: delivery fee, any form of a hidden marketing fee or hidden commission fee.<ref name=":4" /> Doordash has denied all alleged claims, referring to them as a "copy-and-paste job".

This is combined with the fact that Doordash's menu prices are also considerably higher than those of the original venues where items could be purchased. "Without letting consumers know, DoorDash is able to raise the prices of menu items in order to turn a greater profit."<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |last=Mallory |first=Paul |date=2023-08-23 |title=DoorDash Prices Higher Than Menu |url=https://consumergravity.com/doordash-prices-higher-than-menu/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=ConsumerGravity}}</ref> leaving consumers none the wiser unless they actually checked by either visiting a company site (which may not be possible due to them handling takeout) or going in person to check their pricing. This leaves the consumer completely unaware that they are being overcharged on the goods being provided by the service. While some restaurants have admitted to allowing price increases for delivery, in some cases "this is even done without the restaurant’s permission. Which means that they are also not receiving any of the extra money."<ref name=":9" /> leaving Doordash to pocket all the extra profit for itself on top of all the other fees it charges for it's services.
===Data breach exposing millions of dashers and company info<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2025-04-08 |title=DoorDash - Wikipedia |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DoorDash |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=Wikipedia}}</ref>===
In mid 2019, Doordash suffered a data breach that affected 4.9 million customers, drivers, and businesses sensitive information combined. Individuals that had joined Doordash after April 5th of 2018 were not affected. This breach took 5 months to be found. Doordash claims that "a third-party service provider," was to blame for this leak, but the third party was never named. The types of data exposed is listed in the chart below.
{| class="wikitable"
|+<big>Breached Data that was exposed</big> <ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Coban |first=Erkin |date=2025-04-08 |title=DoorDash Fees and Commissions for Restaurants: Detailed 2025 Guide - Restaurant Success Blog {{!}} Menuviel |url=https://blog.menuviel.com/doordash-fees-and-commissions-for-restaurants/ |url-status=live |website=Menuviel}}</ref>
!Customers
|name, email and delivery addresses, order history, phone numbers, hashed & salted passwords and the last four digits of their payment cards taken.
|-
!Dashers
|last four digits of their bank account numbers stolen, Approximately 100,000 had their drivers license stolen.
|-
!Companies
|last four digits of their bank account numbers stolen
|}
Many consumers complained the year before about their account being hacked, but were assured by Doordash that it was not a breach and "claimed attackers were running credential stuffing attacks". This shows they did not take customers reports seriously and had a breach shortly after, due to the company's opsec negligence.

===Adding restaurants to their platform without other business's consent===
Starting around 2020, Doordash had decided that the company needed more outreach. To do this, the company started adding businesses that had no arrangements for takeout or delivery without the owners consent.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Pershan |first=Caleb |date=2020-01-29 |title=Delivery Apps Keep Adding Restaurants Without Their Consent - Eater |url=https://www.eater.com/2020/1/29/21113416/grubhub-seamless-kin-khao-online-delivery-mistake-doordash |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=EATER}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Settembre |first=Jeanette |date=2020-01-21 |title=DoorDash, Grubhub skewered by small restaurants for posting menus without permission {{!}} Fox Business |url=https://www.foxbusiness.com/small-business/doordash-grubhub-restaurant-listing-without-permission.amp |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-09 |website=Fox Business}}</ref> This has led to increased stress on businesses that were not ready for a higher influx of volume orders but also being charged up to 30% in referral fees depending on the business.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":7" /> Many small corporations and restaurants were impacted the most due to these policies; mostly because profit margins are usually lower than a multi billion dollar franchise that has been tailored to do takeout for decades, or industry chains that are used to higher order volumes. Behavior like this may end up running smaller unprepared business operations to close permanently, leaving only the bigger corporations to compete for the consumers' purchasing power.

===Pocketing driver app tips to payout other dashers<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Glenn |first=Lindey |date=2025-03-31 |title=DoorDash’s $1 BILLION Lawsuit: Exposing DoorDash’s Predatory Business Model |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-gPld7e3do |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Youtube}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=James |first=Letitia |date=2025-02-24 |title=Attorney General James Secures $16.75 Million from DoorDash for Cheating Delivery Workers Out of Tips |url=https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2025/attorney-general-james-secures-1675-million-doordash-cheating-delivery-workers |url-status=live |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=NY GOV}}</ref>===
In February 24 of 2025, a press release statement New York Attorney General Letitia James released the results of their investigation stating that Doordash, between May 2017 and September 2019,<blockquote>“used customer tips to offset the base pay it had already guaranteed to workers, instead of giving workers the full tips they rightfully earned.”<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last=Calvario |first=Liz |date=2025-02-25 |title=DoorDash Settlement: Millions to Be Paid to Drivers For Pocketed Tips |url=https://www.today.com/food/news/doordash-settlement-payout-rcna193728 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=TODAY}}</ref></blockquote>Doordash has lost this lawsuit and was ordered to pay a hefty sum for mistreating the contractors about transparent pay as seen below: <blockquote>"DoorDash will pay $16.75 million in restitution for Dashers and up to $1 million in settlement administrator costs to help issue the payments."<ref name=":8" /></blockquote>Doordash has responded to the litigation loss by stating it was an ''"old pay structure"'' as they are currently using a newer one where contractors keep all their tips.

The old pay structure that Doordash's PR team was referring to would only show dashers tip amount if it was higher than what Doordash was willing to pay them for that contract batch. In many cases when the tip amount failed to surpass what the company was willing to pay the dasher for the order it was often taken and spread across other orders that may have had a lower initial payout. This ''"old pay structure"'' has impacted over 63,000 New Yorker's alone.

===Using BNPL services to target the financially challenged consumers===
As of March 2025, Doordash has decided to partner up with Klarna for [[Buy Now Pay Later|BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later)]] services.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Steinberg |first=Brooke |date=2025-03-24 |title=DoorDash now offering eat now, pay later payments through Klarna |url=https://nypost.com/2025/03/24/lifestyle/DoorDash-now-offering-eat-now-pay-later-payments-through-klarna/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=New York Post}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-20 |title=DoorDash Partners with Klarna to Offer US Customers Even More Convenience with Flexible Payments {{!}} DoorDash |url=https://about.doordash.com/en-us/news/doordash-partners-with-klarna |url-status=live |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=Doordash}}</ref> This partnership is aimed at the consumers that want food delivery but are currently unable to afford it. However, it's a deceptive practice that can further financially ruin consumers. While [[Buy Now Pay Later|BNPL]] can defer payments interest free, it does charge late fees. Consumers that are already financially strapped for cash may find it difficult to repay these loans if they are not careful. This may boost Doordash's profits by taking advantage of consumers that are not financially savvy.

===Using Dashpass subscription model to surcharge business's on order commissions===
<blockquote>"About eight months after Washington, D.C. placed a 15% cap on third-party delivery commission fees to help restaurants during the pandemic, DoorDash appears to have found a workaround. According to the Washington City Paper, restaurants that use DoorDash’s DashPass subscription feature were sent a notice stating that the cap is “only applicable to Classic orders” and doesn’t apply to the DashPass program."..."DoorDash calls DashPass an “optional, premium offering and separate from DoorDash’s core services.” The company said that beginning Dec. 9, it will begin charging restaurants the contractual rate in their original agreements, City Paper reports. The changes to DashPash charges are part of a limited test in fewer than five cities, including D.C. and cities in the Bay Area."<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Kelso |first=Alicia |date=2020-12-07 |title=DoorDash hit with cease-and-desist letter from DC attorney general {{!}} Restaurant Dive |url=https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/doordash-could-use-dashpash-as-a-workaround-to-delivery-fee-caps/591701/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Restaurant Dive}}</ref></blockquote>By using this workaround, Doordash has negatively impacted many small businesses and restaurants that operate within the area. They did, however, allow ''"Merchants can choose to opt out of DashPass at any time, a DoorDash spokesperson said"<ref name=":1" />.'' Though there are many consumers that do use Dashpass due to the savings for users that use their delivery services frequently. By opting out, businesses are effectively blacklisting themselves from the users that frequently use the app for deliveries. Doordash's spokesperson justifies this<blockquote>"The spokesperson called delivery fee restrictions a “one-size fits all” solution that impacts the company’s ability to provide quality service and pay. Merchant fees help the company cover business costs like Dasher pay, background checks, occupational Dasher insurance and website upkeep, the spokesperson said."<ref name=":1" /></blockquote>Which apparently the Dashpass subscription that consumers pay does not cover this. This is just an excuse to further pass on costs while maintaining the profits of the subscription and free delivery; which is the main selling point of the subscription service.

This has caught the eye of D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine on December 10 of 2020. They have sent a cease and desist notice on Tuesday warning Doordash that charging restaurants more than 15% on commissions may violate District laws. The company complied two days later stating they "decided not to charge DC restaurants their contractual DashPass rate at this time."<ref name=":1" />

===Using AI to falsely advertise what menu items look like===
With many menus, consumers expect an accurate description of what they are ordering along with the ingredients that are being used to make it. In recent years companies have started relying on AI to generate a description and a complimentary photo of what the dish should look like. But in many cases this was done to falsely advertise to boost sales. We can look to an earlier instance during the lock down when ghost kitchens were popular;<blockquote>"Ghost kitchens are allegedly using AI-generated images on food delivery sites such as GrubHub and DoorDash. The images are used to promote online orders from kitchens that solely sell their food via online delivery services. Rather than using real photographers, they are using images of food that do not exist."<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |last=Baker |first=Alex |date=2024-02-28 |title=The photos that you see on food delivery apps are probably AI |url=https://www.diyphotography.net/ghost-kitchens-using-ai-images-on-food-delivery-apps/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=DiyPhotography}}</ref></blockquote>Of which many delivered products that did not match the item description at all or was poorer quality than what was shown to them within ordering. Not to mention in many countries<blockquote>"there are firm advertising laws that state exactly what you have to show and what can be substituted in food photography. This helps protect consumers, making sure they get what they order."<ref name=":11" /></blockquote>Meaning when generating a picture of food it is not considered edible by many countries standards and may even be illegal. But industries are constantly changing; custom diffusion models being packaged like Swipeby to provide cheap alternatives to make selling menu items at a higher volume.<blockquote>"The company points to a survey from Snappr, a photography and visual content platform, that found high-quality food photos can increase orders on restaurant delivery apps by 35%."<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |last=Canton |first=Rafael |date=2023-04-07 |title=The picture of that food you’re ordering online may have been created by AI |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90870969/food-delivery-startup-ai-photos-swipeby |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=FastCompany}}</ref></blockquote>By seeing the results that such a tool can provide shows how pressing it can be for other businesses to compete if they are not also resorting to the same measures. During this time Doordash had policies about having generative photos for menu items; the founder however thinks things will change soon as he said "Give it six months, that will change,” he says. “I will bet money on it. Because with AI generation right now, it makes so much sense."<ref name=":12" /> And as of 2025 Doordash has launched it's own tool for generating AI menus on it's platform which is able to generate descriptions and pictures of an item being listed.<blockquote>''“At DoorDash, we believe AI should make life easier for restaurants—not more complicated. It’s about using automation to enhance the guest experience while keeping the operator’s unique touch front and center,” said Arpit Dhariwal, Head of Product, Merchant Acquisition & Growth at DoorDash. “AI-powered tools are built to take everyday tasks off operators’ plates, allowing restaurants to focus on what matters most—delivering great food and service. We're excited to help drive more orders, save time, and support continued growth for our restaurant partners.”''</blockquote>As we have seen earlier higher profit margins has caught Doordash's attention. Since they also make more money from users seeing results that may resemble the food that will be ordered as a first result. However this tool can be used nefariously like how ghost kitchens used it to falsely advertise the quality and resemblance of the food being shown to the consumers of the app. It may be important to exercise caution from now on against actors that would leverage this tool against the consumer especially since there seems to be nothing in place to warn the consumer that the current item that is being viewed was generated by their AI tool. This leaves an extremely high risk that a consumer may be unsatisfied with an order because it did not match the description or the photo being listed on Doordash.

===Multiple lawsuits due to unlawful business practices<ref name=":2" />===

====Class-action lawsuit for misclassifying workers (2017)====
A class-action litigation suit was filed for Doordash in allegedly labeling delivery workers in California and Massachusetts as independent contractors. An agreement was later reached in 2022 where Doordash payed out $100 million dollars. $61 million would be going to the effected 900,000+ drivers in both states, paying approximately $130 dollars per driver; with the other $28 million going to the lawyers.<ref name=":13">{{Cite web |last=Whitney |first=Kimball |date=2021-09-01 |title=DoorDash Settlement Would Pay a Paltry $130 to Workers Instead of Making Them Employees |url=https://gizmodo.com/doordash-settlement-would-pay-a-paltry-130-to-workers-1847586519 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-07 |website=Gizmodo}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Maeve |first=Allsup |date=2021-12-22 |title=DoorDash $100 Million Driver Settlement Tentatively Approved |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/doordash-100-million-driver-settlement-tentatively-approved |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-07 |website=Bloomberg Law}}</ref> A quite minor sum for Doordash considering their CEO got payed $413 million dollars just the year before the settlement.<ref name=":13" />

====Data breach lawsuit (2019)====
In early may Doordash had a data breach with over 4.9 million effected individuals. All users who registered past April 5th 2018 were safe from the data that was stolen.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Whittaker |first=Zack |date=2016-09-26 |title=DoorDash confirms data breach affected 4.9 million customers, workers and merchants |url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/09/26/doordash-data-breach/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=Tech Crunch}}</ref> This has resulted in a class action in October 2019 against Doordash for not protecting user data.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shaak |first=Erin |date=2019-08-04 |title=DoorDash Sued Over 2019 Data Breach Affecting More Than 4.9 Million Users |url=https://www.classaction.org/news/doordash-sued-over-2019-data-breach-affecting-more-than-4-9-million-users |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-16 |website=Class Action Org}}</ref>

====Withholding of tips and subsequent class-action lawsuits (2019)====
In July, Doordash's tipping payout to drivers was critiqued by the New York Times, The Verge and Gothamist.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Newman |first=Andy |date=2019-06-21 |title=My Frantic Life as a Cab-Dodging, Tip-Chasing Food App Deliveryman |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/21/nyregion/doordash-ubereats-food-app-delivery-bike.html |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Vincent |first=James |date=2019-07-22 |title=Delivery apps like DoorDash are using your tips to pay workers’ wages |url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/22/20703434/delivery-app-tip-pay-theft-doordash-amazon-flex-instacart |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=The Verge}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ghaffary |first=Shirin |date=2019-08-20 |title=DoorDash is still pocketing workers’ tips, almost a month after it promised to stop |url=https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/8/20/20825937/doordash-tipping-policy-still-not-changed-food-delivery-app-gig-economy |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Vox}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite web |last=Lampen |first=Claire |date=2019-07-10 |title=Brooklyn Man Sues DoorDash Over Grifty, Misleading Tip Policy |url=https://gothamist.com/2019/07/30/doordash_tipping_lawsuit.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805221244/https://gothamist.com/2019/07/30/doordash_tipping_lawsuit.php |archive-date=2019-08-05 |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Gothamist}}</ref> The pay structure in question is where the Dasher would get payed a minimum amount for each order by Doordash. If the customer added a tip it would cover the companies expenses first to cover the minimum. the remaining amount of the tip would go to the dasher that was deducted from Doordash.<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":14">{{Cite web |last=Wayt |first=Theo |date=2019-06-29 |title=Brooklyn man sues DoorDash for ‘misleading’ tipping policy |url=https://nypost.com/2019/07/29/brooklyn-man-sues-doordash-for-misleading-tipping-policy/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=New York Post}}</ref>

Later in 2020 Doordash was exposed for lying about pocketing portions of drivers tips, generating additional revenue for the company that dashers were unaware or uninformed about. This was happening after the company claimed it had refactored it's tipping system to be more transparent. But Doordash was still continuing to skim payouts for deliveries from dashers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Keck |first=Catie |date=2020-01-07 |title=The Villain Always Wins |url=https://gizmodo.com/the-villain-always-wins-1841070357 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Gizmodo}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Keck |first=Catie |date=2019-03-15 |title=DoorDash Has Been Confusing Its Workers About Payments for Nearly Two Years |url=https://gizmodo.com/doordash-has-been-confusing-its-workers-about-payments-1833327287 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Gizmodo}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Keck |first=Catie |date=2019-12-10 |title=DoorDash Has a New Plan to Make Workers Gamble on How Much They’ll Get Paid |url=https://gizmodo.com/doordash-has-a-new-plan-to-make-workers-gamble-on-how-m-1840325285 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Gizmodo}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ellis |first=Avery |date=2020-01-16 |title=DoorDash Contractors Earn Less Than Dogshit, Study Finds |url=https://gizmodo.com/doordash-contractors-earn-less-than-dogshit-study-find-1841048784 |url-status=dead |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Gizmodo}}</ref>

This had led a customer to file a class action suit against the company claiming "materially false and misleading" in app tipping feature.<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":14" /> The case was later moved to an arbitration hearing in August.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Casetext |date=2020-08-24 |title=Arkin v. DoorDash, Inc. |url=https://casetext.com/case/arkin-v-doordash-inc |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213085836/https://casetext.com/case/arkin-v-doordash-inc |archive-date=2023-02-13 |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Casetext}}</ref> Facing negative exposure and bad press the company finally complied to change their payout policy.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Abril |first=Danielle |date=2019-11-12 |title=DoorDash’s New Tipping Policy Has Increased Driver Pay |url=https://fortune.com/2019/11/12/doordash-new-tipping-policy-worker-pay/ |url-status=live |website=Fortune}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Newman |first=Andy |date=2019-07-24 |title=DoorDash Changes Tipping Model After Uproar From Customers |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/24/nyregion/doordash-tip-policy.html |url-status=live |website=New York Times}}</ref> The lawsuit was settled by District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine for $2.5 million with most of the amount going to dashers, government and charity.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kerr |first=Dara |date=2020-11-25 |title=DoorDash settles lawsuit for $2.5M over 'deceptive' tipping practices |url=https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/doordash-settles-lawsuit-for-2-5m-over-deceptive-tipping-practices/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=CNET}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Canales |first=Katie |date=2020-11-25 |title=DoorDash is paying $2.5 million to settle a lawsuit that accused the food delivery company of stealing drivers' tips |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/doordash-25-million-settlement-lawsuit-tipping-model-2020-11 |url-status=live |website=Business Insider}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=OAC |date=2020-11-24 |title=AG Racine Reaches $2.5 Million Agreement with DoorDash for Misrepresenting that Consumer Tips Would Go to Food Delivery Drivers |url=https://oag.dc.gov/release/ag-racine-reaches-25-million-agreement-doordash |website=Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia}}</ref>

==== Antitrust litigation (2020) ====
The Dacitashvili has filed against Grubhub, Doordash, Postmates and Uber Eats for having a majoritive monopoly over the food delivery market because of the way it selectively signed contracts with businesses to list them on the platform. Many of the clauses stated that delivery prices will be identical to dine in prices.<ref name=":15">{{Cite web |last=Allyn |first=Bobby |date=2020-05-14 |title=Restaurants Are Desperate — But You May Not Be Helping When You Use Delivery Apps |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/05/14/856444431/cities-crack-down-on-food-delivery-app-fees-as-restaurants-struggle-to-survive |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-30 |website=NPR}}</ref><ref name=":16">{{Cite web |last=Stempel |first=Jonathan |date=2020-04-13 |title=Grubhub, DoorDash, Postmates, Uber Eats are sued over restaurant prices amid pandemic |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-food-delivery-laws-idUSKCN21V2C1/ |url-status=live |access-date=2020-08-30 |website=Reuters}}</ref> Plaintiffs argued that this increased the cost unfairly to dine-in customers because all defendants required the restaurants to cover the delivery fees ranging from 13% - 40% of revenue.<ref name=":15" /><ref name=":16" /> Keep in mind that restaurants like supermarkets runs on slim profit margins with the average being 3% - 9% total. This case seeks treble damages (multiply all damages by 3) for overcharges from the beginning of 2016 of April from the defendants delivery apps.<ref name=":15" /><ref name=":16" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-04-13 |title=Case 1:20-cv-03000-LAK Document |url=https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/6890558/DAVITASHVILI-v-Grubhub-ET-AL.txt |url-status=live |archive-date= |access-date=2025-08-30 |website=S3 Documentcloud}}</ref> Many preliminaries have happened since then but is unclear when the trial will actually begin.

==== Litigation for illegal unauthorized restaurant listing (2021) ====
In may, Doordash was sued of adding restaurants to their service without business consent. the plaintiff Lona's Lil Eats in St. Louis filed a lawsuit against the company claiming that they were listed on the app without notice or consent; and then prevented any orders from going through despite the listing claiming it was "too far away" when the actual issue was that the business had not partnered with Doordash and payed the fee for the listing. Which such behavior is not lawful in California

==== Lawsuit by the city of Chicago (2021) ====
In august, Chicago had filed a suit against both Doordash and Grubhub. Mayor Lori Lightfoot claimed these companies broke the law by using "unfair and deceptive tactics to take advantage of restaurants and consumers who were struggling to stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.", which was actively denied by both companies alleged in the case.

"<blockquote>
===Class-action lawsuit (2023)===
DoorDash has been accused of charging users of iPhone more than users on the Android platform. User testing claimed to show several instances of various fees and delivery charges being higher when using an Apple device. DoorDash denied these allegations in response to the ongoing US$1 billion class-action suit.

===Lawsuit by the city of Seattle (2023)===
In August 2023, DoorDash was obligated to pay its drivers and the city of Seattle a total of $1.6 million. It was found that the platform made it difficult for users to request paid time off. DoorDash is to pay $1.1 million towards safe and sick time credits, $500k directly to drivers and an additional $8,500 in city fees.

===Privacy lawsuit by the state of California (2024)===
In February 2024, after being found to have illegally sold personal data, DoorDash was obligated to pay a $375,000 civil penalty as well as to begin complying with privacy laws it had been shirking, namely CCPA and CalOPPA.

===Class-action lawsuit settlement (2025)===
In 2025, DoorDash agreed to pay around $17 million for "misleading both consumers and delivery workers" with tips being docked from drivers' pay instead of directly going to drivers.</blockquote>

"<ref name=":2" />{{Placeholder box|If the company page is short enough and/or the incident is not deserving of its own page, add incidents below in sub-sections (including the points outlined in [[Consumer_Action_Taskforce:Sample/Incident/Help|the incident help page]]) without linking/creating an incident page.

If the company has various incidents listed and/or this page is getting too long, create subsections linking to each incident while linking to the main article and including a short summary. To link to the page use the "Hatnote" or "Main" templates.

If the company has numerous incidents then format them in a table (see [[Amazon]] for an example). }}

==Products==

===Dashpass (2018 - Present)===
A premium program offered by Door Dash. This program offers free delivery on orders greater than $12 along with reduced service fees for deliveries. By paying the subscription price Doordash advertises this program as a cost saving measure for consumers that use their app frequently. This offer, however, has been subject to a variety of criticism. One of the more popular cases being hit with a cease-and-desist letter from DC attorney general for charging more than 15% on commissions to make up the losses of the companies free delivery policy with Dashpass.<ref name=":1" />
==See also==
{{Placeholder box|Link to relevant theme articles or companies with similar incidents.}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]

Loyalty cards

2025-11-11T18:05:42Z

Vandetta: minor fluidity changes

Loyalty cards are rewards offered to reoccurring customers that commonly buy from them. Other common names may include rewards cards, points cards, or club cards. this is usually done to drive up loyalty to the business due to a percent kickback or points alternative instead of a competitor. Loyalty cards are not also bound to just cards, lately they are more commonly being integrated as app forms offering coupons and free add-ons as exclusive benefits. Additionally some loyalty cards are not free and require an annual or monthly subscription to retain your loyalty status.

==How it works==
Company a wants to boost sales with their existing customer base without driving them away to other competitors. Instead of hosting limited run deals they decide to roll out a loyalty card that rewards you in points the more you spend with them. They likely also plan to run limited time discounts and coupons for loyalty card members only. And if it is really successful they will make it available as an app to increase their customer install base and may end up charging a monthly fee for such benefits.

==Why it is a problem==

===Monopolistic practices===
Many loyalty cards will lower the barrier to entry in promise of good rewards while in the process of basically trapping the consumer to only want to spend money with the associated brand under the guise of saving money. Things such as points or cash back credits enforce the habit of consumers feeling that they should buy anything they need with that store even if a better deal is available elsewhere

==Examples==
[https://us.zyn.com/questions/ Zyn] reward program giving points for buying their nicotine gum products

Amazon Prime offering member only deals and free 2 day shipping on prime products

Mc Donalds providing app only orders discounts such as free fries and points

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Common terms]]

Loyalty cards

2025-11-11T18:00:19Z

Vandetta: flush out the page more still needs more touch ups and research, i would also probably change the article name to Loyalty programs instead of cards of which i would probably need to rewrite the page a bit but i feel this is more fitting as this term includes the rise of app based loyalty programs and memberships for consumers

Loyalty cards are rewards offered to reoccurring customers that commonly buy from them. Other common names may include rewards cards, points cards, or club cards. this is usually done to drive up loyalty to the business due to a percent back kickback or points alternative instead of a competitor. Loyalty cards are not also bound to just cards, lately they are more commonly being integrated as app forms offering coupons and free add-ons as exclusive benefits. Additionally some loyalty cards are not free and require an annual or monthly subscription to retain your loyalty status.

==How it works==
Company a wants to boost sales with their existing customer base without driving them away to other competitors. Instead of hosting limited runtime deals they decide to roll out a loyalty card that rewards you in points the more you spend with them. They likely also plan to run limited time discounts and coupons for loyalty card members only. And if it is really successful they will make it available as an app to increase their customer install base and may end up chagrining a monthly fee for such benefits.

==Why it is a problem==

=== Monopolistic practices ===
Many loyalty cards will lower the barrier to entry in promise of good rewards while in the process of basically trapping the consumer to only want to spend money with the associated brand under the guise of saving money. Things such as points or cash back credits enforce the habit of consumers feeling that they should buy anything they need with that store even if a better deal is available elsewhere

==Examples==
[https://us.zyn.com/questions/ Zyn] reward program giving points for buying their nicotine gum products

Amazon Prime offering member only deals and free 2 day shipping on prime products

Mc Donalds providing app only orders discounts such as free fries and points

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Common terms]]

Loyalty cards

2025-11-11T03:03:49Z

Vandetta: Start loyalty cards, started summary Stub notice recommended, will add more details at a later date

Loyalty cards are rewards offered to reoccurring customers that commonly buy from them. Other common names loyalty cards that you may of heard of include rewards cards, points cards, or club cards. this is usually done to drive up loyalty to the business due to a percent back kickback or points alternative instead of a competitor. Loyalty cards are not also bound to just cards, lately they are more commonly being integrated as app forms offering coupons and free add-ons as exclusive benefits.

==How it works==
{{Ph-T-HIW}}

==Why it is a problem==
{{Ph-T-WIIAP}}

==Examples==
{{Ph-T-E}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Common terms]]

Negative option marketing

2025-11-02T17:31:47Z

Vandetta: tweaks for fluidity

{{StubNotice}}

'''Negative option marketing''' or NOM, is a practice in which businesses proactively make changes that restrict users freedoms in ways that take the users silence or inaction to be acceptance of the terms set by a company.

==How it works==
A company like a gym may make it super easy to sign up online. But when it comes time to cancel your membership to change to a new gym the consumer later finds out that they have to certify mail the gym to cancel the same membership they signed up for online. While a company could implement a easy cancel option they proactively choose not to keep those who would just accept the cost outweighing the time spent to cancel.<ref>{{Cite web |last=FTC |title=Enforcement Policy Statement Regarding Negative Option Marketing - negative_option_policy_statement-10-22-2021-tobureau.pdf |url=https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_statements/1598063/negative_option_policy_statement-10-22-2021-tobureau.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=2025-11-02 |website=FTC GOV}}</ref>

==Why it is a problem==

===Consumer Entrapment===
By making the process as easy as possible weather it be creating an account or subscribing to a service users should have a say on if there account should be deleted or a subscription canceled by not providing these options to consumers they are effectively trapped for what they signed up for

===Loss of ownership===
Specific devices like cameras, watches, light bulbs etc... may require app activation to use something that should "just work" out of the box. But instead force you to download something you did not consent to when purchasing it

===Privacy===
With relating to accounts since you are not able to remove or delete them those companies may be actively selling that information that you have provided to them to other companies or brokers without your knowledge even if you decided you no longer wish to use the product the info will persist without your consent

==Examples==
LA Fitness making it easy to sign up for a membership but requires first class mail to cancel a subscription<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rossmann |first=Louis |date=2023-08-24 |title=LA Fitness gym cancel scam - fight for the right to cancel! |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6gF1z3WkWU |url-status=live |access-date=2025-11-02 |website=Youtube}}</ref>

DND Beyond allowing you to make an account online but force request via '''email''' to have a chance of your account being deleted by them having to provide additional information that was not necessary on account signup<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-01-09 |title=The Multi-Day Odyssey to Account Deletion (Ongoing) |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/dndbeyond/comments/10b9y9v/the_multiday_odyssey_to_account_deletion_ongoing/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-11-02 |website=Reddit}}</ref>

DJI cameras requiring an app registration to be able to use the product you paid for<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rossmann |first=Louis |date=2025-04-17 |title=I thought I bought a camera, but no! DJI sold me a LICENSE to use their camera 🤦‍♂️ |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUOnQ_boqCw |url-status=live |access-date=2025-11-02 |website=Youtube}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Common terms]]

Negative option marketing

2025-11-02T17:24:50Z

Vandetta: add some refs, expand privacy rights a bit needs touchups

{{StubNotice}}

'''Negative option marketing,''' or NOM, is a practice in which businesses proactively make changes that restrict users freedom in way that they may have once originally taken the users silence or inaction to be acceptance.

==How it works==
A company like a gym may make it super easy to sign up online. But when it comes time to cancel your membership to change to a new gym the consumer later finds out that they have to certify mail the gym to cancel the same membership they signed up for online. While a company could implement a easy cancel option they proactively choose not to keep those who would just accept the cost outweighing the time spent to cancel.<ref>{{Cite web |last=FTC |title=Enforcement Policy Statement Regarding Negative Option Marketing - negative_option_policy_statement-10-22-2021-tobureau.pdf |url=https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_statements/1598063/negative_option_policy_statement-10-22-2021-tobureau.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=2025-11-02 |website=FTC GOV}}</ref>

==Why it is a problem==

===Consumer Entrapment===
By making the process as easy as possible weather it be creating an account or subscribing to a service users should have a say on if there account should be deleted or a subscription canceled by not providing these options to consumers they are effectively trapped for what they signed up for

=== Loss of ownership ===
Specific devices like cameras, watches, light bulbs etc... may require app activation to use something that should "just work" out of the box. But instead force you to download something you did not consent to when purchasing it

===Privacy===
With relating to accounts since you are not able to remove or delete them those companies may be actively selling that information that you have provided to them to other companies or brokers without your knowledge even if you decided you no longer wish to use the product the info will persist without your consent

==Examples==
LA Fitness making it easy to sign up for a membership but requires first class mail to cancel a subscription<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rossmann |first=Louis |date=2023-08-24 |title=LA Fitness gym cancel scam - fight for the right to cancel! |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6gF1z3WkWU |url-status=live |access-date=2025-11-02 |website=Youtube}}</ref>

DND Beyond allowing you to make an account online but force request via '''email''' to have a chance of your account being deleted by them having to provide additional information that was not necessary on account signup<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-01-09 |title=The Multi-Day Odyssey to Account Deletion (Ongoing) |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/dndbeyond/comments/10b9y9v/the_multiday_odyssey_to_account_deletion_ongoing/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-11-02 |website=Reddit}}</ref>

DJI cameras requiring an app registration to be able to use the product you paid for<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rossmann |first=Louis |date=2025-04-17 |title=I thought I bought a camera, but no! DJI sold me a LICENSE to use their camera 🤦‍♂️ |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUOnQ_boqCw |url-status=live |access-date=2025-11-02 |website=Youtube}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Common terms]]

Negative option marketing

2025-11-01T20:59:49Z

Vandetta: Start stub no examples no refs (yet) but figured i would rough draft it since it seems pretty important

'''Negative option marketing''' or NOM for short is a practice in where businesses proactively make changes that restricts users freedom that they may have once originally taking the users silence or inaction to be acceptance.

== How it works ==
A company like a gym may make it super easy to sign up online. But when it comes time to cancel your membership to change to a new gym the consumer later finds out that they have to certify mail the gym to cancel the same membership they signed up for online. While a company could implement a easy cancel option they proactively choose not to keep those who would just accept the cost outweighing the time spent to cancel.

==Why it is a problem==

=== Consumer Entrapment ===
By making the process as easy as possible weather it be creating an account or subscribing to a service users should have a say on if there account should be deleted or a subscription canceled by not providing these options to consumers they are effectively trapped for what they signed up for

=== Privacy ===
With relating to accounts since you are not able to remove or delete them those companies may be actively selling that information that you have provided to them to other companies or brokers without your knowledge even if you decided you no longer wish to use the product the info will persist without your consent

==Examples==
{{Ph-T-E}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Common terms]]

Automatic content recognition

2025-09-29T00:01:36Z

Vandetta: fix overbold?

{{StubNotice}}

'''Automatic Content Recognition (ACR)''' is a feature in certain kinds of devices manufacturers use to collect consumer data, visuals and audio, at periodic intervals, which grants the manufacturing companies access to the private data automatically.<ref name="IA-cloud">{{Cite web |title=ACRCloud Docs |url=https://www.acrcloud.com/docs/introduction/automatic-content-recognition/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228090804/https://www.acrcloud.com/docs/introduction/automatic-content-recognition/ |archive-date=2017-02-28}}</ref>

==How it works==
ACR allows the manufacturing companies of Smart TVs access to information like:
#Content being viewed
#Connected devices
#Time and date of the viewing
#Duration of the content
#Specific sensors it has access to

ACR is an opt-in feature buried beneath the EULA, turned on by default.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last1=Cericola |first1=Rachel |last2=Chase |first2=Jon |last3=Neikirk |first3=Lee |date=2025-06-25 |title=Yes, Your TV Is Probably Spying on You. Your Fridge, Too. Here’s What They Know. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/advice-smart-devices-data-tracking/ |access-date=2025-08-12 |work=New York Times}}</ref>

==Why it is a problem==

===Privacy===
The harvested data is used to push targeted content to the consumer such as polls and advertisements,<ref name="IA-cloud" />and it is also often sold without knowledge. '''Automatic Content Recognition (ACR)''' has become a four billion dollar industry, projected to double in value by 2030 to 10 billion USD.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Automatic Content Recognition Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends & Forecasts (2025 - 2030) |url=https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/automatic-content-recognition-market |access-date=2025-08-12 |work=Mordor Intelligence}}</ref>

Due to the nature of a majority of smart devices, the kind of data being stored is usually sensitive. Devices that are always on, for example [[Amazon Echo changes terms of voice usage|Amazon Echo]], [[Apple]] HomePods, and [[Google]] Nest models, are constantly in a state of monitoring. Though they claim they only begin monitoring after they hear a keyword, which can be misfired. The corresponding apps to control the devices prompt a lot of personal information, such as email, address, location, contacts and sometimes photos.<ref name=":0" />

A study revealed that outdoor security cameras collect 50% more data than smart home apps.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-08-27 |title=Is privacy an illusion under a security camera’s watch? |url=https://surfshark.com/research/chart/security-camera-apps-privacy |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250813002246/https://surfshark.com/research/chart/security-camera-apps-privacy |archive-date=13 Aug 2025 |access-date=2025-08-12 |website=surfshark.com}}</ref>

==== <big>Data Collected by Outdoor Security Cameras:</big> ====
#Email addresses
#Phone numbers
#Payment information
#Location

==== <big>Data Collected by Indoor Security Cameras:</big> ====
#Email addresses
#Phone Numbers
#User IDs
#Device IDs
#Purchase history
#Audio

These lists aren't exhaustive.

The gathered data then has the possibility of being intercepted at three different points:

#The device which hosts the app
#During the data transmission of the device and cloud
#In the cloud

==Examples==
Siri class action lawsuit listening to users even when the device was not in use

Adobes limited royalty free licence to train AI on user content for generation and content recognition purposes

Smart TV companies using '''ACR''' to determine what ads to serve and sell to other brokers

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Common terms]]

Automatic content recognition

2025-09-28T23:59:47Z

Vandetta: trim spacing

{{StubNotice}}

'''Automatic Content Recognition (ACR)''' is a feature in certain kinds of devices manufacturers use to collect consumer data, visuals and audio, at periodic intervals, which grants the manufacturing companies access to the private data automatically.<ref name="IA-cloud">{{Cite web |title=ACRCloud Docs |url=https://www.acrcloud.com/docs/introduction/automatic-content-recognition/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228090804/https://www.acrcloud.com/docs/introduction/automatic-content-recognition/ |archive-date=2017-02-28}}</ref>

==How it works==
ACR allows the manufacturing companies of Smart TVs access to information like:
#Content being viewed
#Connected devices
#Time and date of the viewing
#Duration of the content
#Specific sensors it has access to

ACR is an opt-in feature buried beneath the EULA, turned on by default.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last1=Cericola |first1=Rachel |last2=Chase |first2=Jon |last3=Neikirk |first3=Lee |date=2025-06-25 |title=Yes, Your TV Is Probably Spying on You. Your Fridge, Too. Here’s What They Know. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/advice-smart-devices-data-tracking/ |access-date=2025-08-12 |work=New York Times}}</ref>

==Why it is a problem==

===Privacy===
The harvested data is used to push targeted content to the consumer such as polls and advertisements,<ref name="IA-cloud" />and it is also often sold without knowledge. '''Automatic Content Recognition (ACR)''' has become a four billion dollar industry, projected to double in value by 2030 to 10 billion USD.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Automatic Content Recognition Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends & Forecasts (2025 - 2030) |url=https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/automatic-content-recognition-market |access-date=2025-08-12 |work=Mordor Intelligence}}</ref>

Due to the nature of a majority of smart devices, the kind of data being stored is usually sensitive. Devices that are always on, for example [[Amazon Echo changes terms of voice usage|Amazon Echo]], [[Apple]] HomePods, and [[Google]] Nest models, are constantly in a state of monitoring. Though they claim they only begin monitoring after they hear a keyword, which can be misfired. The corresponding apps to control the devices prompt a lot of personal information, such as email, address, location, contacts and sometimes photos.<ref name=":0" />

A study revealed that outdoor security cameras collect 50% more data than smart home apps.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-08-27 |title=Is privacy an illusion under a security camera’s watch? |url=https://surfshark.com/research/chart/security-camera-apps-privacy |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250813002246/https://surfshark.com/research/chart/security-camera-apps-privacy |archive-date=13 Aug 2025 |access-date=2025-08-12 |website=surfshark.com}}</ref>

===='''<big>Data Collected by Outdoor Security Cameras:</big>'''====
#Email addresses
#Phone numbers
#Payment information
#Location

===='''<big>Data Collected by Indoor Security Cameras:</big>'''====
#Email addresses
#Phone Numbers
#User IDs
#Device IDs
#Purchase history
#Audio

These lists aren't exhaustive.

The gathered data then has the possibility of being intercepted at three different points:

#The device which hosts the app
#During the data transmission of the device and cloud
#In the cloud

==Examples==
Siri class action lawsuit listening to users even when the device was not in use

Adobes limited royalty free licence to train AI on user content for generation and content recognition purposes

Smart TV companies using '''ACR''' to determine what ads to serve and sell to other brokers

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Common terms]]

Automatic content recognition

2025-09-28T23:58:27Z

Vandetta: cleanup format now is a complete rough draft still needs citations

{{StubNotice}}

'''Automatic Content Recognition (ACR)''' is a feature in certain kinds of devices manufacturers use to collect consumer data, visuals and audio, at periodic intervals, which grants the manufacturing companies access to the private data automatically.<ref name="IA-cloud">{{Cite web |title=ACRCloud Docs |url=https://www.acrcloud.com/docs/introduction/automatic-content-recognition/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228090804/https://www.acrcloud.com/docs/introduction/automatic-content-recognition/ |archive-date=2017-02-28}}</ref>

== How it works ==
ACR allows the manufacturing companies of Smart TVs access to information like:
#Content being viewed
#Connected devices
#Time and date of the viewing
#Duration of the content
#Specific sensors it has access to

ACR is an opt-in feature buried beneath the EULA, turned on by default.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last1=Cericola |first1=Rachel |last2=Chase |first2=Jon |last3=Neikirk |first3=Lee |date=2025-06-25 |title=Yes, Your TV Is Probably Spying on You. Your Fridge, Too. Here’s What They Know. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/advice-smart-devices-data-tracking/ |access-date=2025-08-12 |work=New York Times}}</ref>

== Why it is a problem ==

=== Privacy ===
The harvested data is used to push targeted content to the consumer such as polls and advertisements,<ref name="IA-cloud" />and it is also often sold without knowledge. '''Automatic Content Recognition (ACR)''' has become a four billion dollar industry, projected to double in value by 2030 to 10 billion USD.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Automatic Content Recognition Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends & Forecasts (2025 - 2030) |url=https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/automatic-content-recognition-market |access-date=2025-08-12 |work=Mordor Intelligence}}</ref>

Due to the nature of a majority of smart devices, the kind of data being stored is usually sensitive. Devices that are always on, for example [[Amazon Echo changes terms of voice usage|Amazon Echo]], [[Apple]] HomePods, and [[Google]] Nest models, are constantly in a state of monitoring. Though they claim they only begin monitoring after they hear a keyword, which can be misfired. The corresponding apps to control the devices prompt a lot of personal information, such as email, address, location, contacts and sometimes photos.<ref name=":0" />

A study revealed that outdoor security cameras collect 50% more data than smart home apps.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-08-27 |title=Is privacy an illusion under a security camera’s watch? |url=https://surfshark.com/research/chart/security-camera-apps-privacy |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250813002246/https://surfshark.com/research/chart/security-camera-apps-privacy |archive-date=13 Aug 2025 |access-date=2025-08-12 |website=surfshark.com}}</ref>

==== '''<big>Data Collected by Outdoor Security Cameras: </big>''' ====
#Email addresses
#Phone numbers
#Payment information
#Location

==== '''<big>Data Collected by Indoor Security Cameras: </big>''' ====
#Email addresses
#Phone Numbers
#User IDs
#Device IDs
#Purchase history
#Audio

These lists aren't exhaustive.

The gathered data then has the possibility of being intercepted at three different points:

#The device which hosts the app
#During the data transmission of the device and cloud
#In the cloud

== Examples ==
Siri class action lawsuit listening to users even when the device was not in use

Adobes limited royalty free licence to train AI on user content for generation and content recognition purposes

Smart TV companies using '''ACR''' to determine what ads to serve and sell to other brokers

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Common terms]]

Subscription service

2025-09-27T16:08:02Z

Vandetta: some tone changes and more consumer concerns still is a bit of a rough draft

{{StubNotice}}{{ToneWarning}}

A '''subscription service''' is an ongoing transaction agreement between the customer and the company; where a user usually pays on a week, month or yearly basis to use the services provided by a company. In many cases this model is used where a company has a sustained cost of doing business some of which include cloud storage, VPN's and many other SaaS products.

== How it works ==
When a(n) individual wishes to use a service like a VPN (Virtual Private Network) like Mulvad VPN a ongoing payment agreement (subscription) is established so that the business can continue to be sustainable and profitable. Prices may increase or decrease depending on various factors and or promotions that a company may offer to draw in more customers to experience their service.

== Why it is a problem ==

===Subscription based economy trend===
Subscription service revenue was estimated at "$3 trillion in 2024, up from estimates of around $2 trillion in 2023"<ref>[https://whop.com/blog/subscription-statistics/#:~:text=metrics%2C%20and%20more.-,Subscription%20Economy%20Statistics,%242%20trillion%20in%2020231. "100+ Subscription Statistics for 2025"] - whop.com - accessed 2025-01-23</ref> subscription services are becoming more prevalent. The replacement of permanent ownership with subscription services has some negative impacts that can harm consumer rights.

=== Redefinition of ownership ===
Instances of companies using the terms "ownership" and "own" when referring to subscription products and services have become prevalent. These instances are at the bare minimum misnomers: consumers do not own something if they have to pay a subscription to use it. The redefinition of language could be seen as a malicious attempt by companies to lessen the severity of the loss of ownership that consumers are now facing.

=== OTA subscription paywall updates ===
Companies like BMW paywall specific features on their cars that were once available without a subscription and advertised as apart of the original product that was purchased to get more money out of customers that may have bought the product for its feature lineup

=== Making subscriptions hard to cancel ===
Memberships signups like gyms which offer a service make it very easy to sign up online; and then in term make it very hard to cancel. Specific gyms may even require you to certify mail them just so that you can cancel your service you signed up for online. Additionally some services like Adobe will even penalize you for canceling early instead of waiting for the subscription to expire and choosing not to renew. This practice is mainly done to make consumers feel like it's not worth their time and effort to stop the subscription.

=== Licenses as subscriptions ===
A [[license]] grants rights to use a product or service.<ref>[https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/licence "license"] - oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com - accessed 2025-01-23</ref> Licenses differ from subscriptions in that permanent licenses exist while no subscription is ever permanent, in addition many companies choose to make temporary "licenses" last longer than subscriptions as [[Adobe]] does.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20250123232818/https://www.adobe.com/howtobuy/buying-programs.html "Adobe Buying Programs"] - archive.org - archived 2025-01-23 </ref> Licenses also may apply to large groups of people, I.E. a student license granted to students for free. The concern here is that [[License euthanasia|permanent licenses are being phased out]] using the [[retroactively amended purchase]] strategy as [[Adobe Lightroom: Perpetual to Subscription Transition|Adobe has done]] possibly because subscriptions are more profitable. The term "license" is likely vulnerable to redefinition as ownership is.

=== Subscription inflation ===
Subscription inflation occurs when companies increase subscription prices, often arbitrarily. This practice has been seen with Netflix subscriptions where in 2025 "the standard monthly subscription without advertisements will climb from $15.49 to $17.99, and a standard monthly subscription with ads will increase one dollar to $7.99, Netflix said".<ref name=":0">[https://abcnews.go.com/Business/netflix-raises-prices-us-plans/story?id=117971949 "Netflix raises prices for all US plans. Here's what to know."] - abcnews.go.com - accessed 2025-01-23</ref> Subscription inflation need not be done to recoup lost revenue as this Netflix subscription price increase actually occurred after a year of "a stellar earnings report",<ref name=":0" /> meaning that Netflix has the resources to improve their service without raising prices. Subscription inflation has and will be used solely to raise company profits by forcing consumers to pay more for what may be an unimproved service.

==Examples of subscription services==

===TV/Film===

====Netflix====
<blockquote>Further reading: [[Netflix, Inc.]]</blockquote>Netflix is a subclass of subscription service, known as a streaming service, where consumers have access to a library of TV shows and movies that persist on the platform for a limited time.

===Gaming===
{{Main|Games as a service}}

====Game Pass====
<blockquote>Further reading: [[Game Pass]]</blockquote>Game Pass, also known as Xbox Game Pass or [[Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac|Microsoft]] Game Pass, is a subscription service maintained by [[Microsoft]] where for a fee, consumers have open (but temporary) access to games on both Xbox and PC.

====Nintendo Switch Online (NSO)====
<blockquote>Further reading: [[Nintendo Switch Online]] </blockquote>Nintendo Switch Online is a subscription service that offers features that were either initially offered for free on previous [[Nintendo]] platforms, such as online play, or subscription-gates content that used to be one-time purchases, such as their emulation library. Additionally, all DLC freely obtained via the service is only accessible so long as the consumer continues to pay for the service.<ref>https://www.nintendo.com/us/switch/online/nintendo-switch-online/expansion-pack/#dlc</ref>

===Software as a service===
{{Main|Software as a service}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Common terms]]

Game-of-telephone privacy policy

2025-09-27T15:09:29Z

Vandetta: make article more serviceable as a rough draft still needs a bit more work and citations

{{StubNotice}}
{{incomplete}}
A ''game-of-telephone'' is a children's game that originates from China; where a starting message is passed through to multiple people. Then once the final message has been passed it's compared against the original one from how much it deviated from the starting message that was given.

== How it works ==
When a consumer reviews a [[privacy policy]], this privacy policy is supposed to inform the consumer what data will be collected, and how the data will be used. A '''[[wikipedia:Telephone_game|game-of-telephone]] privacy policy''' constitutes a situation whereby a consumer's agreement with an app developer may be different between the app developer's agreement with a third party. For instance:
#Third party says that data collected using their SDK can be used to determine insurance rates by insurance providers.
#Third party licenses SDK to app developer who agrees to these terms.
#App developer says to app user that application collects location data just to provide me in-app services & that it may be shared with third parties.
#App developer never discloses to app user that collected data will be used to determine app user's insurance rates.
#App developer does not meaningfully disclose relationship with third party in their terms of service.

== Why it is a problem ==

=== Privacy ===
A privacy policy is meant to be transparent and direct; leaving loopholes for misguided interpretation or get out clauses of an otherwise directly stated policy is dangerous and misleading to many consumers that would have likely avoided the service if it was known. Profiling can cause issues of getting a fair rate when applying for certain medical or auto insurance rates based on what that specific firm/company has on the individual applying.

=== Transparency ===
Services that say they do not sell your data may use third parties that do (indirectly profiting as a result). By not directly stating this fact it can be seen as neglectful and manipulative. (see: Tea app data breaches & 23 and me bio data auction bankruptcy)

== Examples ==
An excellent example of this would be the relationship between Arity (a business that sells data-collection SDKs), the mobile apps that use Arity SDKs, and the user of those mobile apps, mentioned in the [[Allstate Arity driver data theft]] case.

23 and me bankruptcy auction of personal user bio genetic data

Tea app insecure data storage and promised retention time

== References ==
[[Category:Anti-Consumer_Practices]]
[[Category:Common terms]]

Age verification

2025-09-01T00:48:27Z

Vandetta: rough draft of Age Verification theme article

'''AV''' (Age Verification) also referred to as '''AA''' (Age Affirmation) is the process in where a business requires some form of identification to verify your age. This is usually done for more explicit or mature content. This practice has been widely spreading since the UK's OSA (Online Safety Act) has passed; requiring all individuals to verify themselves before accessing mature content. Certain ways of checking can include: checking for a valid credit card, facial age estimation tools, government issued id, bio-metric data, or account history behavior and so forth.

==How it works==
When accessing a platform or website that may contain content not suitable for all audiences may force you to register for the platform along with verifying your age by one of the methods mentioned previously. Sites that likely don't use any form of account system will probably have a popup instead requiring you to verify your age before even serving the content you were trying to access.

==Why it is a problem==

=== Privacy ===
Having companies easily able to identify you means they can track you more efficiently and sell that shared profile to other companies such as ad agencies that then start targeting you specifically.

Governments can also more easily track online movements and find out who you are. Saying something that may go against their own agenda may end up with a police raid and heavy interrogation and prison time.

=== Censorship ===
Certain topics such as 18+ or political will likely be unfairly censored by the governing body or company that has a say on what platform has the '''potential''' to be inappropriate for minors or other age groups.

Platforms that host this type of content may also be more proactive in deleting/hiding posts that may get them in trouble or fined by laws or policies by local governments leading to a more censored internet where opinions are streamlined to fit a set narrative or outlook.

==Examples==
YouTube's Age verification and account estimation algorithm

Spotify's Age affirmation for MA rated songs and content

Discord's Age verification for accounts determining what eligible servers are availible

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Common terms]]

Doordash

2025-08-30T21:52:10Z

Vandetta: Add another case to the list

{{InfoboxCompany
| Name = Doordash
| Type =Public
| Founded =2013
| Industry =Online Delivery
| Official Website =https://www.doordash.com/
| Logo =Doordash.png
}}[https://www.doordash.com/ DoorDash] was founded in June 2013, initially starting as PaloAltoDelivery.com before rebranding to Doordash. The company was founded by three Stanford students Tony Xu, Andy Fang, and Stanley Tang. Its focus is delivery on a wide variety of items, some items include fresh meals from nearby restaurants, groceries, convenience store items, OTC (Over the Counter) medicines, flowers, etc... This service mainly operates in locations within the U.S. (United States), Canada, and Australia.

==Consumer-impact summary==
Over the years of operation DoorDash has found itself in many controversial consumer and workers violations. Some of the most notable being:

*Withholding dashers funds (up to weeks or months) for delivering orders
*Lack of Business transparency especially with delivery fees and higher menu pricing
*Exposing millions of sensitive dashers and company information in a breach
*Adding restaurants to their platform to order without the business's consent
*Using driver tips to cover the cost of other deliveries
*Using [https://wiki.rossmanngroup.com/wiki/Buy_Now_Pay_Later BNPL] (Buy Now Pay Later) services to target the financially challenged consumers
*Using AI to falsely advertise what menu items look like
*Subsidizing Dashpass subscriptions by passing commission rates onto business's
*Multiple lawsuits due to unfair business practices

==Incidents==

===Withholding funds for contracted drivers===
According to Doordash, <blockquote>"Dashers get paid on a weekly basis for all deliveries or tasks completed between Monday - Sunday of the previous week (ending Sunday at midnight local time). Payments are transferred directly to your bank account through Direct Deposit and usually take 2-3 days to show up in your bank account, so payments will appear by Wednesday night."<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2025-04-08 |title=When do Dashers get paid? |url=https://help.doordash.com/dashers/s/article/When-do-Dashers-get-paid?language=en_US |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=Doordash}}</ref></blockquote>Even though they are treated like contractors they are still payed within a weekly basis instead of a quota based system. Many users who contract with Doordash need funds quickly to be able to cover daily expenses. This puts the dashers in a tough spot relying on cash tips, if any, to continue to get by until they are able to retrieve their weekly pay. However Doordash has already thought of this and created Fastpay.<blockquote>"Fast Pay allows Dashers to cash out their earnings daily for a small fee of $1.99. This means that Dashers can receive their earnings on demand through DoorDash, rather than waiting for their weekly direct deposit or using a third party service."<ref name=":3" /></blockquote>By holding dashers funds they are incurring free interest on the money by not paying out the dasher as soon as a delivery is completed. By taking advantage of desperate workers they can make more money off of the original transaction.

===Charging users unclear "fees" for delivery===
Like many businesses, Doordash does need to cover expenses that the company has. The issue lies with the transparency of how they do business with the customer base within their app. Many consumers have taken a legal class action lawsuit against Doordash.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Mayer |first=Chloe |date=2023-06-09 |title=DoorDash Faces $1B Lawsuit Over Delivery Fees: 'Dupes Naive Consumers' - Newsweek |url=https://www.newsweek.com/lawsuit-doordash-sue-iphone-android-1805387 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Newsweek}}</ref> The suit alleges Doordash's unfair Value based pricing by leveraging their algorithm and pricing model changes on a per customer basis; and not what they order. Specific examples include: delivery fee, any form of a hidden marketing fee or hidden commission fee.<ref name=":4" /> Doordash has denied all alleged claims, referring to them as a "copy-and-paste job".

This is combined with the fact that Doordash's menu prices are also considerably higher than those of the original venues where items could be purchased. "Without letting consumers know, DoorDash is able to raise the prices of menu items in order to turn a greater profit."<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |last=Mallory |first=Paul |date=2023-08-23 |title=DoorDash Prices Higher Than Menu |url=https://consumergravity.com/doordash-prices-higher-than-menu/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=ConsumerGravity}}</ref> leaving consumers none the wiser unless they actually checked by either visiting a company site (which may not be possible due to them handling takeout) or going in person to check their pricing. This leaves the consumer completely unaware that they are being overcharged on the goods being provided by the service. While some restaurants have admitted to allowing price increases for delivery, in some cases "this is even done without the restaurant’s permission. Which means that they are also not receiving any of the extra money."<ref name=":9" /> leaving Doordash to pocket all the extra profit for itself on top of all the other fees it charges for it's services.
===Data breach exposing millions of dashers and company info<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2025-04-08 |title=DoorDash - Wikipedia |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DoorDash |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=Wikipedia}}</ref>===
In mid 2019, Doordash suffered a data breach that affected 4.9 million customers, drivers, and businesses sensitive information combined. Individuals that had joined Doordash after April 5th of 2018 were not affected. This breach took 5 months to be found. Doordash claims that "a third-party service provider," was to blame for this leak, but the third party was never named. The types of data exposed is listed in the chart below.
{| class="wikitable"
|+<big>Breached Data that was exposed</big> <ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Coban |first=Erkin |date=2025-04-08 |title=DoorDash Fees and Commissions for Restaurants: Detailed 2025 Guide - Restaurant Success Blog {{!}} Menuviel |url=https://blog.menuviel.com/doordash-fees-and-commissions-for-restaurants/ |url-status=live |website=Menuviel}}</ref>
!Customers
|name, email and delivery addresses, order history, phone numbers, hashed & salted passwords and the last four digits of their payment cards taken.
|-
!Dashers
|last four digits of their bank account numbers stolen, Approximately 100,000 had their drivers license stolen.
|-
!Companies
|last four digits of their bank account numbers stolen
|}
Many consumers complained the year before about their account being hacked, but were assured by Doordash that it was not a breach and "claimed attackers were running credential stuffing attacks". This shows they did not take customers reports seriously and had a breach shortly after, due to the company's opsec negligence.

===Adding restaurants to their platform without other business's consent===
Starting around 2020, Doordash had decided that the company needed more outreach. To do this, the company started adding businesses that had no arrangements for takeout or delivery without the owners consent.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Pershan |first=Caleb |date=2020-01-29 |title=Delivery Apps Keep Adding Restaurants Without Their Consent - Eater |url=https://www.eater.com/2020/1/29/21113416/grubhub-seamless-kin-khao-online-delivery-mistake-doordash |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=EATER}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Settembre |first=Jeanette |date=2020-01-21 |title=DoorDash, Grubhub skewered by small restaurants for posting menus without permission {{!}} Fox Business |url=https://www.foxbusiness.com/small-business/doordash-grubhub-restaurant-listing-without-permission.amp |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-09 |website=Fox Business}}</ref> This has led to increased stress on businesses that were not ready for a higher influx of volume orders but also being charged up to 30% in referral fees depending on the business.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":7" /> Many small corporations and restaurants were impacted the most due to these policies; mostly because profit margins are usually lower than a multi billion dollar franchise that has been tailored to do takeout for decades, or industry chains that are used to higher order volumes. Behavior like this may end up running smaller unprepared business operations to close permanently, leaving only the bigger corporations to compete for the consumers' purchasing power.

===Pocketing driver app tips to payout other dashers<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Glenn |first=Lindey |date=2025-03-31 |title=DoorDash’s $1 BILLION Lawsuit: Exposing DoorDash’s Predatory Business Model |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-gPld7e3do |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Youtube}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=James |first=Letitia |date=2025-02-24 |title=Attorney General James Secures $16.75 Million from DoorDash for Cheating Delivery Workers Out of Tips |url=https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2025/attorney-general-james-secures-1675-million-doordash-cheating-delivery-workers |url-status=live |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=NY GOV}}</ref>===
In February 24 of 2025, a press release statement New York Attorney General Letitia James released the results of their investigation stating that Doordash, between May 2017 and September 2019,<blockquote>“used customer tips to offset the base pay it had already guaranteed to workers, instead of giving workers the full tips they rightfully earned.”<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last=Calvario |first=Liz |date=2025-02-25 |title=DoorDash Settlement: Millions to Be Paid to Drivers For Pocketed Tips |url=https://www.today.com/food/news/doordash-settlement-payout-rcna193728 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=TODAY}}</ref></blockquote>Doordash has lost this lawsuit and was ordered to pay a hefty sum for mistreating the contractors about transparent pay as seen below: <blockquote>"DoorDash will pay $16.75 million in restitution for Dashers and up to $1 million in settlement administrator costs to help issue the payments."<ref name=":8" /></blockquote>Doordash has responded to the litigation loss by stating it was an ''"old pay structure"'' as they are currently using a newer one where contractors keep all their tips.

The old pay structure that Doordash's PR team was referring to would only show dashers tip amount if it was higher than what Doordash was willing to pay them for that contract batch. In many cases when the tip amount failed to surpass what the company was willing to pay the dasher for the order it was often taken and spread across other orders that may have had a lower initial payout. This ''"old pay structure"'' has impacted over 63,000 New Yorker's alone.

===Using BNPL services to target the financially challenged consumers===
As of March 2025, Doordash has decided to partner up with Klarna for [[Buy Now Pay Later|BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later)]] services.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Steinberg |first=Brooke |date=2025-03-24 |title=DoorDash now offering eat now, pay later payments through Klarna |url=https://nypost.com/2025/03/24/lifestyle/DoorDash-now-offering-eat-now-pay-later-payments-through-klarna/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=New York Post}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-20 |title=DoorDash Partners with Klarna to Offer US Customers Even More Convenience with Flexible Payments {{!}} DoorDash |url=https://about.doordash.com/en-us/news/doordash-partners-with-klarna |url-status=live |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=Doordash}}</ref> This partnership is aimed at the consumers that want food delivery but are currently unable to afford it. However, it's a deceptive practice that can further financially ruin consumers. While [[Buy Now Pay Later|BNPL]] can defer payments interest free, it does charge late fees. Consumers that are already financially strapped for cash may find it difficult to repay these loans if they are not careful. This may boost Doordash's profits by taking advantage of consumers that are not financially savvy.

===Using Dashpass subscription model to surcharge business's on order commissions===
<blockquote>"About eight months after Washington, D.C. placed a 15% cap on third-party delivery commission fees to help restaurants during the pandemic, DoorDash appears to have found a workaround. According to the Washington City Paper, restaurants that use DoorDash’s DashPass subscription feature were sent a notice stating that the cap is “only applicable to Classic orders” and doesn’t apply to the DashPass program."..."DoorDash calls DashPass an “optional, premium offering and separate from DoorDash’s core services.” The company said that beginning Dec. 9, it will begin charging restaurants the contractual rate in their original agreements, City Paper reports. The changes to DashPash charges are part of a limited test in fewer than five cities, including D.C. and cities in the Bay Area."<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Kelso |first=Alicia |date=2020-12-07 |title=DoorDash hit with cease-and-desist letter from DC attorney general {{!}} Restaurant Dive |url=https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/doordash-could-use-dashpash-as-a-workaround-to-delivery-fee-caps/591701/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Restaurant Dive}}</ref></blockquote>By using this workaround, Doordash has negatively impacted many small businesses and restaurants that operate within the area. They did, however, allow ''"Merchants can choose to opt out of DashPass at any time, a DoorDash spokesperson said"<ref name=":1" />.'' Though there are many consumers that do use Dashpass due to the savings for users that use their delivery services frequently. By opting out, businesses are effectively blacklisting themselves from the users that frequently use the app for deliveries. Doordash's spokesperson justifies this<blockquote>"The spokesperson called delivery fee restrictions a “one-size fits all” solution that impacts the company’s ability to provide quality service and pay. Merchant fees help the company cover business costs like Dasher pay, background checks, occupational Dasher insurance and website upkeep, the spokesperson said."<ref name=":1" /></blockquote>Which apparently the Dashpass subscription that consumers pay does not cover this. This is just an excuse to further pass on costs while maintaining the profits of the subscription and free delivery; which is the main selling point of the subscription service.

This has caught the eye of D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine on December 10 of 2020. They have sent a cease and desist notice on Tuesday warning Doordash that charging restaurants more than 15% on commissions may violate District laws. The company complied two days later stating they "decided not to charge DC restaurants their contractual DashPass rate at this time."<ref name=":1" />

===Using AI to falsely advertise what menu items look like===
With many menus, consumers expect an accurate description of what they are ordering along with the ingredients that are being used to make it. In recent years companies have started relying on AI to generate a description and a complimentary photo of what the dish should look like. But in many cases this was done to falsely advertise to boost sales. We can look to an earlier instance during the lock down when ghost kitchens were popular;<blockquote>"Ghost kitchens are allegedly using AI-generated images on food delivery sites such as GrubHub and DoorDash. The images are used to promote online orders from kitchens that solely sell their food via online delivery services. Rather than using real photographers, they are using images of food that do not exist."<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |last=Baker |first=Alex |date=2024-02-28 |title=The photos that you see on food delivery apps are probably AI |url=https://www.diyphotography.net/ghost-kitchens-using-ai-images-on-food-delivery-apps/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=DiyPhotography}}</ref></blockquote>Of which many delivered products that did not match the item description at all or was poorer quality than what was shown to them within ordering. Not to mention in many countries<blockquote>"there are firm advertising laws that state exactly what you have to show and what can be substituted in food photography. This helps protect consumers, making sure they get what they order."<ref name=":11" /></blockquote>Meaning when generating a picture of food it is not considered edible by many countries standards and may even be illegal. But industries are constantly changing; custom diffusion models being packaged like Swipeby to provide cheap alternatives to make selling menu items at a higher volume.<blockquote>"The company points to a survey from Snappr, a photography and visual content platform, that found high-quality food photos can increase orders on restaurant delivery apps by 35%."<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |last=Canton |first=Rafael |date=2023-04-07 |title=The picture of that food you’re ordering online may have been created by AI |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90870969/food-delivery-startup-ai-photos-swipeby |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=FastCompany}}</ref></blockquote>By seeing the results that such a tool can provide shows how pressing it can be for other businesses to compete if they are not also resorting to the same measures. During this time Doordash had policies about having generative photos for menu items; the founder however thinks things will change soon as he said "Give it six months, that will change,” he says. “I will bet money on it. Because with AI generation right now, it makes so much sense."<ref name=":12" /> And as of 2025 Doordash has launched it's own tool for generating AI menus on it's platform which is able to generate descriptions and pictures of an item being listed.<blockquote>''“At DoorDash, we believe AI should make life easier for restaurants—not more complicated. It’s about using automation to enhance the guest experience while keeping the operator’s unique touch front and center,” said Arpit Dhariwal, Head of Product, Merchant Acquisition & Growth at DoorDash. “AI-powered tools are built to take everyday tasks off operators’ plates, allowing restaurants to focus on what matters most—delivering great food and service. We're excited to help drive more orders, save time, and support continued growth for our restaurant partners.”''</blockquote>As we have seen earlier higher profit margins has caught Doordash's attention. Since they also make more money from users seeing results that may resemble the food that will be ordered as a first result. However this tool can be used nefariously like how ghost kitchens used it to falsely advertise the quality and resemblance of the food being shown to the consumers of the app. It may be important to exercise caution from now on against actors that would leverage this tool against the consumer especially since there seems to be nothing in place to warn the consumer that the current item that is being viewed was generated by their AI tool. This leaves an extremely high risk that a consumer may be unsatisfied with an order because it did not match the description or the photo being listed on Doordash.

===Multiple lawsuits due to unlawful business practices<ref name=":2" />===

====Class-action lawsuit for misclassifying workers (2017)====
A class-action litigation suit was filed for Doordash in allegedly labeling delivery workers in California and Massachusetts as independent contractors. An agreement was later reached in 2022 where Doordash payed out $100 million dollars. $61 million would be going to the effected 900,000+ drivers in both states, paying approximately $130 dollars per driver; with the other $28 million going to the lawyers.<ref name=":13">{{Cite web |last=Whitney |first=Kimball |date=2021-09-01 |title=DoorDash Settlement Would Pay a Paltry $130 to Workers Instead of Making Them Employees |url=https://gizmodo.com/doordash-settlement-would-pay-a-paltry-130-to-workers-1847586519 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-07 |website=Gizmodo}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Maeve |first=Allsup |date=2021-12-22 |title=DoorDash $100 Million Driver Settlement Tentatively Approved |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/doordash-100-million-driver-settlement-tentatively-approved |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-07 |website=Bloomberg Law}}</ref> A quite minor sum for Doordash considering their CEO got payed $413 million dollars just the year before the settlement.<ref name=":13" />

====Data breach lawsuit (2019)====
In early may Doordash had a data breach with over 4.9 million effected individuals. All users who registered past April 5th 2018 were safe from the data that was stolen.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Whittaker |first=Zack |date=2016-09-26 |title=DoorDash confirms data breach affected 4.9 million customers, workers and merchants |url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/09/26/doordash-data-breach/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=Tech Crunch}}</ref> This has resulted in a class action in October 2019 against Doordash for not protecting user data.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shaak |first=Erin |date=2019-08-04 |title=DoorDash Sued Over 2019 Data Breach Affecting More Than 4.9 Million Users |url=https://www.classaction.org/news/doordash-sued-over-2019-data-breach-affecting-more-than-4-9-million-users |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-16 |website=Class Action Org}}</ref>

====Withholding of tips and subsequent class-action lawsuits (2019)====
In July, Doordash's tipping payout to drivers was critiqued by the New York Times, The Verge and Gothamist.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Newman |first=Andy |date=2019-06-21 |title=My Frantic Life as a Cab-Dodging, Tip-Chasing Food App Deliveryman |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/21/nyregion/doordash-ubereats-food-app-delivery-bike.html |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Vincent |first=James |date=2019-07-22 |title=Delivery apps like DoorDash are using your tips to pay workers’ wages |url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/22/20703434/delivery-app-tip-pay-theft-doordash-amazon-flex-instacart |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=The Verge}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ghaffary |first=Shirin |date=2019-08-20 |title=DoorDash is still pocketing workers’ tips, almost a month after it promised to stop |url=https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/8/20/20825937/doordash-tipping-policy-still-not-changed-food-delivery-app-gig-economy |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Vox}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite web |last=Lampen |first=Claire |date=2019-07-10 |title=Brooklyn Man Sues DoorDash Over Grifty, Misleading Tip Policy |url=https://gothamist.com/2019/07/30/doordash_tipping_lawsuit.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805221244/https://gothamist.com/2019/07/30/doordash_tipping_lawsuit.php |archive-date=2019-08-05 |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Gothamist}}</ref> The pay structure in question is where the Dasher would get payed a minimum amount for each order by Doordash. If the customer added a tip it would cover the companies expenses first to cover the minimum. the remaining amount of the tip would go to the dasher that was deducted from Doordash.<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":14">{{Cite web |last=Wayt |first=Theo |date=2019-06-29 |title=Brooklyn man sues DoorDash for ‘misleading’ tipping policy |url=https://nypost.com/2019/07/29/brooklyn-man-sues-doordash-for-misleading-tipping-policy/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=New York Post}}</ref>

Later in 2020 Doordash was exposed for lying about pocketing portions of drivers tips, generating additional revenue for the company that dashers were unaware or uninformed about. This was happening after the company claimed it had refactored it's tipping system to be more transparent. But Doordash was still continuing to skim payouts for deliveries from dashers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Keck |first=Catie |date=2020-01-07 |title=The Villain Always Wins |url=https://gizmodo.com/the-villain-always-wins-1841070357 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Gizmodo}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Keck |first=Catie |date=2019-03-15 |title=DoorDash Has Been Confusing Its Workers About Payments for Nearly Two Years |url=https://gizmodo.com/doordash-has-been-confusing-its-workers-about-payments-1833327287 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Gizmodo}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Keck |first=Catie |date=2019-12-10 |title=DoorDash Has a New Plan to Make Workers Gamble on How Much They’ll Get Paid |url=https://gizmodo.com/doordash-has-a-new-plan-to-make-workers-gamble-on-how-m-1840325285 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Gizmodo}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ellis |first=Avery |date=2020-01-16 |title=DoorDash Contractors Earn Less Than Dogshit, Study Finds |url=https://gizmodo.com/doordash-contractors-earn-less-than-dogshit-study-find-1841048784 |url-status=dead |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Gizmodo}}</ref>

This had led a customer to file a class action suit against the company claiming "materially false and misleading" in app tipping feature.<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":14" /> The case was later moved to an arbitration hearing in August.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Casetext |date=2020-08-24 |title=Arkin v. DoorDash, Inc. |url=https://casetext.com/case/arkin-v-doordash-inc |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213085836/https://casetext.com/case/arkin-v-doordash-inc |archive-date=2023-02-13 |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Casetext}}</ref> Facing negative exposure and bad press the company finally complied to change their payout policy.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Abril |first=Danielle |date=2019-11-12 |title=DoorDash’s New Tipping Policy Has Increased Driver Pay |url=https://fortune.com/2019/11/12/doordash-new-tipping-policy-worker-pay/ |url-status=live |website=Fortune}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Newman |first=Andy |date=2019-07-24 |title=DoorDash Changes Tipping Model After Uproar From Customers |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/24/nyregion/doordash-tip-policy.html |url-status=live |website=New York Times}}</ref> The lawsuit was settled by District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine for $2.5 million with most of the amount going to dashers, government and charity.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kerr |first=Dara |date=2020-11-25 |title=DoorDash settles lawsuit for $2.5M over 'deceptive' tipping practices |url=https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/doordash-settles-lawsuit-for-2-5m-over-deceptive-tipping-practices/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=CNET}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Canales |first=Katie |date=2020-11-25 |title=DoorDash is paying $2.5 million to settle a lawsuit that accused the food delivery company of stealing drivers' tips |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/doordash-25-million-settlement-lawsuit-tipping-model-2020-11 |url-status=live |website=Business Insider}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=OAC |date=2020-11-24 |title=AG Racine Reaches $2.5 Million Agreement with DoorDash for Misrepresenting that Consumer Tips Would Go to Food Delivery Drivers |url=https://oag.dc.gov/release/ag-racine-reaches-25-million-agreement-doordash |website=Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia}}</ref>

=== Antitrust litigation (2020) ===
The Dacitashvili has filed against Grubhub, Doordash, Postmates and Uber Eats for having a majoritive monopoly over the food delivery market because of the way it selectively signed contracts with businesses to list them on the platform. Many of the clauses stated that delivery prices will be identical to dine in prices.<ref name=":15">{{Cite web |last=Allyn |first=Bobby |date=2020-05-14 |title=Restaurants Are Desperate — But You May Not Be Helping When You Use Delivery Apps |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/05/14/856444431/cities-crack-down-on-food-delivery-app-fees-as-restaurants-struggle-to-survive |url-status=live |access-date=2025-08-30 |website=NPR}}</ref><ref name=":16">{{Cite web |last=Stempel |first=Jonathan |date=2020-04-13 |title=Grubhub, DoorDash, Postmates, Uber Eats are sued over restaurant prices amid pandemic |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-food-delivery-laws-idUSKCN21V2C1/ |url-status=live |access-date=2020-08-30 |website=Reuters}}</ref> Plaintiffs argued that this increased the cost unfairly to dine-in customers because all defendants required the restaurants to cover the delivery fees ranging from 13% - 40% of revenue.<ref name=":15" /><ref name=":16" /> Keep in mind that restaurants like supermarkets runs on slim profit margins with the average being 3% - 9% total. This case seeks treble damages (multiply all damages by 3) for overcharges from the beginning of 2016 of April from the defendants delivery apps.<ref name=":15" /><ref name=":16" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-04-13 |title=Case 1:20-cv-03000-LAK Document |url=https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/6890558/DAVITASHVILI-v-Grubhub-ET-AL.txt |url-status=live |archive-date= |access-date=2025-08-30 |website=S3 Documentcloud}}</ref> Many preliminaries have happened since then but is unclear when the trial will actually begin.

"<blockquote>
===Driver strike for tip transparency (2021)===
In July 2021, DoorDash drivers went on strike to protest lack of tip transparency and to ask for higher pay. At the time of the strike, and, as of June 2022, DoorDash did not allow drivers to see the full tip amounts prior to accepting a delivery in the app. If customers tip over a set amount for the order total, Doordash hides a portion of the tip until the delivery is complete. The strike occurred after DoorDash rewrote its code to cut off access to Para, a third-party app that drivers had been using to see the full tip amounts.

===Litigation for illegal unauthorized restaurant listing (2021)===
In May 2021, DoorDash was criticized for unauthorized listings of restaurants who had not given permission to appear on the app. The company was sued by Lona's Lil Eats in St. Louis, with the lawsuit claiming that DoorDash had listed them without permission, then prevented any orders to the restaurant from going through and redirecting customers to other restaurants instead, because Lona's was "too far away," when in reality it had not paid DoorDash a fee for listing. This aspect of DoorDash's business practice is illegal in California.

===Lawsuit by the city of Chicago (2021)===
In August 2021, the city of Chicago sued DoorDash and GrubHub. According to Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot, the companies broke the law by using "unfair and deceptive tactics to take advantage of restaurants and consumers who were struggling to stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic." DoorDash and GrubHub denied the suit's merits.

===Class-action lawsuit (2023)===
DoorDash has been accused of charging users of iPhone more than users on the Android platform. User testing claimed to show several instances of various fees and delivery charges being higher when using an Apple device. DoorDash denied these allegations in response to the ongoing US$1 billion class-action suit.

===Lawsuit by the city of Seattle (2023)===
In August 2023, DoorDash was obligated to pay its drivers and the city of Seattle a total of $1.6 million. It was found that the platform made it difficult for users to request paid time off. DoorDash is to pay $1.1 million towards safe and sick time credits, $500k directly to drivers and an additional $8,500 in city fees.

===Privacy lawsuit by the state of California (2024)===
In February 2024, after being found to have illegally sold personal data, DoorDash was obligated to pay a $375,000 civil penalty as well as to begin complying with privacy laws it had been shirking, namely CCPA and CalOPPA.

===Class-action lawsuit settlement (2025)===
In 2025, DoorDash agreed to pay around $17 million for "misleading both consumers and delivery workers" with tips being docked from drivers' pay instead of directly going to drivers.</blockquote>

"<ref name=":2" />{{Placeholder box|If the company page is short enough and/or the incident is not deserving of its own page, add incidents below in sub-sections (including the points outlined in [[Consumer_Action_Taskforce:Sample/Incident/Help|the incident help page]]) without linking/creating an incident page.

If the company has various incidents listed and/or this page is getting too long, create subsections linking to each incident while linking to the main article and including a short summary. To link to the page use the "Hatnote" or "Main" templates.

If the company has numerous incidents then format them in a table (see [[Amazon]] for an example). }}

==Products==

===Dashpass (2018 - Present)===
A premium program offered by Door Dash. This program offers free delivery on orders greater than $12 along with reduced service fees for deliveries. By paying the subscription price Doordash advertises this program as a cost saving measure for consumers that use their app frequently. This offer, however, has been subject to a variety of criticism. One of the more popular cases being hit with a cease-and-desist letter from DC attorney general for charging more than 15% on commissions to make up the losses of the companies free delivery policy with Dashpass.<ref name=":1" />
==See also==
{{Placeholder box|Link to relevant theme articles or companies with similar incidents.}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]

Doordash

2025-06-27T23:15:00Z

Vandetta: manually site a bunch of stuff

{{CompanyCargo
| Founded = 2012-10
| Industry = Online food ordering
| Logo = Doordash.png
| ParentCompany =
| Type = Public
| Website = https://www.doordash.com/
| Description = Doordash is an online food ordering and food delivery company
}}

{{InfoboxCompany
| Name = Doordash
| Type =Public
| Founded =2013
| Industry =Online Delivery
| Official Website =https://www.doordash.com/
| Logo =Doordash.png
}}[https://www.doordash.com/ DoorDash] was founded in June 2013, initially starting as PaloAltoDelivery.com before rebranding to Doordash. The company was founded by three Stanford students Tony Xu, Andy Fang, and Stanley Tang. Its focus is delivery on a wide variety of items, some items include fresh meals from nearby restaurants, groceries, convenience store items, OTC (Over the Counter) medicines, flowers, etc... This service mainly operates in locations within the U.S. (United States), Canada, and Australia.

==Consumer-impact summary==
Over the years of operation DoorDash has found itself in many controversial consumer and workers violations. Some of the most notable being:

*Withholding dashers funds (up to weeks or months) for delivering orders
*Lack of Business transparency especially with delivery fees and higher menu pricing
*Exposing millions of sensitive dashers and company information in a breach
*Adding restaurants to their platform to order without the business's consent
*Using driver tips to cover the cost of other deliveries
*Using [https://wiki.rossmanngroup.com/wiki/Buy_Now_Pay_Later BNPL] (Buy Now Pay Later) services to target the financially challenged consumers
*Using AI to falsely advertise what menu items look like
*Subsidizing Dashpass subscriptions by passing commission rates onto business's
*Multiple losses settling lawsuits due to unfair business practices

==Incidents==

===Withholding funds for contracted drivers===
According to Doordash, <blockquote>"Dashers get paid on a weekly basis for all deliveries or tasks completed between Monday - Sunday of the previous week (ending Sunday at midnight local time). Payments are transferred directly to your bank account through Direct Deposit and usually take 2-3 days to show up in your bank account, so payments will appear by Wednesday night."<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2025-04-08 |title=When do Dashers get paid? |url=https://help.doordash.com/dashers/s/article/When-do-Dashers-get-paid?language=en_US |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=Doordash}}</ref></blockquote>Even though they are treated like contractors they are still payed within a weekly basis instead of a quota based system. Many users who contract with Doordash need funds quickly to be able to cover daily expenses. This puts the dashers in a tough spot relying on cash tips, if any, to continue to get by until they are able to retrieve their weekly pay. However Doordash has already thought of this and created Fastpay.<blockquote>"Fast Pay allows Dashers to cash out their earnings daily for a small fee of $1.99. This means that Dashers can receive their earnings on demand through DoorDash, rather than waiting for their weekly direct deposit or using a third party service."<ref name=":3" /></blockquote>By holding dashers funds they are incurring free interest on the money by not paying out the dasher as soon as a delivery is completed. By taking advantage of desperate workers they can make more money off of the original transaction.

===Charging users unclear "fees" for delivery===
Like many businesses, Doordash does need to cover expenses that the company has. The issue lies with the transparency of how they do business with the customer base within their app. Many consumers have taken a legal class action lawsuit against Doordash.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Mayer |first=Chloe |date=2023-06-09 |title=DoorDash Faces $1B Lawsuit Over Delivery Fees: 'Dupes Naive Consumers' - Newsweek |url=https://www.newsweek.com/lawsuit-doordash-sue-iphone-android-1805387 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Newsweek}}</ref> The suit alleges Doordash's unfair Value based pricing by leveraging their algorithm and pricing model changes on a per customer basis; and not what they order. Specific examples include: delivery fee, any form of a hidden marketing fee or hidden commission fee.<ref name=":4" /> Doordash has denied all alleged claims, referring to them as a "copy-and-paste job".

This is combined with the fact that Doordash's menu prices are also considerably higher than those of the original venues where items could be purchased. "Without letting consumers know, DoorDash is able to raise the prices of menu items in order to turn a greater profit."<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |last=Mallory |first=Paul |date=2023-08-23 |title=DoorDash Prices Higher Than Menu |url=https://consumergravity.com/doordash-prices-higher-than-menu/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=ConsumerGravity}}</ref> leaving consumers none the wiser unless they actually checked by either visiting a company site (which may not be possible due to them handling takeout) or going in person to check their pricing. This leaves the consumer completely unaware that they are being overcharged on the goods being provided by the service. While some restaurants have admitted to allowing price increases for delivery, in some cases "this is even done without the restaurant’s permission. Which means that they are also not receiving any of the extra money."<ref name=":9" /> leaving Doordash to pocket all the extra profit for itself on top of all the other fees it charges for it's services.
===Data breach exposing millions of dashers and company info<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2025-04-08 |title=DoorDash - Wikipedia |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DoorDash |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=Wikipedia}}</ref>===
In mid 2019, Doordash suffered a data breach that affected 4.9 million customers, drivers, and businesses sensitive information combined. Individuals that had joined Doordash after April 5th of 2018 were not affected. This breach took 5 months to be found. Doordash claims that "a third-party service provider," was to blame for this leak, but the third party was never named. The types of data exposed is listed in the chart below.
{| class="wikitable"
|+<big>Breached Data that was exposed</big> <ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Coban |first=Erkin |date=2025-04-08 |title=DoorDash Fees and Commissions for Restaurants: Detailed 2025 Guide - Restaurant Success Blog {{!}} Menuviel |url=https://blog.menuviel.com/doordash-fees-and-commissions-for-restaurants/ |url-status=live |website=Menuviel}}</ref>
!Customers
|name, email and delivery addresses, order history, phone numbers, hashed & salted passwords and the last four digits of their payment cards taken.
|-
!Dashers
|last four digits of their bank account numbers stolen, Approximately 100,000 had their drivers license stolen.
|-
!Companies
|last four digits of their bank account numbers stolen
|}
Many consumers complained the year before about their account being hacked, but were assured by Doordash that it was not a breach and "claimed attackers were running credential stuffing attacks". This shows they did not take customers reports seriously and had a breach shortly after, due to the company's opsec negligence.

===Adding restaurants to their platform without other business's consent===
Starting around 2020, Doordash had decided that the company needed more outreach. To do this, the company started adding businesses that had no arrangements for takeout or delivery without the owners consent.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Pershan |first=Caleb |date=2020-01-29 |title=Delivery Apps Keep Adding Restaurants Without Their Consent - Eater |url=https://www.eater.com/2020/1/29/21113416/grubhub-seamless-kin-khao-online-delivery-mistake-doordash |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=EATER}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Settembre |first=Jeanette |date=2020-01-21 |title=DoorDash, Grubhub skewered by small restaurants for posting menus without permission {{!}} Fox Business |url=https://www.foxbusiness.com/small-business/doordash-grubhub-restaurant-listing-without-permission.amp |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-09 |website=Fox Business}}</ref> This has led to increased stress on businesses that were not ready for a higher influx of volume orders but also being charged up to 30% in referral fees depending on the business.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":7" /> Many small corporations and restaurants were impacted the most due to these policies; mostly because profit margins are usually lower than a multi billion dollar franchise that has been tailored to do takeout for decades, or industry chains that are used to higher order volumes. Behavior like this may end up running smaller unprepared business operations to close permanently, leaving only the bigger corporations to compete for the consumers' purchasing power.

===Pocketing driver app tips to payout other dashers<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Glenn |first=Lindey |date=2025-03-31 |title=DoorDash’s $1 BILLION Lawsuit: Exposing DoorDash’s Predatory Business Model |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-gPld7e3do |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Youtube}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=James |first=Letitia |date=2025-02-24 |title=Attorney General James Secures $16.75 Million from DoorDash for Cheating Delivery Workers Out of Tips |url=https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2025/attorney-general-james-secures-1675-million-doordash-cheating-delivery-workers |url-status=live |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=NY GOV}}</ref>===
In February 24 of 2025, a press release statement New York Attorney General Letitia James released the results of their investigation stating that Doordash, between May 2017 and September 2019,<blockquote>“used customer tips to offset the base pay it had already guaranteed to workers, instead of giving workers the full tips they rightfully earned.”<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last=Calvario |first=Liz |date=2025-02-25 |title=DoorDash Settlement: Millions to Be Paid to Drivers For Pocketed Tips |url=https://www.today.com/food/news/doordash-settlement-payout-rcna193728 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=TODAY}}</ref></blockquote>Doordash has lost this lawsuit and was ordered to pay a hefty sum for mistreating the contractors about transparent pay as seen below: <blockquote>"DoorDash will pay $16.75 million in restitution for Dashers and up to $1 million in settlement administrator costs to help issue the payments."<ref name=":8" /></blockquote>Doordash has responded to the litigation loss by stating it was an ''"old pay structure"'' as they are currently using a newer one where contractors keep all their tips.

The old pay structure that Doordash's PR team was referring to would only show dashers tip amount if it was higher than what Doordash was willing to pay them for that contract batch. In many cases when the tip amount failed to surpass what the company was willing to pay the dasher for the order it was often taken and spread across other orders that may have had a lower initial payout. This ''"old pay structure"'' has impacted over 63,000 New Yorker's alone.

===Using BNPL services to target the financially challenged consumers===
As of March 2025, Doordash has decided to partner up with Klarna for BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) services.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Steinberg |first=Brooke |date=2025-03-24 |title=DoorDash now offering eat now, pay later payments through Klarna |url=https://nypost.com/2025/03/24/lifestyle/DoorDash-now-offering-eat-now-pay-later-payments-through-klarna/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=New York Post}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-20 |title=DoorDash Partners with Klarna to Offer US Customers Even More Convenience with Flexible Payments {{!}} DoorDash |url=https://about.doordash.com/en-us/news/doordash-partners-with-klarna |url-status=live |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=Doordash}}</ref> This partnership is aimed at the consumers that want food delivery but are currently unable to afford it. However, it's a deceptive practice that can further financially ruin consumers. While BNPL can defer payments interest free, it does charge late fees. Consumers that are already financially strapped for cash may find it difficult to repay these loans if they are not careful. This may boost Doordash's profits by taking advantage of consumers that are not financially savvy.

===Using Dashpass subscription model to surcharge business's on order commissions===
<blockquote>"About eight months after Washington, D.C. placed a 15% cap on third-party delivery commission fees to help restaurants during the pandemic, DoorDash appears to have found a workaround. According to the Washington City Paper, restaurants that use DoorDash’s DashPass subscription feature were sent a notice stating that the cap is “only applicable to Classic orders” and doesn’t apply to the DashPass program."..."DoorDash calls DashPass an “optional, premium offering and separate from DoorDash’s core services.” The company said that beginning Dec. 9, it will begin charging restaurants the contractual rate in their original agreements, City Paper reports. The changes to DashPash charges are part of a limited test in fewer than five cities, including D.C. and cities in the Bay Area."<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Kelso |first=Alicia |date=2020-12-07 |title=DoorDash hit with cease-and-desist letter from DC attorney general {{!}} Restaurant Dive |url=https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/doordash-could-use-dashpash-as-a-workaround-to-delivery-fee-caps/591701/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Restaurant Dive}}</ref></blockquote>By using this workaround, Doordash has negatively impacted many small businesses and restaurants that operate within the area. They did, however, allow ''"Merchants can choose to opt out of DashPass at any time, a DoorDash spokesperson said"<ref name=":1" />.'' Though there are many consumers that do use Dashpass due to the savings for users that use their delivery services frequently. By opting out, businesses are effectively blacklisting themselves from the users that frequently use the app for deliveries. Doordash's spokesperson justifies this<blockquote>"The spokesperson called delivery fee restrictions a “one-size fits all” solution that impacts the company’s ability to provide quality service and pay. Merchant fees help the company cover business costs like Dasher pay, background checks, occupational Dasher insurance and website upkeep, the spokesperson said."<ref name=":1" /></blockquote>Which apparently the Dashpass subscription that consumers pay does not cover this. This is just an excuse to further pass on costs while maintaining the profits of the subscription and free delivery; which is the main selling point of the subscription service.

This has caught the eye of D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine on December 10 of 2020. They have sent a cease and desist notice on Tuesday warning Doordash that charging restaurants more than 15% on commissions may violate District laws. The company complied two days later stating they "decided not to charge DC restaurants their contractual DashPass rate at this time."<ref name=":1" />

===Using AI to falsely advertise what menu items look like===
With many menus, consumers expect an accurate description of what they are ordering along with the ingredients that are being used to make it. In recent years companies have started relying on AI to generate a description and a complimentary photo of what the dish should look like. But in many cases this was done to falsely advertise to boost sales. We can look to an earlier instance during the lock down when ghost kitchens were popular;<blockquote>"Ghost kitchens are allegedly using AI-generated images on food delivery sites such as GrubHub and DoorDash. The images are used to promote online orders from kitchens that solely sell their food via online delivery services. Rather than using real photographers, they are using images of food that do not exist."<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |last=Baker |first=Alex |date=2024-02-28 |title=The photos that you see on food delivery apps are probably AI |url=https://www.diyphotography.net/ghost-kitchens-using-ai-images-on-food-delivery-apps/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=DiyPhotography}}</ref></blockquote>Of which many delivered products that did not match the item description at all or was poorer quality than what was shown to them within ordering. Not to mention in many countries<blockquote>"there are firm advertising laws that state exactly what you have to show and what can be substituted in food photography. This helps protect consumers, making sure they get what they order."<ref name=":11" /></blockquote>Meaning when generating a picture of food it is not considered edible by many countries standards and may even be illegal. But industries are constantly changing; custom diffusion models being packaged like Swipeby to provide cheap alternatives to make selling menu items at a higher volume.<blockquote>"The company points to a survey from Snappr, a photography and visual content platform, that found high-quality food photos can increase orders on restaurant delivery apps by 35%."<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |last=Canton |first=Rafael |date=2023-04-07 |title=The picture of that food you’re ordering online may have been created by AI |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90870969/food-delivery-startup-ai-photos-swipeby |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=FastCompany}}</ref></blockquote>By seeing the results that such a tool can provide shows how pressing it can be for other businesses to compete if they are not also resorting to the same measures. During this time Doordash had policies about having generative photos for menu items; the founder however thinks things will change soon as he said "Give it six months, that will change,” he says. “I will bet money on it. Because with AI generation right now, it makes so much sense."<ref name=":12" /> And as of 2025 Doordash has launched it's own tool for generating AI menus on it's platform which is able to generate descriptions and pictures of an item being listed.<blockquote>''“At DoorDash, we believe AI should make life easier for restaurants—not more complicated. It’s about using automation to enhance the guest experience while keeping the operator’s unique touch front and center,” said Arpit Dhariwal, Head of Product, Merchant Acquisition & Growth at DoorDash. “AI-powered tools are built to take everyday tasks off operators’ plates, allowing restaurants to focus on what matters most—delivering great food and service. We're excited to help drive more orders, save time, and support continued growth for our restaurant partners.”''</blockquote>As we have seen earlier higher profit margins has caught Doordash's attention. Since they also make more money from users seeing results that may resemble the food that will be ordered as a first result. However this tool can be used nefariously like how ghost kitchens used it to falsely advertise the quality and resemblance of the food being shown to the consumers of the app. It may be important to exercise caution from now on against actors that would leverage this tool against the consumer especially since there seems to be nothing in place to warn the consumer that the current item that is being viewed was generated by their AI tool. This leaves an extremely high risk that a consumer may be unsatisfied with an order because it did not match the description or the photo being listed on Doordash.

===Settling lawsuits due to unlawful business practices<ref name=":2" />===

====Class-action lawsuit for misclassifying workers (2017)====
A class-action litigation suit was filed for Doordash in allegedly labeling delivery workers in California and Massachusetts as independent contractors. An agreement was later reached in 2022 where Doordash payed out $100 million dollars. $61 million would be going to the effected 900,000+ drivers in both states, paying approximately $130 dollars per driver; with the other $28 million going to the lawyers.<ref name=":13">{{Cite web |last=Whitney |first=Kimball |date=2021-09-01 |title=DoorDash Settlement Would Pay a Paltry $130 to Workers Instead of Making Them Employees |url=https://gizmodo.com/doordash-settlement-would-pay-a-paltry-130-to-workers-1847586519 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-07 |website=Gizmodo}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Maeve |first=Allsup |date=2021-12-22 |title=DoorDash $100 Million Driver Settlement Tentatively Approved |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/doordash-100-million-driver-settlement-tentatively-approved |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-07 |website=Bloomberg Law}}</ref> A quite minor sum for Doordash considering their CEO got payed $413 million dollars just the year before the settlement.<ref name=":13" />

====Data breach lawsuit (2019)====
In early may Doordash had a data breach with over 4.9 million effected individuals. All users who registered past April 5th 2018 were safe from the data that was stolen.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Whittaker |first=Zack |date=2016-09-26 |title=DoorDash confirms data breach affected 4.9 million customers, workers and merchants |url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/09/26/doordash-data-breach/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=Tech Crunch}}</ref> This has resulted in a class action in October 2019 against Doordash for not protecting user data.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shaak |first=Erin |date=2019-08-04 |title=DoorDash Sued Over 2019 Data Breach Affecting More Than 4.9 Million Users |url=https://www.classaction.org/news/doordash-sued-over-2019-data-breach-affecting-more-than-4-9-million-users |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-16 |website=Class Action Org}}</ref>

====Withholding of tips and subsequent class-action lawsuits (2019)====
In July, Doordash's tipping payout to drivers was critiqued by the New York Times, The Verge and Gothamist.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Newman |first=Andy |date=2019-06-21 |title=My Frantic Life as a Cab-Dodging, Tip-Chasing Food App Deliveryman |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/21/nyregion/doordash-ubereats-food-app-delivery-bike.html |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Vincent |first=James |date=2019-07-22 |title=Delivery apps like DoorDash are using your tips to pay workers’ wages |url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/22/20703434/delivery-app-tip-pay-theft-doordash-amazon-flex-instacart |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=The Verge}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ghaffary |first=Shirin |date=2019-08-20 |title=DoorDash is still pocketing workers’ tips, almost a month after it promised to stop |url=https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/8/20/20825937/doordash-tipping-policy-still-not-changed-food-delivery-app-gig-economy |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Vox}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite web |last=Lampen |first=Claire |date=2019-07-10 |title=Brooklyn Man Sues DoorDash Over Grifty, Misleading Tip Policy |url=https://gothamist.com/2019/07/30/doordash_tipping_lawsuit.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805221244/https://gothamist.com/2019/07/30/doordash_tipping_lawsuit.php |archive-date=2019-08-05 |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Gothamist}}</ref> The pay structure in question is where the Dasher would get payed a minimum amount for each order by Doordash. If the customer added a tip it would cover the companies expenses first to cover the minimum. the remaining amount of the tip would go to the dasher that was deducted from Doordash.<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":14">{{Cite web |last=Wayt |first=Theo |date=2019-06-29 |title=Brooklyn man sues DoorDash for ‘misleading’ tipping policy |url=https://nypost.com/2019/07/29/brooklyn-man-sues-doordash-for-misleading-tipping-policy/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=New York Post}}</ref>

Later in 2020 Doordash was exposed for lying about pocketing portions of drivers tips, generating additional revenue for the company that dashers were unaware or uninformed about. This was happening after the company claimed it had refactored it's tipping system to be more transparent. But Doordash was still continuing to skim payouts for deliveries from dashers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Keck |first=Catie |date=2020-01-07 |title=The Villain Always Wins |url=https://gizmodo.com/the-villain-always-wins-1841070357 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Gizmodo}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Keck |first=Catie |date=2019-03-15 |title=DoorDash Has Been Confusing Its Workers About Payments for Nearly Two Years |url=https://gizmodo.com/doordash-has-been-confusing-its-workers-about-payments-1833327287 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Gizmodo}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Keck |first=Catie |date=2019-12-10 |title=DoorDash Has a New Plan to Make Workers Gamble on How Much They’ll Get Paid |url=https://gizmodo.com/doordash-has-a-new-plan-to-make-workers-gamble-on-how-m-1840325285 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Gizmodo}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ellis |first=Avery |date=2020-01-16 |title=DoorDash Contractors Earn Less Than Dogshit, Study Finds |url=https://gizmodo.com/doordash-contractors-earn-less-than-dogshit-study-find-1841048784 |url-status=dead |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Gizmodo}}</ref>

This had led a customer to file a class action suit against the company claiming "materially false and misleading" in app tipping feature.<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":14" /> The case was later moved to an arbitration hearing in August.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Casetext |date=2020-08-24 |title=Arkin v. DoorDash, Inc. |url=https://casetext.com/case/arkin-v-doordash-inc |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213085836/https://casetext.com/case/arkin-v-doordash-inc |archive-date=2023-02-13 |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=Casetext}}</ref> Facing negative exposure and bad press the company finally complied to change their payout policy.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Abril |first=Danielle |date=2019-11-12 |title=DoorDash’s New Tipping Policy Has Increased Driver Pay |url=https://fortune.com/2019/11/12/doordash-new-tipping-policy-worker-pay/ |url-status=live |website=Fortune}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Newman |first=Andy |date=2019-07-24 |title=DoorDash Changes Tipping Model After Uproar From Customers |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/24/nyregion/doordash-tip-policy.html |url-status=live |website=New York Times}}</ref> The lawsuit was settled by District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine for $2.5 million with most of the amount going to dashers, government and charity.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kerr |first=Dara |date=2020-11-25 |title=DoorDash settles lawsuit for $2.5M over 'deceptive' tipping practices |url=https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/doordash-settles-lawsuit-for-2-5m-over-deceptive-tipping-practices/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=CNET}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Canales |first=Katie |date=2020-11-25 |title=DoorDash is paying $2.5 million to settle a lawsuit that accused the food delivery company of stealing drivers' tips |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/doordash-25-million-settlement-lawsuit-tipping-model-2020-11 |url-status=live |website=Business Insider}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=OAC |date=2020-11-24 |title=AG Racine Reaches $2.5 Million Agreement with DoorDash for Misrepresenting that Consumer Tips Would Go to Food Delivery Drivers |url=https://oag.dc.gov/release/ag-racine-reaches-25-million-agreement-doordash |website=Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia}}</ref>

"<blockquote>
===2020 antitrust litigation===
In April 2020, in the case of ''Davitashvili v. GrubHub Inc.'' DoorDash, Grubhub, Postmates, and Uber Eats were accused of monopolistic power by only listing restaurants on their apps if the restaurant owners signed contracts which include clauses that require prices be the same for dine-in customers as for customers receiving delivery. The plaintiffs stated that this arrangement increases the cost for dine-in customers, as they are required to subsidize the cost of delivery; and that the apps charge "exorbitant" fees, which range from 13% to 40% of revenue, while the average restaurant's profit ranges from 3% to 9% of revenue. The lawsuit seeks treble damages, including for overcharges, since April 14, 2016, for dine-in and delivery customers in the United States at restaurants using the defendants’ delivery apps. Although several preliminary documents in the case have now been filed, a trial date has not yet been set.

===Driver strike for tip transparency (2021)===
In July 2021, DoorDash drivers went on strike to protest lack of tip transparency and to ask for higher pay. At the time of the strike, and, as of June 2022, DoorDash did not allow drivers to see the full tip amounts prior to accepting a delivery in the app. If customers tip over a set amount for the order total, Doordash hides a portion of the tip until the delivery is complete. The strike occurred after DoorDash rewrote its code to cut off access to Para, a third-party app that drivers had been using to see the full tip amounts.

===Litigation for illegal unauthorized restaurant listing (2021)===
In May 2021, DoorDash was criticized for unauthorized listings of restaurants who had not given permission to appear on the app. The company was sued by Lona's Lil Eats in St. Louis, with the lawsuit claiming that DoorDash had listed them without permission, then prevented any orders to the restaurant from going through and redirecting customers to other restaurants instead, because Lona's was "too far away," when in reality it had not paid DoorDash a fee for listing. This aspect of DoorDash's business practice is illegal in California.

===Lawsuit by the city of Chicago (2021)===
In August 2021, the city of Chicago sued DoorDash and GrubHub. According to Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot, the companies broke the law by using "unfair and deceptive tactics to take advantage of restaurants and consumers who were struggling to stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic." DoorDash and GrubHub denied the suit's merits.

===Class-action lawsuit (2023)===
DoorDash has been accused of charging users of iPhone more than users on the Android platform. User testing claimed to show several instances of various fees and delivery charges being higher when using an Apple device. DoorDash denied these allegations in response to the ongoing US$1 billion class-action suit.

===Lawsuit by the city of Seattle (2023)===
In August 2023, DoorDash was obligated to pay its drivers and the city of Seattle a total of $1.6 million. It was found that the platform made it difficult for users to request paid time off. DoorDash is to pay $1.1 million towards safe and sick time credits, $500k directly to drivers and an additional $8,500 in city fees.

===Privacy lawsuit by the state of California (2024)===
In February 2024, after being found to have illegally sold personal data, DoorDash was obligated to pay a $375,000 civil penalty as well as to begin complying with privacy laws it had been shirking, namely CCPA and CalOPPA.

===Class-action lawsuit settlement (2025)===
In 2025, DoorDash agreed to pay around $17 million for "misleading both consumers and delivery workers" with tips being docked from drivers' pay instead of directly going to drivers.</blockquote>

"<ref name=":2" />{{Placeholder box|If the company page is short enough and/or the incident is not deserving of its own page, add incidents below in sub-sections (including the points outlined in [[Consumer_Action_Taskforce:Sample/Incident/Help|the incident help page]]) without linking/creating an incident page.

If the company has various incidents listed and/or this page is getting too long, create subsections linking to each incident while linking to the main article and including a short summary. To link to the page use the "Hatnote" or "Main" templates.

If the company has numerous incidents then format them in a table (see [[Amazon]] for an example). }}

==Products==

===Dashpass (2018 - Present)===
A premium program offered by Door Dash. This program offers free delivery on orders greater than $12 along with reduced service fees for deliveries. By paying the subscription price Doordash advertises this program as a cost saving measure for consumers that use their app frequently. This offer, however, has been subject to a variety of criticism. One of the more popular cases being hit with a cease-and-desist letter from DC attorney general for charging more than 15% on commissions to make up the losses of the companies free delivery policy with Dashpass.<ref name=":1" />
==See also==
{{Placeholder box|Link to relevant theme articles or companies with similar incidents.}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]

Doordash

2025-06-17T04:10:51Z

Vandetta: Add more cases, god citing stuff is such a pain in the ass I WANT AUTOCITE TO WORK SO BADLY, there are in fact about 7-8 cases that I'd consider that need to be covered still needs some overhaul but for the most part it is almost finished

{{InfoboxCompany
| Name = Doordash
| Type =Public
| Founded =2013
| Industry =Online Delivery
| Official Website =https://www.doordash.com/
| Logo =Doordash.png
}}[https://www.doordash.com/ DoorDash] was founded in June 2013, initially starting as PaloAltoDelivery.com before rebranding to Doordash. The company was founded by three Stanford students Tony Xu, Andy Fang, and Stanley Tang. Its focus is delivery on a wide variety of items, some items include fresh meals from nearby restaurants, groceries, convenience store items, OTC (Over the Counter) medicines, flowers, etc... This service mainly operates in locations within the U.S. (United States), Canada, and Australia.

==Consumer-impact summary==
Over the years of operation DoorDash has found itself in many controversial consumer and workers violations. Some of the most notable being:

*Withholding dashers funds (up to weeks or months) for delivering orders
*Lack of Business transparency especially with delivery fees and higher menu pricing
*Exposing millions of sensitive dashers and company information in a breach
*Adding restaurants to their platform to order without the business's consent
*Using driver tips to cover the cost of other deliveries
*Using [https://wiki.rossmanngroup.com/wiki/Buy_Now_Pay_Later BNPL] (Buy Now Pay Later) services to target the financially challenged consumers
*Using AI to falsely advertise what menu items look like
*Subsidizing Dashpass subscriptions by passing commission rates onto business's
*Multiple losses settling lawsuits due to unfair business practices

==Incidents==

===Withholding funds for contracted drivers===
According to Doordash, <blockquote>"Dashers get paid on a weekly basis for all deliveries or tasks completed between Monday - Sunday of the previous week (ending Sunday at midnight local time). Payments are transferred directly to your bank account through Direct Deposit and usually take 2-3 days to show up in your bank account, so payments will appear by Wednesday night."<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2025-04-08 |title=When do Dashers get paid? |url=https://help.doordash.com/dashers/s/article/When-do-Dashers-get-paid?language=en_US |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=Doordash}}</ref></blockquote>Even though they are treated like contractors they are still payed within a weekly basis instead of a quota based system. Many users who contract with Doordash need funds quickly to be able to cover daily expenses. This puts the dashers in a tough spot relying on cash tips, if any, to continue to get by until they are able to retrieve their weekly pay. However Doordash has already thought of this and created Fastpay.<blockquote>"Fast Pay allows Dashers to cash out their earnings daily for a small fee of $1.99. This means that Dashers can receive their earnings on demand through DoorDash, rather than waiting for their weekly direct deposit or using a third party service."<ref name=":3" /></blockquote>By holding dashers funds they are incurring free interest on the money by not paying out the dasher as soon as a delivery is completed. By taking advantage of desperate workers they can make more money off of the original transaction.

===Charging users unclear "fees" for delivery===
Like many businesses, Doordash does need to cover expenses that the company has. The issue lies with the transparency of how they do business with the customer base within their app. Many consumers have taken a legal class action lawsuit against Doordash.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Mayer |first=Chloe |date=2023-06-09 |title=DoorDash Faces $1B Lawsuit Over Delivery Fees: 'Dupes Naive Consumers' - Newsweek |url=https://www.newsweek.com/lawsuit-doordash-sue-iphone-android-1805387 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Newsweek}}</ref> The suit alleges Doordash's unfair Value based pricing by leveraging their algorithm and pricing model changes on a per customer basis; and not what they order. Specific examples include: delivery fee, any form of a hidden marketing fee or hidden commission fee.<ref name=":4" /> Doordash has denied all alleged claims, referring to them as a "copy-and-paste job".

This is combined with the fact that Doordash's menu prices are also considerably higher than those of the original venues where items could be purchased. "Without letting consumers know, DoorDash is able to raise the prices of menu items in order to turn a greater profit."<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |last=Mallory |first=Paul |date=2023-08-23 |title=DoorDash Prices Higher Than Menu |url=https://consumergravity.com/doordash-prices-higher-than-menu/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=ConsumerGravity}}</ref> leaving consumers none the wiser unless they actually checked by either visiting a company site (which may not be possible due to them handling takeout) or going in person to check their pricing. This leaves the consumer completely unaware that they are being overcharged on the goods being provided by the service. While some restaurants have admitted to allowing price increases for delivery, in some cases "this is even done without the restaurant’s permission. Which means that they are also not receiving any of the extra money."<ref name=":9" /> leaving Doordash to pocket all the extra profit for itself on top of all the other fees it charges for it's services.
===Data breach exposing millions of dashers and company info<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2025-04-08 |title=DoorDash - Wikipedia |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DoorDash |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=Wikipedia}}</ref>===
In mid 2019, Doordash suffered a data breach that affected 4.9 million customers, drivers, and businesses sensitive information combined. Individuals that had joined Doordash after April 5th of 2018 were not affected. This breach took 5 months to be found. Doordash claims that "a third-party service provider," was to blame for this leak, but the third party was never named. The types of data exposed is listed in the chart below.
{| class="wikitable"
|+<big>Breached Data that was exposed</big> <ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Coban |first=Erkin |date=2025-04-08 |title=DoorDash Fees and Commissions for Restaurants: Detailed 2025 Guide - Restaurant Success Blog {{!}} Menuviel |url=https://blog.menuviel.com/doordash-fees-and-commissions-for-restaurants/ |url-status=live |website=Menuviel}}</ref>
!Customers
|name, email and delivery addresses, order history, phone numbers, hashed & salted passwords and the last four digits of their payment cards taken.
|-
!Dashers
|last four digits of their bank account numbers stolen, Approximately 100,000 had their drivers license stolen.
|-
!Companies
|last four digits of their bank account numbers stolen
|}
Many consumers complained the year before about their account being hacked, but were assured by Doordash that it was not a breach and "claimed attackers were running credential stuffing attacks". This shows they did not take customers reports seriously and had a breach shortly after, due to the company's opsec negligence.

===Adding restaurants to their platform without other business's consent===
Starting around 2020, Doordash had decided that the company needed more outreach. To do this, the company started adding businesses that had no arrangements for takeout or delivery without the owners consent.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Pershan |first=Caleb |date=2020-01-29 |title=Delivery Apps Keep Adding Restaurants Without Their Consent - Eater |url=https://www.eater.com/2020/1/29/21113416/grubhub-seamless-kin-khao-online-delivery-mistake-doordash |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=EATER}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Settembre |first=Jeanette |date=2020-01-21 |title=DoorDash, Grubhub skewered by small restaurants for posting menus without permission {{!}} Fox Business |url=https://www.foxbusiness.com/small-business/doordash-grubhub-restaurant-listing-without-permission.amp |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-09 |website=Fox Business}}</ref> This has led to increased stress on businesses that were not ready for a higher influx of volume orders but also being charged up to 30% in referral fees depending on the business.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":7" /> Many small corporations and restaurants were impacted the most due to these policies; mostly because profit margins are usually lower than a multi billion dollar franchise that has been tailored to do takeout for decades, or industry chains that are used to higher order volumes. Behavior like this may end up running smaller unprepared business operations to close permanently, leaving only the bigger corporations to compete for the consumers' purchasing power.

===Pocketing driver app tips to payout other dashers<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Glenn |first=Lindey |date=2025-03-31 |title=DoorDash’s $1 BILLION Lawsuit: Exposing DoorDash’s Predatory Business Model |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-gPld7e3do |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Youtube}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=James |first=Letitia |date=2025-02-24 |title=Attorney General James Secures $16.75 Million from DoorDash for Cheating Delivery Workers Out of Tips |url=https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2025/attorney-general-james-secures-1675-million-doordash-cheating-delivery-workers |url-status=live |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=NY GOV}}</ref>===
In February 24 of 2025, a press release statement New York Attorney General Letitia James released the results of their investigation stating that Doordash, between May 2017 and September 2019,<blockquote>“used customer tips to offset the base pay it had already guaranteed to workers, instead of giving workers the full tips they rightfully earned.”<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last=Calvario |first=Liz |date=2025-02-25 |title=DoorDash Settlement: Millions to Be Paid to Drivers For Pocketed Tips |url=https://www.today.com/food/news/doordash-settlement-payout-rcna193728 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=TODAY}}</ref></blockquote>Doordash has lost this lawsuit and was ordered to pay a hefty sum for mistreating the contractors about transparent pay as seen below: <blockquote>"DoorDash will pay $16.75 million in restitution for Dashers and up to $1 million in settlement administrator costs to help issue the payments."<ref name=":8" /></blockquote>Doordash has responded to the litigation loss by stating it was an ''"old pay structure"'' as they are currently using a newer one where contractors keep all their tips.

The old pay structure that Doordash's PR team was referring to would only show dashers tip amount if it was higher than what Doordash was willing to pay them for that contract batch. In many cases when the tip amount failed to surpass what the company was willing to pay the dasher for the order it was often taken and spread across other orders that may have had a lower initial payout. This ''"old pay structure"'' has impacted over 63,000 New Yorker's alone.

===Using BNPL services to target the financially challenged consumers===
As of March 2025, Doordash has decided to partner up with Klarna for BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) services.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Steinberg |first=Brooke |date=2025-03-24 |title=DoorDash now offering eat now, pay later payments through Klarna |url=https://nypost.com/2025/03/24/lifestyle/DoorDash-now-offering-eat-now-pay-later-payments-through-klarna/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=New York Post}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-20 |title=DoorDash Partners with Klarna to Offer US Customers Even More Convenience with Flexible Payments {{!}} DoorDash |url=https://about.doordash.com/en-us/news/doordash-partners-with-klarna |url-status=live |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=Doordash}}</ref> This partnership is aimed at the consumers that want food delivery but are currently unable to afford it. However, it's a deceptive practice that can further financially ruin consumers. While BNPL can defer payments interest free, it does charge late fees. Consumers that are already financially strapped for cash may find it difficult to repay these loans if they are not careful. This may boost Doordash's profits by taking advantage of consumers that are not financially savvy.

===Using Dashpass subscription model to surcharge business's on order commissions===
<blockquote>"About eight months after Washington, D.C. placed a 15% cap on third-party delivery commission fees to help restaurants during the pandemic, DoorDash appears to have found a workaround. According to the Washington City Paper, restaurants that use DoorDash’s DashPass subscription feature were sent a notice stating that the cap is “only applicable to Classic orders” and doesn’t apply to the DashPass program."..."DoorDash calls DashPass an “optional, premium offering and separate from DoorDash’s core services.” The company said that beginning Dec. 9, it will begin charging restaurants the contractual rate in their original agreements, City Paper reports. The changes to DashPash charges are part of a limited test in fewer than five cities, including D.C. and cities in the Bay Area."<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Kelso |first=Alicia |date=2020-12-07 |title=DoorDash hit with cease-and-desist letter from DC attorney general {{!}} Restaurant Dive |url=https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/doordash-could-use-dashpash-as-a-workaround-to-delivery-fee-caps/591701/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Restaurant Dive}}</ref></blockquote>By using this workaround, Doordash has negatively impacted many small businesses and restaurants that operate within the area. They did, however, allow ''"Merchants can choose to opt out of DashPass at any time, a DoorDash spokesperson said"<ref name=":1" />.'' Though there are many consumers that do use Dashpass due to the savings for users that use their delivery services frequently. By opting out, businesses are effectively blacklisting themselves from the users that frequently use the app for deliveries. Doordash's spokesperson justifies this<blockquote>"The spokesperson called delivery fee restrictions a “one-size fits all” solution that impacts the company’s ability to provide quality service and pay. Merchant fees help the company cover business costs like Dasher pay, background checks, occupational Dasher insurance and website upkeep, the spokesperson said."<ref name=":1" /></blockquote>Which apparently the Dashpass subscription that consumers pay does not cover this. This is just an excuse to further pass on costs while maintaining the profits of the subscription and free delivery; which is the main selling point of the subscription service.

This has caught the eye of D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine on December 10 of 2020. They have sent a cease and desist notice on Tuesday warning Doordash that charging restaurants more than 15% on commissions may violate District laws. The company complied two days later stating they "decided not to charge DC restaurants their contractual DashPass rate at this time."<ref name=":1" />

===Using AI to falsely advertise what menu items look like===
With many menus, consumers expect an accurate description of what they are ordering along with the ingredients that are being used to make it. In recent years companies have started relying on AI to generate a description and a complimentary photo of what the dish should look like. But in many cases this was done to falsely advertise to boost sales. We can look to an earlier instance during the lock down when ghost kitchens were popular;<blockquote>"Ghost kitchens are allegedly using AI-generated images on food delivery sites such as GrubHub and DoorDash. The images are used to promote online orders from kitchens that solely sell their food via online delivery services. Rather than using real photographers, they are using images of food that do not exist."<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |last=Baker |first=Alex |date=2024-02-28 |title=The photos that you see on food delivery apps are probably AI |url=https://www.diyphotography.net/ghost-kitchens-using-ai-images-on-food-delivery-apps/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=DiyPhotography}}</ref></blockquote>Of which many delivered products that did not match the item description at all or was poorer quality than what was shown to them within ordering. Not to mention in many countries<blockquote>"there are firm advertising laws that state exactly what you have to show and what can be substituted in food photography. This helps protect consumers, making sure they get what they order."<ref name=":11" /></blockquote>Meaning when generating a picture of food it is not considered edible by many countries standards and may even be illegal. But industries are constantly changing; custom diffusion models being packaged like Swipeby to provide cheap alternatives to make selling menu items at a higher volume.<blockquote>"The company points to a survey from Snappr, a photography and visual content platform, that found high-quality food photos can increase orders on restaurant delivery apps by 35%."<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |last=Canton |first=Rafael |date=2023-04-07 |title=The picture of that food you’re ordering online may have been created by AI |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90870969/food-delivery-startup-ai-photos-swipeby |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=FastCompany}}</ref></blockquote>By seeing the results that such a tool can provide shows how pressing it can be for other businesses to compete if they are not also resorting to the same measures. During this time Doordash had policies about having generative photos for menu items; the founder however thinks things will change soon as he said "Give it six months, that will change,” he says. “I will bet money on it. Because with AI generation right now, it makes so much sense."<ref name=":12" /> And as of 2025 Doordash has launched it's own tool for generating AI menus on it's platform which is able to generate descriptions and pictures of an item being listed.<blockquote>''“At DoorDash, we believe AI should make life easier for restaurants—not more complicated. It’s about using automation to enhance the guest experience while keeping the operator’s unique touch front and center,” said Arpit Dhariwal, Head of Product, Merchant Acquisition & Growth at DoorDash. “AI-powered tools are built to take everyday tasks off operators’ plates, allowing restaurants to focus on what matters most—delivering great food and service. We're excited to help drive more orders, save time, and support continued growth for our restaurant partners.”''</blockquote>As we have seen earlier higher profit margins has caught Doordash's attention. Since they also make more money from users seeing results that may resemble the food that will be ordered as a first result. However this tool can be used nefariously like how ghost kitchens used it to falsely advertise the quality and resemblance of the food being shown to the consumers of the app. It may be important to exercise caution from now on against actors that would leverage this tool against the consumer especially since there seems to be nothing in place to warn the consumer that the current item that is being viewed was generated by their AI tool. This leaves an extremely high risk that a consumer may be unsatisfied with an order because it did not match the description or the photo being listed on Doordash.

===Settling lawsuits due to unlawful business practices<ref name=":2" />===

====Class-action lawsuit for misclassifying workers (2017)====
A class-action litigation suit was filed for Doordash in allegedly labeling delivery workers in California and Massachusetts as independent contractors. An agreement was later reached in 2022 where Doordash payed out $100 million dollars. $61 million would be going to the effected 900,000+ drivers in both states, paying approximately $130 dollars per driver; with the other $28 million going to the lawyers.<ref name=":13">{{Cite web |last=Whitney |first=Kimball |date=2021-09-01 |title=DoorDash Settlement Would Pay a Paltry $130 to Workers Instead of Making Them Employees |url=https://gizmodo.com/doordash-settlement-would-pay-a-paltry-130-to-workers-1847586519 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-07 |website=Gizmodo}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Maeve |first=Allsup |date=2021-12-22 |title=DoorDash $100 Million Driver Settlement Tentatively Approved |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/doordash-100-million-driver-settlement-tentatively-approved |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-07 |website=Bloomberg Law}}</ref> A quite minor sum for Doordash considering their CEO got payed $413 million dollars just the year before the settlement.<ref name=":13" />

==== Data breach lawsuit (2019) ====
In early may Doordash had a data breach with over 4.9 million effected individuals. All users who registered past April 5th 2018 were safe from the data that was stolen.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Whittaker |first=Zack |date=2016-09-26 |title=DoorDash confirms data breach affected 4.9 million customers, workers and merchants |url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/09/26/doordash-data-breach/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=Tech Crunch}}</ref> This has resulted in a class action in October 2019 against Doordash for not protecting user data.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shaak |first=Erin |date=2019-08-04 |title=DoorDash Sued Over 2019 Data Breach Affecting More Than 4.9 Million Users |url=https://www.classaction.org/news/doordash-sued-over-2019-data-breach-affecting-more-than-4-9-million-users |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-16 |website=Class Action Org}}</ref>

==== Withholding of tips and subsequent class-action lawsuits (2019) [ NEEDS CITATIONS ] ====
In July, Doordash's tipping payout to drivers was critiqued by the New York Times, The Verge and Gothamist. The pay structure in question is where the Dasher would get payed a minimum amount for each order by Doordash. If the customer added a tip it would cover the companies expenses first to cover the minimum. the remaining amount of the tip would go to the dasher that was deducted from Doordash.

Later in 2020 Doordash was exposed for lying about pocketing portions of drivers tips, generating additional revenue for the company that dashers were unaware or uninformed about. This was happening after the company claimed it had refactored it's tipping system to be more transparent. But Doordash was still continuing to skim payouts for deliveries from dashers.

This had led a customer to file a class action suit against the company claiming "materially false and misleading" in app tipping feature. The case was later moved to an arbitration hearing in August. Facing negative exposure and bad press the company finally complied to change their payout policy. The lawsuit was settled by District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine for $2.5 million with most of the amount going to dashers, government and charity.

"<blockquote>
===2020 antitrust litigation===
In April 2020, in the case of ''Davitashvili v. GrubHub Inc.'' DoorDash, Grubhub, Postmates, and Uber Eats were accused of monopolistic power by only listing restaurants on their apps if the restaurant owners signed contracts which include clauses that require prices be the same for dine-in customers as for customers receiving delivery. The plaintiffs stated that this arrangement increases the cost for dine-in customers, as they are required to subsidize the cost of delivery; and that the apps charge "exorbitant" fees, which range from 13% to 40% of revenue, while the average restaurant's profit ranges from 3% to 9% of revenue. The lawsuit seeks treble damages, including for overcharges, since April 14, 2016, for dine-in and delivery customers in the United States at restaurants using the defendants’ delivery apps. Although several preliminary documents in the case have now been filed, a trial date has not yet been set.

===Driver strike for tip transparency (2021)===
In July 2021, DoorDash drivers went on strike to protest lack of tip transparency and to ask for higher pay. At the time of the strike, and, as of June 2022, DoorDash did not allow drivers to see the full tip amounts prior to accepting a delivery in the app. If customers tip over a set amount for the order total, Doordash hides a portion of the tip until the delivery is complete. The strike occurred after DoorDash rewrote its code to cut off access to Para, a third-party app that drivers had been using to see the full tip amounts.

===Litigation for illegal unauthorized restaurant listing (2021)===
In May 2021, DoorDash was criticized for unauthorized listings of restaurants who had not given permission to appear on the app. The company was sued by Lona's Lil Eats in St. Louis, with the lawsuit claiming that DoorDash had listed them without permission, then prevented any orders to the restaurant from going through and redirecting customers to other restaurants instead, because Lona's was "too far away," when in reality it had not paid DoorDash a fee for listing. This aspect of DoorDash's business practice is illegal in California.

===Lawsuit by the city of Chicago (2021)===
In August 2021, the city of Chicago sued DoorDash and GrubHub. According to Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot, the companies broke the law by using "unfair and deceptive tactics to take advantage of restaurants and consumers who were struggling to stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic." DoorDash and GrubHub denied the suit's merits.

===Class-action lawsuit (2023)===
DoorDash has been accused of charging users of iPhone more than users on the Android platform. User testing claimed to show several instances of various fees and delivery charges being higher when using an Apple device. DoorDash denied these allegations in response to the ongoing US$1 billion class-action suit.

===Lawsuit by the city of Seattle (2023)===
In August 2023, DoorDash was obligated to pay its drivers and the city of Seattle a total of $1.6 million. It was found that the platform made it difficult for users to request paid time off. DoorDash is to pay $1.1 million towards safe and sick time credits, $500k directly to drivers and an additional $8,500 in city fees.

===Privacy lawsuit by the state of California (2024)===
In February 2024, after being found to have illegally sold personal data, DoorDash was obligated to pay a $375,000 civil penalty as well as to begin complying with privacy laws it had been shirking, namely CCPA and CalOPPA.

===Class-action lawsuit settlement (2025)===
In 2025, DoorDash agreed to pay around $17 million for "misleading both consumers and delivery workers" with tips being docked from drivers' pay instead of directly going to drivers.</blockquote>

"<ref name=":2" />{{Placeholder box|If the company page is short enough and/or the incident is not deserving of its own page, add incidents below in sub-sections (including the points outlined in [[Consumer_Action_Taskforce:Sample/Incident/Help|the incident help page]]) without linking/creating an incident page.

If the company has various incidents listed and/or this page is getting too long, create subsections linking to each incident while linking to the main article and including a short summary. To link to the page use the "Hatnote" or "Main" templates.

If the company has numerous incidents then format them in a table (see [[Amazon]] for an example). }}

==Products==

===Dashpass (2018 - Present)===
A premium program offered by Door Dash. This program offers free delivery on orders greater than $12 along with reduced service fees for deliveries. By paying the subscription price Doordash advertises this program as a cost saving measure for consumers that use their app frequently. This offer, however, has been subject to a variety of criticism. One of the more popular cases being hit with a cease-and-desist letter from DC attorney general for charging more than 15% on commissions to make up the losses of the companies free delivery policy with Dashpass.<ref name=":1" />
==See also==
{{Placeholder box|Link to relevant theme articles or companies with similar incidents.}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]

Doordash

2025-06-07T15:11:46Z

Vandetta: insert a suite of lawsuits imported from wiki that are currently cited on the page, plans on removing them once all are added and modified to exclude tone and better formatted for the wiki

{{InfoboxCompany
| Name = Doordash
| Type =Public
| Founded =2013
| Industry =Online Delivery
| Official Website =https://www.doordash.com/
| Logo =Doordash.png
}}[https://www.doordash.com/ DoorDash] was founded in June 2013, initially starting as PaloAltoDelivery.com before rebranding to Doordash. The company was founded by three Stanford students Tony Xu, Andy Fang, and Stanley Tang. Its focus is delivery on a wide variety of items, some items include fresh meals from nearby restaurants, groceries, convenience store items, OTC (Over the Counter) medicines, flowers, etc... This service mainly operates in locations within the U.S. (United States), Canada, and Australia.

==Consumer-impact summary==
Over the years of operation DoorDash has found itself in many controversial consumer and workers violations. Some of the most notable being:

*Withholding dashers funds (up to weeks or months) for delivering orders
*Lack of Business transparency especially with delivery fees and higher menu pricing
*Exposing millions of sensitive dashers and company information in a breach
*Adding restaurants to their platform to order without the business's consent
*Using driver tips to cover the cost of other deliveries
*Using [https://wiki.rossmanngroup.com/wiki/Buy_Now_Pay_Later BNPL] (Buy Now Pay Later) services to target the financially challenged consumers
*Using AI to falsely advertise what menu items look like
*Subsidizing Dashpass subscriptions by passing commission rates onto business's
*Multiple losses settling lawsuits due to unfair business practices

==Incidents==

===Withholding funds for contracted drivers===
According to Doordash, <blockquote>"Dashers get paid on a weekly basis for all deliveries or tasks completed between Monday - Sunday of the previous week (ending Sunday at midnight local time). Payments are transferred directly to your bank account through Direct Deposit and usually take 2-3 days to show up in your bank account, so payments will appear by Wednesday night."<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2025-04-08 |title=When do Dashers get paid? |url=https://help.doordash.com/dashers/s/article/When-do-Dashers-get-paid?language=en_US |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=Doordash}}</ref></blockquote>Even though they are treated like contractors they are still payed within a weekly basis instead of a quota based system. Many users who contract with Doordash need funds quickly to be able to cover daily expenses. This puts the dashers in a tough spot relying on cash tips if any to continue to get by until they are able to retrieve their weekly pay. However Doordash has already thought of this and created Fastpay.<blockquote>"Fast Pay allows Dashers to cash out their earnings daily for a small fee of $1.99. This means that Dashers can receive their earnings on demand through DoorDash, rather than waiting for their weekly direct deposit or using a third party service."<ref name=":3" /></blockquote>By holding dashers funds they are incurring free interest on the money by not paying out the dasher as soon as a delivery is completed. By taking advantage of desperate workers they can make more money off of the original transaction.

===Charging users unclear "fees" for delivery===
Like many businesses Doordash does need to cover expenses that the company has. The issue lies with the transparency of how they do business with the customer base within their app. Many consumers have taken a legal class action lawsuit against Doordash.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Mayer |first=Chloe |date=2023-06-09 |title=DoorDash Faces $1B Lawsuit Over Delivery Fees: 'Dupes Naive Consumers' - Newsweek |url=https://www.newsweek.com/lawsuit-doordash-sue-iphone-android-1805387 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Newsweek}}</ref> The suit alleges Doordash's unfair Value based pricing by leveraging their algorithm and pricing model changes on a per customer basis; and not what they order. Specific examples include: delivery fee, any form of a hidden marketing fee or hidden commission fee.<ref name=":4" /> Doordash has denied all alleged claims referring to it as a "copy-and-paste job".

This is also combined with the fact that Doordash's menu prices are also considerably higher than the original venues that items or commodities could be purchased at. "Without letting consumers know, DoorDash is able to raise the prices of menu items in order to turn a greater profit."<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |last=Mallory |first=Paul |date=2023-08-23 |title=DoorDash Prices Higher Than Menu |url=https://consumergravity.com/doordash-prices-higher-than-menu/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=ConsumerGravity}}</ref> leaving consumers none the wiser unless they actually checked by either visiting a company site (which may not be possible due to them handling takeout) or going in person to check their pricing. Thus leaving the consumer completely unaware that they are being overcharged on the goods being provided by the service. While some restaurants have admitted to allowing price increases for delivery, however in some cases "this is even done without the restaurant’s permission. Which means that they are also not receiving any of the extra money."<ref name=":9" /> leaving Doordash to pocket all the extra profit for itself on top of all the other fees it charges it's services.
===Data breach exposing millions of dashers and company info<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2025-04-08 |title=DoorDash - Wikipedia |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DoorDash |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=Wikipedia}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Coban |first=Erkin |date=2025-04-08 |title=DoorDash Fees and Commissions for Restaurants: Detailed 2025 Guide - Restaurant Success Blog {{!}} Menuviel |url=https://blog.menuviel.com/doordash-fees-and-commissions-for-restaurants/ |url-status=live |website=Menuviel}}</ref>===
In mid 2019 Doordash suffered a data breach that affected 4.9 million customers, drivers and businesses sensitive information combined. Individuals that had joined Doordash after April 5th of 2018 were not affected. this breach took 5 months to be found. Doordash claims that "a third-party service provider," was to blame for this leak, but the third party was never named. The contents of the data exposed has been disclosed with this chart below.
{| class="wikitable"
|+<big>Breached Data that was exposed</big>
!Customers
|name, email and delivery addresses, order history, phone numbers, hashed & salted passwords and the last four digits of their payment cards taken.
|-
!Dashers
|last four digits of their bank account numbers stolen, Approximately 100,000 had their drivers license stolen.
|-
!Companies
|last four digits of their bank account numbers stolen
|}
Many consumers complained the year before about their account being hacked. But were assured by Doordash that it was not a breach and "claimed attackers were running credential stuffing attacks". This shows they did not take customers reports seriously and had a breach shortly after due to the companies opsec negligence.

===Adding restaurants to their platform without other business's consent===
Starting around 2020 Doordash had decided that the company needed more outreach. To do this the company started adding business that had no arrangements for takeout or delivery without the owners consent.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Pershan |first=Caleb |date=2020-01-29 |title=Delivery Apps Keep Adding Restaurants Without Their Consent - Eater |url=https://www.eater.com/2020/1/29/21113416/grubhub-seamless-kin-khao-online-delivery-mistake-doordash |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=EATER}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Settembre |first=Jeanette |date=2020-01-21 |title=DoorDash, Grubhub skewered by small restaurants for posting menus without permission {{!}} Fox Business |url=https://www.foxbusiness.com/small-business/doordash-grubhub-restaurant-listing-without-permission.amp |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-09 |website=Fox Business}}</ref> This has led to increased stress on businesses that were not ready for a higher influx of volume orders but also being charged up to 30% in referral fees depending on the business.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":7" /> Many small cooperation's and restaurants were impacted the most due to these policies; mostly because profit margins are usually lower than a multi billion dollar franchise that has been tailored to do takeout for decades or industry chains that are used to higher order volumes. Behavior like this may end up running smaller unprepared business operations to close permanently leaving only the bigger cooperation's to compete for the consumers purchasing power.

===Pocketing driver app tips to payout other dashers<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Glenn |first=Lindey |date=2025-03-31 |title=DoorDash’s $1 BILLION Lawsuit: Exposing DoorDash’s Predatory Business Model |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-gPld7e3do |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Youtube}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last=Calvario |first=Liz |date=2025-02-25 |title=DoorDash Settlement: Millions to Be Paid to Drivers For Pocketed Tips |url=https://www.today.com/food/news/doordash-settlement-payout-rcna193728 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=TODAY}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=James |first=Letitia |date=2025-02-24 |title=Attorney General James Secures $16.75 Million from DoorDash for Cheating Delivery Workers Out of Tips |url=https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2025/attorney-general-james-secures-1675-million-doordash-cheating-delivery-workers |url-status=live |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=NY GOV}}</ref>===
In February 24 of 2025, a press release statement New York Attorney General Letitia James released the results of their investigation stating that Doordash between May 2017 and September 2019<blockquote>“used customer tips to offset the base pay it had already guaranteed to workers, instead of giving workers the full tips they rightfully earned.”<ref name=":8" /></blockquote>Doordash has lost this lawsuit and was ordered to pay a hefty sum for mistreating the contractors about transparent pay as seen below for further detail <blockquote>"DoorDash will pay $16.75 million in restitution for Dashers and up to $1 million in settlement administrator costs to help issue the payments."<ref name=":8" /></blockquote>Doordash has responded to the litigation loss by stating it was an ''"old pay structure"'' as they are currently using a newer one where contractors keep all their tips.

The old pay structure that Doordash's PR team was referring to would only show dashers tip amount if it was higher than what Doordash was willing to pay them for that contract batch. In many cases when the tip amount failed to surpass what the company was willing to pay the dasher for the order it was often taken and spread across other orders that may have had a lower initial payout. This ''"old pay structure"'' has impacted over 63,000 New Yorker's alone.

===Using BNPL services to target the financially challenged consumers<ref>{{Cite web |last=Steinberg |first=Brooke |date=2025-03-24 |title=DoorDash now offering eat now, pay later payments through Klarna |url=https://nypost.com/2025/03/24/lifestyle/DoorDash-now-offering-eat-now-pay-later-payments-through-klarna/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=New York Post}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-20 |title=DoorDash Partners with Klarna to Offer US Customers Even More Convenience with Flexible Payments {{!}} DoorDash |url=https://about.doordash.com/en-us/news/doordash-partners-with-klarna |url-status=live |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=Doordash}}</ref>===
As of March 2025, Doordash has decided to partner up with Klarna for BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) services. This partnership is aimed at the consumers that want food delivery but are currently unable to afford it. However, it's a deceptive practice that can further financially ruin consumers. While BNPL can defer payments interest free, it does charge late fees! Consumers that are already financially strapped for cash may find it difficult to repay these loans if they are not careful. All this just to boost Doordash's profit margins by taking advantage of consumers that are either financially challenged or illiterate.

===Using Dashpass subscription model to surcharge business's on order commissions<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Kelso |first=Alicia |date=2020-12-07 |title=DoorDash hit with cease-and-desist letter from DC attorney general {{!}} Restaurant Dive |url=https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/doordash-could-use-dashpash-as-a-workaround-to-delivery-fee-caps/591701/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Restaurant Dive}}</ref>===
<blockquote>"About eight months after Washington, D.C. placed a 15% cap on third-party delivery commission fees to help restaurants during the pandemic, DoorDash appears to have found a workaround. According to the Washington City Paper, restaurants that use DoorDash’s DashPass subscription feature were sent a notice stating that the cap is “only applicable to Classic orders” and doesn’t apply to the DashPass program."..."DoorDash calls DashPass an “optional, premium offering and separate from DoorDash’s core services.” The company said that beginning Dec. 9, it will begin charging restaurants the contractual rate in their original agreements, City Paper reports. The changes to DashPash charges are part of a limited test in fewer than five cities, including D.C. and cities in the Bay Area."<ref name=":1" /></blockquote>By using this workaround, Doordash has negatively impacted many small businesses and restaurants that operate within the area. They did however allow ''"Merchants can choose to opt out of DashPass at any time, a DoorDash spokesperson said"<ref name=":1" />.'' Though there are many consumers that do use Dashpass due to the savings for users that use their delivery services frequently. By opting out businesses are effectively blacklisting themselves from the users that frequently use the app for deliveries. Doordash's spokesperson justifies this<blockquote>"The spokesperson called delivery fee restrictions a “one-size fits all” solution that impacts the company’s ability to provide quality service and pay. Merchant fees help the company cover business costs like Dasher pay, background checks, occupational Dasher insurance and website upkeep, the spokesperson said."<ref name=":1" /></blockquote>Which apparently the Dashpass subscription that consumers pay does not cover this. This is just an excuse to further pass on costs while maintaining the profits of the subscription and free delivery; which is the main selling point of the subscription service.

This has caught the eye of D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine in December 10 of 2020. As they have sent a cease and desist notice on Tuesday warning Doordash that charging restaurants more than 15% on commissions may violate District laws. The company complied two days later stating they "decided not to charge DC restaurants their contractual DashPass rate at this time."<ref name=":1" />

===Using AI to falsely advertise what menu items look like<ref name=":10">{{Cite web |date=2025-04-09 |title=DoorDash Unveils Suite of AI-Powered Tools to Enhance Online Menus and Streamline Merchant Operations |url=https://about.doordash.com/en-us/news/doordash-unveils-ai-powered-tools-to-enhance-online-menus-and-streamline-merchant-operations |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=Doordash}}</ref><ref name=":11">{{Cite web |last=Baker |first=Alex |date=2024-02-28 |title=The photos that you see on food delivery apps are probably AI |url=https://www.diyphotography.net/ghost-kitchens-using-ai-images-on-food-delivery-apps/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=DiyPhotography}}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite web |last=Canton |first=Rafael |date=2023-04-07 |title=The picture of that food you’re ordering online may have been created by AI |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90870969/food-delivery-startup-ai-photos-swipeby |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=FastCompany}}</ref>===
With many menus, consumers expect an accurate description of what they are ordering along with the ingredients that are being used to make it. In recent years companies have started relying on AI to generate a description and a complimentary photo of what the dish should look like. But in many cases this was done to falsely advertise to boost sales. We can look to an earlier instance during the lock down when ghost kitchens were popular;<blockquote>"Ghost kitchens are allegedly using AI-generated images on food delivery sites such as GrubHub and DoorDash. The images are used to promote online orders from kitchens that solely sell their food via online delivery services. Rather than using real photographers, they are using images of food that do not exist."<ref name=":11" /></blockquote>Of which many delivered products that did not match the item description at all or was poorer quality than what was shown to them within ordering. Not to mention in many countries<blockquote>"there are firm advertising laws that state exactly what you have to show and what can be substituted in food photography. This helps protect consumers, making sure they get what they order."<ref name=":11" /></blockquote>Meaning when generating a picture of food it is not considered edible by many countries standards and may even be illegal. But industries are constantly changing; custom diffusion models being packaged like Swipeby to provide cheap alternatives to make selling menu items at a higher volume.<blockquote>"The company points to a survey from Snappr, a photography and visual content platform, that found high-quality food photos can increase orders on restaurant delivery apps by 35%."<ref name=":12" /></blockquote>By seeing the results that such a tool can provide shows how pressing it can be for other businesses to compete if they are not also resorting to the same measures. During this time Doordash had policies about having generative photos for menu items; the founder however thinks things will change soon as he said "Give it six months, that will change,” he says. “I will bet money on it. Because with AI generation right now, it makes so much sense."<ref name=":12" /> And as of 2025 Doordash has launched it's own tool for generating AI menus on it's platform which is able to generate descriptions and pictures of an item being listed.<blockquote>''“At DoorDash, we believe AI should make life easier for restaurants—not more complicated. It’s about using automation to enhance the guest experience while keeping the operator’s unique touch front and center,” said Arpit Dhariwal, Head of Product, Merchant Acquisition & Growth at DoorDash. “AI-powered tools are built to take everyday tasks off operators’ plates, allowing restaurants to focus on what matters most—delivering great food and service. We're excited to help drive more orders, save time, and support continued growth for our restaurant partners.”''</blockquote>As we have seen earlier higher profit margins has caught Doordash's attention. Since they also make more money from users seeing results that may resemble the food that will be ordered as a first result. However this tool can be used nefariously like how ghost kitchens used it to falsely advertise the quality and resemblance of the food being shown to the consumers of the app. It may be important to exercise caution from now on against actors that would leverage this tool against the consumer especially since there seems to be nothing in place to warn the consumer that the current item that is being viewed was generated by their AI tool. This leaves an extremely high risk that a consumer may be unsatisfied with an order because it did not match the description or the photo being listed on Doordash.

===Settling lawsuits due to unlawful business practices<ref name=":2" />===

==== Class-action lawsuit for misclassifying workers (2017) ====
A class-action litigation suit was filed for Doordash in allegedly labeling delivery workers in California and Massachusetts as independent contractors. An agreement was later reached in 2022 where Doordash payed out $100 million dollars. $61 million would be going to the effected 900,000+ drivers in both states, paying approximately $130 dollars per driver; with the other $28 million going to the lawyers.<ref name=":13">{{Cite web |last=Whitney |first=Kimball |date=2021-09-01 |title=DoorDash Settlement Would Pay a Paltry $130 to Workers Instead of Making Them Employees |url=https://gizmodo.com/doordash-settlement-would-pay-a-paltry-130-to-workers-1847586519 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-07 |website=Gizmodo}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Maeve |first=Allsup |date=2021-12-22 |title=DoorDash $100 Million Driver Settlement Tentatively Approved |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/doordash-100-million-driver-settlement-tentatively-approved |url-status=live |access-date=2025-06-07 |website=Bloomberg Law}}</ref> A quite minor sum for Doordash considering their CEO got payed $413 million dollars just the year before the settlement.<ref name=":13" />

"<blockquote>
=== Class-action lawsuit for misclassifying workers (2017) ===
In 2017, a class-action lawsuit was filed against DoorDash for allegedly misclassifying delivery drivers in California and Massachusetts as independent contractors. In 2022, a tentative settlement was reached in which DoorDash would pay $100 million total, with $61 million going to over 900,000 drivers, paying out just over $130 per driver, and $28 million for the lawyers. Gizmodo criticized the settlement, noting that the $413 million that DoorDash CEO Tony Xu received the previous year was one of the largest CEO compensation packages of all time.

=== Data breach lawsuit (2019) ===
On May 4, 2019, DoorDash confirmed 4.9 million customers, delivery workers and merchants had sensitive information stolen via a data breach. Those who joined the platform after April 5, 2018, were unaffected by the breach. A class-action lawsuit for the breach was filed against DoorDash in October 2019.

=== Withholding of tips and subsequent class-action lawsuits (2019) ===
In July 2019, the company's tipping policy was criticized by ''The New York Times'', and later ''The Verge'' and ''Vox'' and ''Gothamist''. Drivers receive a guaranteed minimum per order that is paid by DoorDash by default. When a customer added a tip, instead of going directly to the driver, it first went to the company to cover the guaranteed minimum. Drivers then only directly received the part of the tip that exceeded the guaranteed minimum per order.

In January 2020, it was reported that DoorDash had lied about skimming tips from its drivers, causing them to earn an average of $1.45 an hour after expenses, and that after the company had allegedly overhauled its tipping system, DoorDash was still manipulating per-delivery payouts at the expense of drivers.

A DoorDash customer filed a class action lawsuit against the company for its "materially false and misleading" tipping policy. The case was referred to arbitration in August 2020. Under pressure, the company revised its policy. The company settled a lawsuit with District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine for $2.5 million, with funds going to deliverers, the government, and to charity.

=== 2020 antitrust litigation ===
In April 2020, in the case of ''Davitashvili v. GrubHub Inc.'' DoorDash, Grubhub, Postmates, and Uber Eats were accused of monopolistic power by only listing restaurants on their apps if the restaurant owners signed contracts which include clauses that require prices be the same for dine-in customers as for customers receiving delivery. The plaintiffs stated that this arrangement increases the cost for dine-in customers, as they are required to subsidize the cost of delivery; and that the apps charge "exorbitant" fees, which range from 13% to 40% of revenue, while the average restaurant's profit ranges from 3% to 9% of revenue. The lawsuit seeks treble damages, including for overcharges, since April 14, 2016, for dine-in and delivery customers in the United States at restaurants using the defendants’ delivery apps. Although several preliminary documents in the case have now been filed, a trial date has not yet been set.

=== Driver strike for tip transparency (2021) ===
In July 2021, DoorDash drivers went on strike to protest lack of tip transparency and to ask for higher pay. At the time of the strike, and, as of June 2022, DoorDash did not allow drivers to see the full tip amounts prior to accepting a delivery in the app. If customers tip over a set amount for the order total, Doordash hides a portion of the tip until the delivery is complete. The strike occurred after DoorDash rewrote its code to cut off access to Para, a third-party app that drivers had been using to see the full tip amounts.

=== Litigation for illegal unauthorized restaurant listing (2021) ===
In May 2021, DoorDash was criticized for unauthorized listings of restaurants who had not given permission to appear on the app. The company was sued by Lona's Lil Eats in St. Louis, with the lawsuit claiming that DoorDash had listed them without permission, then prevented any orders to the restaurant from going through and redirecting customers to other restaurants instead, because Lona's was "too far away," when in reality it had not paid DoorDash a fee for listing. This aspect of DoorDash's business practice is illegal in California.

=== Lawsuit by the city of Chicago (2021) ===
In August 2021, the city of Chicago sued DoorDash and GrubHub. According to Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot, the companies broke the law by using "unfair and deceptive tactics to take advantage of restaurants and consumers who were struggling to stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic." DoorDash and GrubHub denied the suit's merits.

=== Class-action lawsuit (2023) ===
DoorDash has been accused of charging users of iPhone more than users on the Android platform. User testing claimed to show several instances of various fees and delivery charges being higher when using an Apple device. DoorDash denied these allegations in response to the ongoing US$1 billion class-action suit.

=== Lawsuit by the city of Seattle (2023) ===
In August 2023, DoorDash was obligated to pay its drivers and the city of Seattle a total of $1.6 million. It was found that the platform made it difficult for users to request paid time off. DoorDash is to pay $1.1 million towards safe and sick time credits, $500k directly to drivers and an additional $8,500 in city fees.

=== Privacy lawsuit by the state of California (2024) ===
In February 2024, after being found to have illegally sold personal data, DoorDash was obligated to pay a $375,000 civil penalty as well as to begin complying with privacy laws it had been shirking, namely CCPA and CalOPPA.

=== Class-action lawsuit settlement (2025) ===
In 2025, DoorDash agreed to pay around $17 million for "misleading both consumers and delivery workers" with tips being docked from drivers' pay instead of directly going to drivers.</blockquote>

"<ref name=":2" />{{Placeholder box|If the company page is short enough and/or the incident is not deserving of its own page, add incidents below in sub-sections (including the points outlined in [[Consumer_Action_Taskforce:Sample/Incident/Help|the incident help page]]) without linking/creating an incident page.

If the company has various incidents listed and/or this page is getting too long, create subsections linking to each incident while linking to the main article and including a short summary. To link to the page use the "Hatnote" or "Main" templates.

If the company has numerous incidents then format them in a table (see [[Amazon]] for an example). }}

==Products==

===Dashpass (2018 - Present)===
A premium program offered by Door Dash. This program offers free delivery on orders greater than $12 along with reduced service fees for deliveries. By paying the subscription price Doordash advertises this program as a cost saving measure for consumers that use their app frequently. This offer however has been subject to a variety of criticism. One of the more popular cases being hit with a cease-and-desist letter from DC attorney general for charging more than 15% on commissions to make up the losses of the companies free delivery policy with Dashpass.<ref name=":1" />
==See also==
{{Placeholder box|Link to relevant theme articles or companies with similar incidents.}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]

Swiggy and Zomato refuse to refund customers for cancelled orders

2025-05-26T09:52:53Z

Vandetta: uh overhaul a bunch of stuff, add incident template to the page, add some references, still needs touchups

{{StubNotice}}

Indian food and grocery ordering companies Zomato and Swiggy refuse to refund their customers if they cancel their order. This has been noted to occur when the customers pay in advance for their food orders (prepaid orders).

== Background ==
While Swiggy and Zomato may be competitors, they have often worked together on joint startups and collaborations with each other despite competing for market share.<ref>{{Cite web |last=TOI Business Desk |date=2024-11-13 |title='Couldn't have asked for better company': Zomato CEO's heartfelt message as rival Swiggy makes market debut |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/couldnt-have-asked-for-better-company-zomato-ceos-heartfelt-message-as-rival-swiggy-makes-market-debut/articleshow/115248238.cms |url-status=live |access-date=2025-05-26 |website=indiatimes}}</ref> It is unclear as to why both businesses decided to make similar policies of withholding refunds at relatively the same time. But, it has been subject to backlash by both users and consumer protections of India.
{{Placeholder box|Information about the product/service history to provide the necessary context surrounding the incident}}

== Withholding Refunds for Canceled Orders ==
The [https://www.swiggy.com/refund-policy cancellation policy of Swiggy] states that they may withhold the refunds if a prepaid customer cancels their order deeming such cancellation a "breach of contract".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bansal |first=Aakriti |date=22 May 2025 |title=Why the CCPA Is Questioning Zomato and Swiggy’s Approach to Refunds & Cancellations |url=https://www.medianama.com/2025/05/223-ccpa-probes-zomato-swiggy-cancellation-refund-policies/ |url-status=live |access-date=26 May 2025 |website=Medianama}}</ref>

The [https://www.zomato.com/policies/terms-of-service/ terms of service of Zomato] similarly calls such cancellation an "Authorization Breach" for which they claim the right to withhold the refund amount.

This has violated consumer rights of India in the following ways:

=== Lack of transparency when ordering ===
This information is not shown to the customer when they are paying for their order in advance. This information is hidden in the cancellation policy page or terms and conditions pages of the apps that most customers of the apps do not usually click on as it is written in a lengthy and legal manner. A quick but imperfect word count of the length of Zomato's terms of service page using two command-line tools available on a GNU/Linux system (pandoc -f html -t markdown "https://www.zomato.com/policies/terms-of-service/" | wc -w) tells us that the page contains approximately 22,479 words. The firefox browser's reader mode also estimates an average reader to take 116-148 minutes to read through Zomato's terms of service page from start to finish.

=== Unclear term violations ===
There is no exact definition of what may constitute an action that can be deemed "breach of contract" or "Authorization Breach" provided within the policy. This gives Swiggy and Zomato full discretion to decide what actions may or may not fall under the term. There is no way for the customers or the restaurants who receive the order to challenge the decision of Swiggy or Zomato to not refund the customer under this policy.

These policies also negatively affect the restaurant owners as they receive no compensation for a cancelled order and further have their payouts reduced by the sum of refunds for cancelled orders. The food prepared by the restaurants before the order is cancelled also goes to waste.

== [Company]'s response ==
{{Placeholder box|If applicable, add the proposed solution to the issues by the company.}}

== Lawsuit ==
An inquiry has been instituted to review these practices by the Central Consumer Protection Authority of India; and may take legal action against both companies for unfair terms.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Burgula |first=Pavan |date=21 May 2025 |title=CCPA may ask Zomato, Swiggy to revise cancellation policies |url=https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/companies/ccpa-may-ask-zomato-swiggy-to-revise-cancellation-policies-13038009.html |url-status=live |access-date=25 May 2025 |website=Moneycontrol}}</ref> As of now there currently is no active case against both companies for this type of policy and will remain until further notice.

== Consumer response ==
{{Placeholder box|Summary and key issues of prevailing sentiment from the consumers and commentators that can be documented via articles, emails to support, reviews and forum posts.}}

== References ==
<references />

Doordash

2025-05-20T06:16:11Z

Vandetta: fix double holding lol

Doordash

2025-05-20T06:12:06Z

Vandetta: finish off false AI adverts

Doordash

2025-05-18T03:48:07Z

Vandetta: expand further topics, outline near completion for the doordash article

Better Way Electronics

2025-05-16T06:44:11Z

Vandetta: minor tweaks grammar

{{StubNotice}}{{InfoboxCompany
| Name = {{PAGENAME}}
| Type =Private
| Founded =2018
| Industry =Technology repair
| Official Website =https://betterwayelectronics.com.au/
| Logo =BWE logo.png
}}Better Way Electronics (BWE) is an Australian company founded in 2018 by Louie Tahiri<ref>Citation needed</ref> (Back then: Luan Tahiraj<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-12 |title=ABN History for Louie Tahiri |url=https://abr.business.gov.au/AbnHistory/View?id=63008860471 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250512123652/https://abr.business.gov.au/AbnHistory/View?id=63008860471 |archive-date=2025-05-12 |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=Australian Business Register}}</ref>). It is focused around technology repair, and its tech diagnostic software was prolifically used by tech repair shops globally.

==Consumer-impact summary==
{{Placeholder box|Overview of concerns that arise from the company's conduct regarding (if applicable):
* User freedom
* User privacy
* Business model
* Market control}}

*User freedom:
*User Privacy: Known to spy on devices of individuals and users of software distributed by BWE. The owner of the company has documented criminal history of breaching devices of underage individuals for purposes of pedophilia<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rossmann |first=Louis |date=May 11, 2025 |title=BwE: Enjoy and learn from the master 👊🇺🇲🔥 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFe5LiACN9k&pp=wgIGCgQQAhgB |access-date=May 12, 2025 |website=YouTube}}</ref>.
*Business model:
*Market control:

==Incidents==
{{Placeholder box|Add one-paragraph summaries of incidents below in sub-sections, which link to each incident's main article while linking to the main article and including a short summary. It is acceptable to create an incident summary before the main page for an incident has been created. To link to the page use the "Hatnote" or "Main" templates.

If the company has numerous incidents then format them in a table (see [[Amazon]] for an example). }}

This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the [[:Category:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|{{PAGENAME}} category]].
===Example incident one (''date'')===
{{Main|link to the main article}}
Short summary of the incident (could be the same as the summary preceding the article).

===Example incident two (''date'')===
...

==Products==
{{Placeholder box|This is a list of the company's product lines '''with articles on this wiki'''.
* [[Example product line one]] (release date): Short summary of the product's incidents.
* [[Example product line two]] (release date):}}

==See also==
{{Placeholder box|Link to relevant theme articles or companies with similar incidents.}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]

Better Way Electronics

2025-05-16T06:40:42Z

Vandetta: tone fix of user privacy as discussed in #general

{{StubNotice}}{{InfoboxCompany
| Name = {{PAGENAME}}
| Type =Private
| Founded =2018
| Industry =Technology repair
| Official Website =https://betterwayelectronics.com.au/
| Logo =BWE logo.png
}}Better Way Electronics (BWE) is an Australian company founded in 2018 by Louie Tahiri<ref>Citation needed</ref> (Back then: Luan Tahiraj<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-12 |title=ABN History for Louie Tahiri |url=https://abr.business.gov.au/AbnHistory/View?id=63008860471 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250512123652/https://abr.business.gov.au/AbnHistory/View?id=63008860471 |archive-date=2025-05-12 |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=Australian Business Register}}</ref>). It is focused around technology repair, and its tech diagnostic software was prolifically used by tech repair shops globally.

==Consumer-impact summary==
{{Placeholder box|Overview of concerns that arise from the company's conduct regarding (if applicable):
* User freedom
* User privacy
* Business model
* Market control}}

*User freedom:
*User Privacy: Known to spy on devices of individuals and users of software distributed by BWE. The Owner of the company has recorded legal history of breaching devices of underage individuals for purposes of pedophilia<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rossmann |first=Louis |date=May 11, 2025 |title=BwE: Enjoy and learn from the master 👊🇺🇲🔥 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFe5LiACN9k&pp=wgIGCgQQAhgB |access-date=May 12, 2025 |website=YouTube}}</ref>.
*Business model:
*Market control:

==Incidents==
{{Placeholder box|Add one-paragraph summaries of incidents below in sub-sections, which link to each incident's main article while linking to the main article and including a short summary. It is acceptable to create an incident summary before the main page for an incident has been created. To link to the page use the "Hatnote" or "Main" templates.

If the company has numerous incidents then format them in a table (see [[Amazon]] for an example). }}

This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the [[:Category:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|{{PAGENAME}} category]].
===Example incident one (''date'')===
{{Main|link to the main article}}
Short summary of the incident (could be the same as the summary preceding the article).

===Example incident two (''date'')===
...

==Products==
{{Placeholder box|This is a list of the company's product lines '''with articles on this wiki'''.
* [[Example product line one]] (release date): Short summary of the product's incidents.
* [[Example product line two]] (release date):}}

==See also==
{{Placeholder box|Link to relevant theme articles or companies with similar incidents.}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]

Doordash

2025-05-14T07:51:51Z

Vandetta: Expand incidents section

Doordash

2025-05-09T08:09:07Z

Vandetta: - added Pocketing driver app tips to payout other dashers, -minor data breach table formatting tweaks

Doordash

2025-04-15T00:36:57Z

Vandetta: Adding restaurants to their platform without other business's consent: added elaboration on the section

Value based pricing

2025-04-11T23:46:24Z

Vandetta: flush out the topic more complete what was left of my outline | THIS ARTICLE STILL NEEDS SOURCES!! but other than that this should suffice for now

VBP (value based pricing) also known as VOP (value optimized pricing) is a practice where a business sets a price of a product or service based on it's estimated value to a specific consumer. This practice effectively gauges how much the consumer values what they are paying for before resorting to a competitor or creating their own solution.

==How it works==
A consumer subscribes to service '''x''' for $4.00, the service offers movies, tv shows etc... The company makes a decision to increase profits for shareholders based on collecting info on how users used the app, along with collecting recent purchases from credit card companies to build a profile on specific groups of their user-base that are currently subscribed to them. Some consumers are shocked to find out the subscription has risen from $4.00 to $6.50 despite service '''x''' not providing any new features or content to justify the increase. But instead of switching those targeted consumers pay the bill anyways because it is currently not worth their time to unsubscribe or switch to a competing service at the time.

==Why it is a problem==

===Artificial price raises===
When renewing a subscription or purchasing an item, would you care it was subject to price hikes regardless to how much profit the company is already making? Certain services may have collected information about you that helps them identify how much you are willing to pay them or use 3rd party tools to approximate how much to charge you the consumer specifically.

===Price gouging individual or specific consumer groups===
With specific apps that you buy stuff from may collect your data without your consent. This allows companies to charge more for the same items that you may buy again later on. These apps likely also share this type of purchase history with other providers that share similar products for profit.

===Targeted smart pricing with AI===
When doing any type of transaction online or in person there could be some assistant watching you. This can vary from your appearance, type of diction, clicking patterns, chat logs with in the help sidebar, how often products are viewed and how frequently your looking at them. by automating all of this into a weighted model can be used to target users automatically by assuming their income bracket and adjusting prices accordingly instead of paying a marketing department do it for them. Smart pricing is the new method many companies embrace to maximize profit while reducing expenditures

==Examples==
Walmart & Kroger plans of using smart pricing on it's in person retail products

Cloudflare charging you higher rates for the same plan as other users

Doordash charging users hidden fees based on how they use the app and what device they were ordering from
==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Common terms]]

Value based pricing

2025-04-11T16:57:10Z

Vandetta: change Tado example for a more clearer Doordash example

VBP (value based pricing) also known as VOP (value optimized pricing) is a practice where a business sets a price of a product or service based on it's estimated value to a specific consumer. This practice effectively gauges how much the consumer values what they are paying for before resorting to a competitor or creating their own solution.

==How it works==
A consumer subscribes to service '''x''' for $4.00, the service offers movies, tv shows etc... The company makes a decision to increase profits for shareholders based on collecting info on how users used the app, along with collecting recent purchases from credit card companies to build a profile on specific groups of their user-base that are currently subscribed to them. Some consumers are shocked to find out the subscription has risen from $4.00 to $6.50 despite service '''x''' not providing any new features or content to justify the increase. But instead of switching those targeted consumers pay the bill anyways because it is currently not worth their time to unsubscribe or switch to a competing service at the time.

==Why it is a problem==

===Artificial price raises===
When renewing a subscription or purchasing an item, would you care it was subject to price hikes regardless to how much profit the company is already making? Certain services may have collected information about you that helps them identify how much you are willing to pay them or use 3rd party tools to approximate how much to charge you the consumer specifically.

===Price gouging individual consumers on an individual basis===
With specific apps that you buy stuff from may collect your data without your consent. This allows companies to charge more for the same items that you may buy again later on. These apps likely also share this type of purchase history with other providers that share similar products for profit.

===Targeted smart pricing with AI===
{{Placeholder box|If the theme or common term is positive for the consumer this section can be omitted.

===Point 1===

===Point 2===
}}

==Examples==
Walmart & Kroger using smart pricing on it's products when checking out items

Cloudflare charging you higher rates for the same plan as other users

Doordash charging users hidden fees based on how they use the app and what device they were ordering from {{Placeholder box|Some examples of {{PAGENAME}} include:

*
*
*}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Common terms]]

Value based pricing

2025-04-11T16:54:32Z

Vandetta: expand on the topic

VBP (value based pricing) also known as VOP (value optimized pricing) is a practice where a business sets a price of a product or service based on it's estimated value to a specific consumer. This practice effectively gauges how much the consumer values what they are paying for before resorting to a competitor or creating their own solution.

==How it works==
A consumer subscribes to service '''x''' for $4.00, the service offers movies, tv shows etc... The company makes a decision to increase profits for shareholders based on collecting info on how users used the app, along with collecting recent purchases from credit card companies to build a profile on specific groups of their user-base that are currently subscribed to them. Some consumers are shocked to find out the subscription has risen from $4.00 to $6.50 despite service '''x''' not providing any new features or content to justify the increase. But instead of switching those targeted consumers pay the bill anyways because it is currently not worth their time to unsubscribe or switch to a competing service at the time.

==Why it is a problem==

===Artificial price raises===
When renewing a subscription or purchasing an item, would you care it was subject to price hikes regardless to how much profit the company is already making? Certain services may have collected information about you that helps them identify how much you are willing to pay them or use 3rd party tools to approximate how much to charge you the consumer specifically.

===Price gouging individual consumers on an individual basis===
With specific apps that you buy stuff from may collect your data without your consent. This allows companies to charge more for the same items that you may buy again later on. These apps likely also share this type of purchase history with other providers that share similar products for profit.

===Targeted smart pricing with AI===
{{Placeholder box|If the theme or common term is positive for the consumer this section can be omitted.

===Point 1===

===Point 2===
}}

==Examples==
Walmart & Kroger using smart pricing on it's products when checking out items

Cloudflare charging you higher rates for the same plan as other users

Tado's app tricking users into a fake paywall for their thermostat {{Placeholder box|Some examples of {{PAGENAME}} include:

*
*
*}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Common terms]]

Value based pricing

2025-04-11T12:04:31Z

Vandetta: create the topic page

RepairShopr

2025-04-11T11:35:19Z

Vandetta: phrase change

{{InfoboxCompany
| Name = RepairShopr
| Type = Private
| Founded = 2012
| Industry = Software Services
| Official Website = https://www.repairshopr.com/
| Logo = Repairshopr.png
}}

[https://www.repairshopr.com/ '''RepairShopr'''] is a US [[Software as a service|software-as-a-service]] (SaaS) platform for repair shops created by Troy Anderson in 2012.

==Consumer impact summary==
Over the years RepairShopr has declined significantly in features and consumer friendly practices. This can be seen by the following:

*Storing data usage on user interactions for future AI tools
*Malicious Opt-out policies ''specifically for training data''
*Higher costs with decreased functionality
*Lack of transparency for new enforced terms

==Controversies==

===AI tools and data usage===
''Main Article:'' [[RepairShopr Data Privacy#AI tools and data usage|AI tools and data usage]]

As of the latest terms of RepairShopr has granted itself the right to "user content" and "usage information" to train future AI models. While the parent company Syncro claims no AI features are in the works. Many consumers argue that this term allows a backdoor into adding and training these types of tools whenever they please. Businesses and consumers alike are concerned with the lack of privacy and storing such sensitive information to indirectly profit off of.

===Opt-out policies===
''Main Article:'' [[RepairShopr Data Privacy#Opt-out policies|Opt-out policies]]

RepairShopr's terms require cooperation's to Opt-out of data collection. Meaning that unless the company takes the proactive steps to ensure their data won't be used by Syncro they automatically accept. Not only is it one sided but is also operated on a "go-forward" basis retaining all previous information before the business opted out of the data collection.

===Increased costs with decline in functionality===
''Main Article:'' [[RepairShopr Data Privacy#Increased costs and decline in functionality|Increased costs and decline in functionality]]

After the acquisition by Syncro RepairShopr's subscriptions fees have risen by 40%. Users have pointed out worse functionality of the platform since then including basic functionalities like email communications with customers along with frequent downtime outages undermining the reliability as an effective tool for business.

===Transparency and communication===
''Main Article:'' [[RepairShopr Data Privacy#Transparency and communication|Transparency and communication]]

By late December of 2024 a notification went out to users. This policy had been enacted weeks before the notice went out to the users on the platform. Customers scrutinized RepairShopr's late notice being unable to deliver changes when new terms were enacted without the users consent. This update had also been buried under a bunch of non-critical updates obscuring many people from being able to see what was actually changed.

==Products/Services==

==References==
[[Category:RepairShopr]]

Doordash

2025-04-11T11:19:06Z

Vandetta: roll out value based pricing term

Doordash

2025-04-11T11:14:36Z

Vandetta: add AI menu advertising topic (with sources)

Doordash

2025-04-10T17:13:17Z

Vandetta: correct the data exposed in the breach

Doordash

2025-04-10T17:12:18Z

Vandetta: fix phrasing up to the chart

Doordash

2025-04-10T17:10:05Z

Vandetta: fill out more of the inccident page

Doordash

2025-04-09T14:42:57Z

Vandetta: expand on one incident add source more points of interest....

Doordash

2025-04-09T14:04:37Z

Vandetta: add source from the discord, add additional subject covering lawsuits being settled and ones that are still currently pending

Doordash

2025-04-08T13:27:36Z

Vandetta: add Dashpass info more references the wiki about DD is PACKED like holy bro it definitely needs to be checked out

{{InfoboxCompany
| Name = Doordash
| Type =Public
| Founded =2013
| Industry =Food Delivery
| Official Website =https://www.doordash.com/
| Logo =Doordash.png
}}[https://www.doordash.com/ DoorDash] was founded in June 2013, initially starting as PaloAltoDelivery.com before rebranding to Doordash. The company was founded by three Stanford students Tony Xu, Andy Fang, and Stanley Tang. Its focus is delivery on a wide variety of items, some items include fresh meals from nearby restaurants, groceries, convenience store items, OTC (Over the Counter) medicines, flowers, etc... This service mainly operates in locations within the U.S. (United States), Canada, and Australia.

==Consumer-impact summary==
Over the years of operation DoorDash has found itself in many controversial consumer and workers violations. Some of the most notable being:

*Withholding contractors funds (up to weeks or months) for delivering orders
*Lack of Business transparency especially with delivery fees confusing the consumer
*Adding restaurants to their platform to order without the business's consent
*Using driver tips to cover the cost of other deliveries
*Taking advantage of financially challenged consumers by using [https://wiki.rossmanngroup.com/wiki/Buy_Now_Pay_Later BNPL] (Buy Now Pay Later) services
*Subsidizing Dashpass subscriptions by passing commission rates onto business's

==Incidents==

===Withholding funds for contracted drivers & restaurants<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Glenn |first=Lindey |date=2025-03-31 |title=DoorDash’s $1 BILLION Lawsuit: Exposing DoorDash’s Predatory Business Model |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-gPld7e3do |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Youtube}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-04-08 |title=When do Dashers get paid? |url=https://help.doordash.com/dashers/s/article/When-do-Dashers-get-paid?language=en_US |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=Doordash}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Coban |first=Erkin |date=2025-04-08 |title=DoorDash Fees and Commissions for Restaurants: Detailed 2025 Guide - Restaurant Success Blog {{!}} Menuviel |url=https://blog.menuviel.com/doordash-fees-and-commissions-for-restaurants/ |url-status=live |website=Menuviel}}</ref>===

===Charging users multiple unclear "fees" for delivery<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mayer |first=Chloe |date=2023-06-09 |title=DoorDash Faces $1B Lawsuit Over Delivery Fees: 'Dupes Naive Consumers' - Newsweek |url=https://www.newsweek.com/lawsuit-doordash-sue-iphone-android-1805387 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Newsweek}}</ref>===

===Adding restaurants to their platform without other business's consent<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-04-08 |title=DoorDash - Wikipedia |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DoorDash |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=Wikipedia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Pershan |first=Caleb |date=2020-01-29 |title=Delivery Apps Keep Adding Restaurants Without Their Consent - Eater |url=https://www.eater.com/2020/1/29/21113416/grubhub-seamless-kin-khao-online-delivery-mistake-doordash |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=EATER}}</ref>===

===Pocketing driver app tips to payout other dashers<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Calvario |first=Liz |date=2025-02-25 |title=DoorDash Settlement: Millions to Be Paid to Drivers For Pocketed Tips |url=https://www.today.com/food/news/doordash-settlement-payout-rcna193728 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=TODAY}}</ref>===

===Using BNPL services to target the financially challenged consumers<ref>{{Cite web |last=Steinberg |first=Brooke |date=2025-03-24 |title=DoorDash now offering eat now, pay later payments through Klarna |url=https://nypost.com/2025/03/24/lifestyle/DoorDash-now-offering-eat-now-pay-later-payments-through-klarna/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=New York Post}}</ref>===

===Using Dashpass subscription model to surcharge business's on order commissions<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Kelso |first=Alicia |date=2020-12-07 |title=DoorDash hit with cease-and-desist letter from DC attorney general {{!}} Restaurant Dive |url=https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/doordash-could-use-dashpash-as-a-workaround-to-delivery-fee-caps/591701/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Restaurant Dive}}</ref>===
{{Placeholder box|If the company page is short enough and/or the incident is not deserving of its own page, add incidents below in sub-sections (including the points outlined in [[Consumer_Action_Taskforce:Sample/Incident/Help|the incident help page]]) without linking/creating an incident page.

If the company has various incidents listed and/or this page is getting too long, create subsections linking to each incident while linking to the main article and including a short summary. To link to the page use the "Hatnote" or "Main" templates.

If the company has numerous incidents then format them in a table (see [[Amazon]] for an example). }}

==Products==

===Dashpass (2018 - Present)===
A premium program offered by Door Dash. This program offers free delivery on orders greater than $12 along with reduced service fees for deliveries. By paying the subscription price Doordash advertises this program as a cost saving measure for consumers that use their app frequently. This offer however has been subject to a variety of criticism. One of the more popular cases being hit with cease-and-desist letter from DC attorney general for charging more than 15% on commissions to make up the losses from the companies free delivery promised with Dashpass.<ref name=":1" />{{Placeholder box|This is a list of the company's product lines '''with articles on this wiki'''.
* [[Example product line one]] (release date): Short summary of the product's incidents.
* [[Example product line two]] (release date):}}

==See also==
{{Placeholder box|Link to relevant theme articles or companies with similar incidents.}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]

Doordash

2025-04-08T08:13:50Z

Vandetta: add more reference links

{{InfoboxCompany
| Name = Doordash
| Type =Public
| Founded =2013
| Industry =Food Delivery
| Official Website =https://www.doordash.com/
| Logo =Doordash.png
}}[https://www.doordash.com/ DoorDash] was founded in June 2013, initially starting as PaloAltoDelivery.com before rebranding to Doordash. The company was founded by three Stanford students Tony Xu, Andy Fang, and Stanley Tang. Its focus is delivery on a wide variety of items, some items include fresh meals from nearby restaurants, groceries, convenience store items, OTC (Over the Counter) medicines, flowers, etc... This service mainly operates in locations within the U.S. (United States), Canada, and Australia.

==Consumer-impact summary==
Over the years of operation DoorDash has found itself in many controversial consumer and workers violations. Some of the most notable being:

*Withholding contractors funds (up to weeks or months) for delivering orders
*Lack of Business transparency especially with delivery fees confusing the consumer
*Adding restaurants to their platform to order without the business's consent
*Using driver tips to cover the cost of other deliveries
*Taking advantage of financially challenged consumers by using [https://wiki.rossmanngroup.com/wiki/Buy_Now_Pay_Later BNPL] (Buy Now Pay Later) services
*Subsidizing Dashpass subscriptions by passing commission rates onto business's

==Incidents==

===Withholding funds for contracted drivers & restaurants<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Glenn |first=Lindey |date=2025-03-31 |title=DoorDash’s $1 BILLION Lawsuit: Exposing DoorDash’s Predatory Business Model |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-gPld7e3do |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Youtube}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-04-08 |title=When do Dashers get paid? |url=https://help.doordash.com/dashers/s/article/When-do-Dashers-get-paid?language=en_US |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=Doordash}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Coban |first=Erkin |date=2025-04-08 |title=DoorDash Fees and Commissions for Restaurants: Detailed 2025 Guide - Restaurant Success Blog {{!}} Menuviel |url=https://blog.menuviel.com/doordash-fees-and-commissions-for-restaurants/ |url-status=live |website=Menuviel}}</ref>===

===Charging users multiple unclear "fees" for delivery<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mayer |first=Chloe |date=2023-06-09 |title=DoorDash Faces $1B Lawsuit Over Delivery Fees: 'Dupes Naive Consumers' - Newsweek |url=https://www.newsweek.com/lawsuit-doordash-sue-iphone-android-1805387 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Newsweek}}</ref>===

===Adding restaurants to their platform without other business's consent<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pershan |first=Caleb |date=2020-01-29 |title=Delivery Apps Keep Adding Restaurants Without Their Consent - Eater |url=https://www.eater.com/2020/1/29/21113416/grubhub-seamless-kin-khao-online-delivery-mistake-doordash |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=EATER}}</ref>===

===Pocketing driver tips to payout other dashers for deliveries with little or no tips<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Calvario |first=Liz |date=2025-02-25 |title=DoorDash Settlement: Millions to Be Paid to Drivers For Pocketed Tips |url=https://www.today.com/food/news/doordash-settlement-payout-rcna193728 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=TODAY}}</ref>===

===Using BNPL services to target the financially challenged consumers<ref>{{Cite web |last=Steinberg |first=Brooke |date=2025-03-24 |title=DoorDash now offering eat now, pay later payments through Klarna |url=https://nypost.com/2025/03/24/lifestyle/DoorDash-now-offering-eat-now-pay-later-payments-through-klarna/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=New York Post}}</ref>===

===Using Dashpass subscription model to surcharge business's on order commissions<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kelso |first=Alicia |date=2020-12-07 |title=DoorDash hit with cease-and-desist letter from DC attorney general {{!}} Restaurant Dive |url=https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/doordash-could-use-dashpash-as-a-workaround-to-delivery-fee-caps/591701/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Restaurant Dive}}</ref>===
{{Placeholder box|If the company page is short enough and/or the incident is not deserving of its own page, add incidents below in sub-sections (including the points outlined in [[Consumer_Action_Taskforce:Sample/Incident/Help|the incident help page]]) without linking/creating an incident page.

If the company has various incidents listed and/or this page is getting too long, create subsections linking to each incident while linking to the main article and including a short summary. To link to the page use the "Hatnote" or "Main" templates.

If the company has numerous incidents then format them in a table (see [[Amazon]] for an example). }}

==Products==

===Dashpass (2018)===
{{Placeholder box|This is a list of the company's product lines '''with articles on this wiki'''.
* [[Example product line one]] (release date): Short summary of the product's incidents.
* [[Example product line two]] (release date):}}

==See also==
{{Placeholder box|Link to relevant theme articles or companies with similar incidents.}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]

Battery Health Assistance

2025-04-05T05:15:31Z

Vandetta: Analysis: more fluidity changes

The Google Pixel 9a is an Android smartphone designed, developed and marketed by [[Google]]. The planned release date is April 10 in US, Canada and UK<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Brecher |first=Hannes |last2=Fisher |first2=Jacob |date=2 Apr 2025 |title=Google Pixel 9a comes with new feature that weakens the battery after just 200 charging cycles |url=https://www.notebookcheck.net/Google-Pixel-9a-comes-with-new-feature-that-weakens-the-battery-after-just-200-charging-cycles.991310.0.html |url-status=live |access-date=2 Apr 2025 |website=Notebookcheck}}</ref>. On March 31, 2025, Google announced its Battery Health Assistance<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=1 Apr 2025 |title=Understand your Pixel battery |url=https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/15738128 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250404092737/https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/15738128 |archive-date=4 Apr 2025 |access-date=4 Apr 2025 |website=[[Google]]}}</ref> to users:<blockquote>For Pixel 9a:

Lithium-ion batteries are consumable components that eventually require replacement. Your Pixel 9a will receive a '''software update''' that automatically helps manage the long term health and performance of its battery as it ages. This software will '''adjust the battery’s maximum voltage''' in stages that start at 200 charge cycles and continue gradually until 1000 charge cycles to help stabilize battery performance and aging.

You may notice small decreases in your battery’s runtime as your battery ages. Battery health assistance will also '''tune the phone’s charging speed''' based '''on adjusted capacity'''. You may notice a slight change in battery charging performance. Battery health assistance settings on Pixel 9a '''aren’t customizable by the user.'''</blockquote>

==Background==

===Pixel 4a Battery Performance Program<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 Jan 2025 |title=Pixel 4a Battery Performance Program |url=https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/15701861 |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250107002112/https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/15701861 |archive-date=7 Jan 2025 |access-date=25 Mar 2025 |website=[[Google]]}}</ref>===
Google is known for reducing the charging voltage of Pixel 4a from 4.4V to 3.95V via a software update, resulting in a 44% drop in theoretical usable charge<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Wojciechowska |first=Kamila |date=5 Feb 2025 |title=There is even more to the Google Pixel 4a's horrific battery update than we thought |url=https://www.androidauthority.com/pixel-4a-battery-update-explained-3522417/ |url-status=live |access-date=4 Apr 2025 |website=AndroidAuthority}}</ref>. Pixel 4a users report much higher real-world runtime loss.

==Potential effects of software update==
Google has not provided detailed technical explanations for the update, the adjusted battery's maximum voltage and charging speed are yet to known.

===Battery Performance issues===
Charging the battery at a lower voltage will not fully charge it. A partly charged battery exhibit shorter runtime. Lowering the charging voltage by 0.1V lowers the capacity by about 10%<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=25 Oct 2021 |title=BU-409: Charging Lithium-ion |url=https://batteryuniversity.com/article/bu-409-charging-lithium-ion |url-status=live |access-date=4 Apr 2025 |website=Battery University}}</ref>.

Charging the battery at a lower current will increase the charging time.

====Analysis====

*Charging the battery in shorter capacity periods leads to less runtime<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />.
*Charging the battery at lower percentages slows down battery aging<ref name=":4" />.

Both factors lead to two possible outcomes that need to be differentiated very clearly to prevent misunderstanding, confusion or worse. Battery usage practices:

*When the user recharges the battery to a lower percentage frequently ''(only charging to 100% when necessary)''. Results in better battery health compared to always fully charging.
*The manufacturer blocked part of the available capacity ''after'' a certain amount of charging cycles. Meaning that after the user has degraded a certain amount of the battery the manufacturer artificially limits it's capabilities by further removing a second portion of the battery. Leaving the remaining amount available to degrade faster than normal.

==Possible technical rationale==

===Prolonging battery life claim===
Charging the battery at a lower percentage slows down battery degradation<ref name=":4">Xu, Bolun & Oudalov, Alexandre & Ulbig, Andreas & Andersson, Göran. (2016). Modeling of Lithium-Ion Battery Degradation for Cell Life Assessment. IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid. 99. 1-1. 10.1109/TSG.2016.2578950. </ref>, However, there are some key differences between "Charging Optimization" and the future "Battery Health Assistance":

'''Charging Optimization''' has two options, Adaptive Charging and Limit to 80%<ref>{{Cite web |title=Get the most life from your Pixel phone battery |url=https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/6090612 |url-status=live |access-date=4 Apr 2025 |website=Pixel Phone Help}}</ref>. Adaptive Charging can prolong the life of the battery by fully charging it just before the user unplugs, reducing the time spend at high charge levels. The user can select Limit to 80% option to help extend the lifespan of the battery with a drawback of a reduced runtime. The smart phone can always resume maximum available capacity should the user deselect the limit and charge it to 100%. Pixel users can '''enable and disable the feature at will'''.

'''Battery Health Assistance''' lowers the battery's maximum voltage and charging current in stages, from 200 cycles to 1000 cycles<ref name=":1" />. This is irreversible as the '''only way to use the full voltage of the battery again is to replace the battery itself'''<ref name=":0" />. This reduces runtime further as '''only part of the remaining battery capacity is available''', defeating the purpose of preserving battery health.

Google claimed that this Battery Health Assistance will be '''voluntary''' for '''previously''' launched devices<ref>{{Cite web |last=Li |first=Abner |date=31 Mar 2025 |title=Google Pixel adding ‘Battery health assistance’ for long-term use, starting with Pixel 9a |url=https://9to5google.com/2025/03/31/pixel-battery-health-assistance/ |url-status=live |access-date=4 Apr 2025 |website=9to5Google}}</ref>. It is unclear whether some or all Pixel devices released in the future will be impacted by this program.

===Potentially defective battery unit===
Concerns arise over the delayed launch date of Pixel 9a over an "an unnamed component issue", suspecting that the issue could be the battery<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mundy |first=Jon |date=20 Mar 2025 |title=Pixel 9a flaw uncovered before it even hits shops |url=https://www.techadvisor.com/article/2643405/google-pixel-9a-delayed-due-to-component-issue.html |url-status=live |access-date=4 Apr 2025 |website=Tech Advisor}}</ref>.

==Consumer reaction==

Current and former Pixel users condemn this program and compared it with Apple's "batterygate" and the Pixel 4a Battery Performance Program, saying that Battery Health Assistance is "worse"<ref>{{Cite web |title=This is worse than Apple |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/1jp883q/google_will_gradually_reduce_pixel_9a_battery/ml6m0y7/?context=3 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250405011000/https://old.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/1jp883q/google_will_gradually_reduce_pixel_9a_battery/ml6m0y7/?context=3 |archive-date=5 Apr 2025 |access-date=5 Apr 2025 |website=[[Reddit]]}}</ref> and the Pixel 4a incident is a "preview"<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 Apr 2025 |title=Pixel 9a will have battery "optimised" after 200 cycles |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Pixel4a/comments/1jpk1db/pixel_9a_will_have_battery_optimised_after_200/ |url-status=live |access-date=3 Apr 2025 |website=[[Reddit]]}}</ref>.

Users also find the wording of the support article on Google's website vague and lack of self-consistency<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 Apr 2024 |title=So they want to reduce the wear out of the battery by... doing exactly the same? What's logic behind this? |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/1jp883q/comment/mkzu6lc/ |url-status=live |access-date=2 Apr 2025 |website=[[Reddit]]}}</ref>, saying the Google will "cause the thing they are supposedly trying to prevent"<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 Apr 2025 |title=Deliberate weakening after only 200 charging cycles: Google Pixel 9a limits battery voltage according to a planned schedule |url=https://www.notebookchat.com/index.php?topic=225600.msg645716#msg645716 |url-status=live |access-date=5 Apr 2025 |website=NotebookCHECK - Notebook Forum}}</ref>.

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Google Pixel Smartphones]]

Battery Health Assistance

2025-04-05T05:01:29Z

Vandetta: Analysis: fluidity edits/rephrasing

The Google Pixel 9a is an Android smartphone designed, developed and marketed by [[Google]]. The planned release date is April 10 in US, Canada and UK<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Brecher |first=Hannes |last2=Fisher |first2=Jacob |date=2 Apr 2025 |title=Google Pixel 9a comes with new feature that weakens the battery after just 200 charging cycles |url=https://www.notebookcheck.net/Google-Pixel-9a-comes-with-new-feature-that-weakens-the-battery-after-just-200-charging-cycles.991310.0.html |url-status=live |access-date=2 Apr 2025 |website=Notebookcheck}}</ref>. On March 31, 2025, Google announced its Battery Health Assistance<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=1 Apr 2025 |title=Understand your Pixel battery |url=https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/15738128 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250404092737/https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/15738128 |archive-date=4 Apr 2025 |access-date=4 Apr 2025 |website=[[Google]]}}</ref> to users:<blockquote>For Pixel 9a:

Lithium-ion batteries are consumable components that eventually require replacement. Your Pixel 9a will receive a '''software update''' that automatically helps manage the long term health and performance of its battery as it ages. This software will '''adjust the battery’s maximum voltage''' in stages that start at 200 charge cycles and continue gradually until 1000 charge cycles to help stabilize battery performance and aging.

You may notice small decreases in your battery’s runtime as your battery ages. Battery health assistance will also '''tune the phone’s charging speed''' based '''on adjusted capacity'''. You may notice a slight change in battery charging performance. Battery health assistance settings on Pixel 9a '''aren’t customizable by the user.'''</blockquote>

==Background==

===Pixel 4a Battery Performance Program<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 Jan 2025 |title=Pixel 4a Battery Performance Program |url=https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/15701861 |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250107002112/https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/15701861 |archive-date=7 Jan 2025 |access-date=25 Mar 2025 |website=[[Google]]}}</ref>===
Google is known for reducing the charging voltage of Pixel 4a from 4.4V to 3.95V via a software update, resulting in a 44% drop in theoretical usable charge<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Wojciechowska |first=Kamila |date=5 Feb 2025 |title=There is even more to the Google Pixel 4a's horrific battery update than we thought |url=https://www.androidauthority.com/pixel-4a-battery-update-explained-3522417/ |url-status=live |access-date=4 Apr 2025 |website=AndroidAuthority}}</ref>. Pixel 4a users report much higher real-world runtime loss.

==Potential effects of software update==
Google has not provided detailed technical explanations for the update, the adjusted battery's maximum voltage and charging speed are yet to known.

===Battery Performance issues===
Charging the battery at a lower voltage will not fully charge it. A partly charged battery exhibit shorter runtime. Lowering the charging voltage by 0.1V lowers the capacity by about 10%<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=25 Oct 2021 |title=BU-409: Charging Lithium-ion |url=https://batteryuniversity.com/article/bu-409-charging-lithium-ion |url-status=live |access-date=4 Apr 2025 |website=Battery University}}</ref>.

Charging the battery at a lower current will increase the charging time.

====Analysis====

*Charging the battery in shorter capacity periods leads to less runtime<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />.
*Charging the battery at lower percentages slows down battery aging<ref name=":4" />.

Both factors lead to two possible outcomes that need to be differentiated very clearly to prevent misunderstanding, confusion or worse battery usage practices:

*When the user recharges the battery to a lower percentage frequently ''(only charging to 100% when necessary)''. Results in better battery health compared to always charging to 100%.
*The manufacturer blocked part of the available capacity ''after'' certain amount of charging cycles. Meaning that after the user has degraded a certain amount of the battery the manufacturer artificially limits it's capabilities by removing a second portion of the battery leading the remaining portion available to degrade faster.

==Possible technical rationale==

===Prolonging battery life claim===
Charging the battery at a lower percentage slows down battery degradation<ref name=":4">Xu, Bolun & Oudalov, Alexandre & Ulbig, Andreas & Andersson, Göran. (2016). Modeling of Lithium-Ion Battery Degradation for Cell Life Assessment. IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid. 99. 1-1. 10.1109/TSG.2016.2578950. </ref>, However, there are some key differences between "Charging Optimization" and the future "Battery Health Assistance":

'''Charging Optimization''' has two options, Adaptive Charging and Limit to 80%<ref>{{Cite web |title=Get the most life from your Pixel phone battery |url=https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/6090612 |url-status=live |access-date=4 Apr 2025 |website=Pixel Phone Help}}</ref>. Adaptive Charging can prolong the life of the battery by fully charging it just before the user unplugs, reducing the time spend at high charge levels. The user can select Limit to 80% option to help extend the lifespan of the battery with a drawback of a reduced runtime. The smart phone can always resume maximum available capacity should the user deselect the limit and charge it to 100%. Pixel users can '''enable and disable the feature at will'''.

'''Battery Health Assistance''' lowers the battery's maximum voltage and charging current in stages, from 200 cycles to 1000 cycles<ref name=":1" />. This is irreversible as the '''only way to use the full voltage of the battery again is to replace the battery itself'''<ref name=":0" />. This reduces runtime further as '''only part of the remaining battery capacity is available''', defeating the purpose of preserving battery health.

Google claimed that this Battery Health Assistance will be '''voluntary''' for '''previously''' launched devices<ref>{{Cite web |last=Li |first=Abner |date=31 Mar 2025 |title=Google Pixel adding ‘Battery health assistance’ for long-term use, starting with Pixel 9a |url=https://9to5google.com/2025/03/31/pixel-battery-health-assistance/ |url-status=live |access-date=4 Apr 2025 |website=9to5Google}}</ref>. It is unclear whether some or all Pixel devices released in the future will be impacted by this program.

===Potentially defective battery unit===
Concerns arise over the delayed launch date of Pixel 9a over an "an unnamed component issue", suspecting that the issue could be the battery<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mundy |first=Jon |date=20 Mar 2025 |title=Pixel 9a flaw uncovered before it even hits shops |url=https://www.techadvisor.com/article/2643405/google-pixel-9a-delayed-due-to-component-issue.html |url-status=live |access-date=4 Apr 2025 |website=Tech Advisor}}</ref>.

==Consumer reaction==

Current and former Pixel users condemn this program and compared it with Apple's "batterygate" and the Pixel 4a Battery Performance Program, saying that Battery Health Assistance is "worse"<ref>{{Cite web |title=This is worse than Apple |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/1jp883q/google_will_gradually_reduce_pixel_9a_battery/ml6m0y7/?context=3 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250405011000/https://old.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/1jp883q/google_will_gradually_reduce_pixel_9a_battery/ml6m0y7/?context=3 |archive-date=5 Apr 2025 |access-date=5 Apr 2025 |website=[[Reddit]]}}</ref> and the Pixel 4a incident is a "preview"<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 Apr 2025 |title=Pixel 9a will have battery "optimised" after 200 cycles |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Pixel4a/comments/1jpk1db/pixel_9a_will_have_battery_optimised_after_200/ |url-status=live |access-date=3 Apr 2025 |website=[[Reddit]]}}</ref>.

Users also find the wording of the support article on Google's website vague and lack of self-consistency<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 Apr 2024 |title=So they want to reduce the wear out of the battery by... doing exactly the same? What's logic behind this? |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/1jp883q/comment/mkzu6lc/ |url-status=live |access-date=2 Apr 2025 |website=[[Reddit]]}}</ref>, saying the Google will "cause the thing they are supposedly trying to prevent"<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 Apr 2025 |title=Deliberate weakening after only 200 charging cycles: Google Pixel 9a limits battery voltage according to a planned schedule |url=https://www.notebookchat.com/index.php?topic=225600.msg645716#msg645716 |url-status=live |access-date=5 Apr 2025 |website=NotebookCHECK - Notebook Forum}}</ref>.

==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Google Pixel Smartphones]]

Doordash

2025-04-04T15:08:57Z

Vandetta: add topic into consumer impact i forgot

{{InfoboxCompany
| Name = Doordash
| Type =Public
| Founded =2013
| Industry =Food Delivery
| Official Website =https://www.doordash.com/
| Logo =Doordash.png
}}[https://www.doordash.com/ DoorDash] was founded in June 2013, initially starting as PaloAltoDelivery.com before rebranding to Doordash. The company was founded by three Stanford students Tony Xu, Andy Fang, and Stanley Tang. Its focus is delivery on a wide variety of items, some items include fresh meals from nearby restaurants, groceries, convenience store items, OTC (Over the Counter) medicines, flowers, etc... This service mainly operates in locations within the U.S. (United States), Canada, and Australia.

==Consumer-impact summary==
Over the years of operation DoorDash has found itself in many controversial consumer and workers violations. Some of the most notable being:

*Withholding contractors funds (up to weeks or months) for delivering orders
*Lack of Business transparency especially with delivery fees confusing the consumer
*Adding restaurants to their platform to order without the business's consent
*Using driver tips to cover the cost of other deliveries
*Taking advantage of financially challenged consumers by using [https://wiki.rossmanngroup.com/wiki/Buy_Now_Pay_Later BNPL] (Buy Now Pay Later) services
*Subsidizing Dashpass subscriptions by passing commission rates onto business's

==Incidents==

===Withholding funds for contracted drivers<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Glenn |first=Lindey |date=2025-03-31 |title=DoorDash’s $1 BILLION Lawsuit: Exposing DoorDash’s Predatory Business Model |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-gPld7e3do |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Youtube}}</ref>===

===Charging users multiple unclear "fees" for delivery<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mayer |first=Chloe |date=2023-06-09 |title=DoorDash Faces $1B Lawsuit Over Delivery Fees: 'Dupes Naive Consumers' - Newsweek |url=https://www.newsweek.com/lawsuit-doordash-sue-iphone-android-1805387 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Newsweek}}</ref>===

===Adding restaurants to their platform without other business's consent<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pershan |first=Caleb |date=2020-01-29 |title=Delivery Apps Keep Adding Restaurants Without Their Consent - Eater |url=https://www.eater.com/2020/1/29/21113416/grubhub-seamless-kin-khao-online-delivery-mistake-doordash |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=EATER}}</ref>===

===Subsidizing driver tips to payout other dashers for deliveries with little or no tips<ref name=":0" />===

===Using BNPL services to target the financially challenged consumers<ref>{{Cite web |last=Steinberg |first=Brooke |date=2025-03-24 |title=DoorDash now offering eat now, pay later payments through Klarna |url=https://nypost.com/2025/03/24/lifestyle/DoorDash-now-offering-eat-now-pay-later-payments-through-klarna/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=New York Post}}</ref>===

===Using Dashpass subscription model to surcharge business's on order commissions<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kelso |first=Alicia |date=2020-12-07 |title=DoorDash hit with cease-and-desist letter from DC attorney general {{!}} Restaurant Dive |url=https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/doordash-could-use-dashpash-as-a-workaround-to-delivery-fee-caps/591701/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Restaurant Dive}}</ref>===
{{Placeholder box|If the company page is short enough and/or the incident is not deserving of its own page, add incidents below in sub-sections (including the points outlined in [[Consumer_Action_Taskforce:Sample/Incident/Help|the incident help page]]) without linking/creating an incident page.

If the company has various incidents listed and/or this page is getting too long, create subsections linking to each incident while linking to the main article and including a short summary. To link to the page use the "Hatnote" or "Main" templates.

If the company has numerous incidents then format them in a table (see [[Amazon]] for an example). }}

==Products==

===Dashpass (2018)===
{{Placeholder box|This is a list of the company's product lines '''with articles on this wiki'''.
* [[Example product line one]] (release date): Short summary of the product's incidents.
* [[Example product line two]] (release date):}}

==See also==
{{Placeholder box|Link to relevant theme articles or companies with similar incidents.}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]

Doordash

2025-04-04T15:04:45Z

Vandetta: fill in summary | highlight incidents title | add products titles | add more sources

{{InfoboxCompany
| Name = Doordash
| Type =Public
| Founded =2013
| Industry =Food Delivery
| Official Website =https://www.doordash.com/
| Logo =Doordash.png
}}[https://www.doordash.com/ DoorDash] was founded in June 2013, initially starting as PaloAltoDelivery.com before rebranding to Doordash. The company was founded by three Stanford students Tony Xu, Andy Fang, and Stanley Tang. Its focus is delivery on a wide variety of items, some items include fresh meals from nearby restaurants, groceries, convenience store items, OTC (Over the Counter) medicines, flowers, etc... This service mainly operates in locations within the U.S. (United States), Canada, and Australia.

==Consumer-impact summary==
Over the years of operation DoorDash has found itself in many controversial consumer and workers violations. Some of the most notable being:

* Withholding contractors funds (up to weeks or months) for delivering orders
* Lack of Business transparency especially with delivery fees confusing the consumer
* Adding restaurants to their platform to order without the business's consent
* Using driver tips to cover the cost of other deliveries
* Taking advantage of financially challenged consumers by using [https://wiki.rossmanngroup.com/wiki/Buy_Now_Pay_Later BNPL] (Buy Now Pay Later) services

==Incidents==

=== Withholding funds for contracted drivers<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Glenn |first=Lindey |date=2025-03-31 |title=DoorDash’s $1 BILLION Lawsuit: Exposing DoorDash’s Predatory Business Model |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-gPld7e3do |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Youtube}}</ref> ===

=== Charging users multiple unclear "fees" for delivery<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mayer |first=Chloe |date=2023-06-09 |title=DoorDash Faces $1B Lawsuit Over Delivery Fees: 'Dupes Naive Consumers' - Newsweek |url=https://www.newsweek.com/lawsuit-doordash-sue-iphone-android-1805387 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Newsweek}}</ref> ===

=== Adding restaurants to their platform without other business's consent<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pershan |first=Caleb |date=2020-01-29 |title=Delivery Apps Keep Adding Restaurants Without Their Consent - Eater |url=https://www.eater.com/2020/1/29/21113416/grubhub-seamless-kin-khao-online-delivery-mistake-doordash |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=EATER}}</ref> ===

=== Subsidizing driver tips to payout other dashers for deliveries with little or no tips<ref name=":0" /> ===

=== Using BNPL services to target the financially challenged consumers<ref>{{Cite web |last=Steinberg |first=Brooke |date=2025-03-24 |title=DoorDash now offering eat now, pay later payments through Klarna |url=https://nypost.com/2025/03/24/lifestyle/DoorDash-now-offering-eat-now-pay-later-payments-through-klarna/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=New York Post}}</ref> ===

=== Using Dashpass subscription model to surcharge business's on order commissions<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kelso |first=Alicia |date=2020-12-07 |title=DoorDash hit with cease-and-desist letter from DC attorney general {{!}} Restaurant Dive |url=https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/doordash-could-use-dashpash-as-a-workaround-to-delivery-fee-caps/591701/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Restaurant Dive}}</ref> ===
{{Placeholder box|If the company page is short enough and/or the incident is not deserving of its own page, add incidents below in sub-sections (including the points outlined in [[Consumer_Action_Taskforce:Sample/Incident/Help|the incident help page]]) without linking/creating an incident page.

If the company has various incidents listed and/or this page is getting too long, create subsections linking to each incident while linking to the main article and including a short summary. To link to the page use the "Hatnote" or "Main" templates.

If the company has numerous incidents then format them in a table (see [[Amazon]] for an example). }}

==Products==

=== Dashpass (2018) ===
{{Placeholder box|This is a list of the company's product lines '''with articles on this wiki'''.
* [[Example product line one]] (release date): Short summary of the product's incidents.
* [[Example product line two]] (release date):}}

==See also==
{{Placeholder box|Link to relevant theme articles or companies with similar incidents.}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]

Doordash

2025-04-04T03:21:29Z

Vandetta: mini typo fixes

{{InfoboxCompany
| Name = Doordash
| Type =Public
| Founded =2013
| Industry =Food Delivery
| Official Website =https://www.doordash.com/
| Logo =Doordash.png
}}DoorDash was founded in June 2013, initially starting as PaloAltoDelivery.com before rebranding to Doordash. The company was founded by three Stanford students Tony Xu, Andy Fang, and Stanley Tang. Its focus is delivery on a wide variety of items, some items include fresh meals from nearby restaurants, groceries, convenience store items, OTC (Over the Counter) medicines, flowers, etc... This service mainly operates in locations within the U.S. (United States), Canada, and Australia.

Links to be used / cited later

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-gPld7e3do

https://nypost.com/2025/03/24/lifestyle/doordash-now-offering-eat-now-pay-later-payments-through-klarna/

https://www.newsweek.com/lawsuit-doordash-sue-iphone-android-1805387<nowiki/>{{Placeholder box|An introductory paragraph starting with "'''{{PAGENAME}}''' is a ...<ref name":0">ref goes here</ref>"}}

==Consumer-impact summary==
{{Placeholder box|Overview of concerns that arise from the company's conduct regarding (if applicable):
* User freedom
* User privacy
* Business model
* Market control}}

==Incidents==
{{Placeholder box|If the company page is short enough and/or the incident is not deserving of its own page, add incidents below in sub-sections (including the points outlined in [[Consumer_Action_Taskforce:Sample/Incident/Help|the incident help page]]) without linking/creating an incident page.

If the company has various incidents listed and/or this page is getting too long, create subsections linking to each incident while linking to the main article and including a short summary. To link to the page use the "Hatnote" or "Main" templates.

If the company has numerous incidents then format them in a table (see [[Amazon]] for an example). }}

This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the [[:Category:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|{{PAGENAME}} category]].
===Example incident one (''date'')===
{{Main|link to the main article}}
Short summary of the incident (could be the same as the summary preceding the article).
===Example incident two (''date'')===
...

==Products==
{{Placeholder box|This is a list of the company's product lines '''with articles on this wiki'''.
* [[Example product line one]] (release date): Short summary of the product's incidents.
* [[Example product line two]] (release date):}}

==See also==
{{Placeholder box|Link to relevant theme articles or companies with similar incidents.}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]

Doordash

2025-04-04T03:18:52Z

Vandetta: create the company page: added - summary - company template - links for later reference usage

{{InfoboxCompany
| Name = Doordash
| Type =Public
| Founded =2013
| Industry =Food Delivery
| Official Website =https://www.doordash.com/
| Logo =Doordash.png
}}DoorDash was founded in June 2013, initially starting as PaloAltoDelivery.com before rebranding to Doordash. The company was created by three Stanford students Tony Xu, Andy Fang, and Stanley Tang. Its focus is delivery on a wide variety of items, some items include fresh meals from nearby restaurants, groceries, convenience store items, OTC (Over the Counter) medicines, flowers. This service mainly operates in locations within the U.S. (United States), Canada, and Australia

Links to be used / cited later

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-gPld7e3do

https://nypost.com/2025/03/24/lifestyle/doordash-now-offering-eat-now-pay-later-payments-through-klarna/

https://www.newsweek.com/lawsuit-doordash-sue-iphone-android-1805387<nowiki/>{{Placeholder box|An introductory paragraph starting with "'''{{PAGENAME}}''' is a ...<ref name":0">ref goes here</ref>"}}

==Consumer-impact summary==
{{Placeholder box|Overview of concerns that arise from the company's conduct regarding (if applicable):
* User freedom
* User privacy
* Business model
* Market control}}

==Incidents==
{{Placeholder box|If the company page is short enough and/or the incident is not deserving of its own page, add incidents below in sub-sections (including the points outlined in [[Consumer_Action_Taskforce:Sample/Incident/Help|the incident help page]]) without linking/creating an incident page.

If the company has various incidents listed and/or this page is getting too long, create subsections linking to each incident while linking to the main article and including a short summary. To link to the page use the "Hatnote" or "Main" templates.

If the company has numerous incidents then format them in a table (see [[Amazon]] for an example). }}

This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the [[:Category:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|{{PAGENAME}} category]].
===Example incident one (''date'')===
{{Main|link to the main article}}
Short summary of the incident (could be the same as the summary preceding the article).
===Example incident two (''date'')===
...

==Products==
{{Placeholder box|This is a list of the company's product lines '''with articles on this wiki'''.
* [[Example product line one]] (release date): Short summary of the product's incidents.
* [[Example product line two]] (release date):}}

==See also==
{{Placeholder box|Link to relevant theme articles or companies with similar incidents.}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]

File:Doordash.png

2025-04-04T02:38:12Z

Vandetta: The trademarked logo for the company Doordash

== Summary ==
The trademarked logo for the company Doordash

Balena

2025-04-03T03:41:17Z

Vandetta: fix typo of colleagues in the incidents bar

{{ToneWarning}}
{{InfoboxCompany
| Name = Balena
| Type = Private
| Founded = 2013
| Industry = Software Development
| Official Website = https://www.balena.io/
| Logo = Balena.png
}}[https://www.balena.io/ Balena] (formerly known as [https://resin.io/ Resin.io]) provides a platform focused on DevOps management for servers, clients, and local cross platform device software. It also offers tools for updating, deploying and maintaining code bases ''(though that is mainly targeted at Linux).''

==Consumer-impact summary==
Balena has been one of the more big companies that has open sourced most if not all products for users to tinker with. However, recently they have resorted to anti-consumer tactics for profit. Such violations include:

*Breach of user trust
*Adding adware to it's services
*Leveraging it's reach to the vulnerable tech illiterate

==Incidents==

===Balena Etcher Collecting data on users drive and filename being flashed (2018)===
In as early as 2018 Balena has been gathering specific user telemetry on their software [https://etcher.balena.io/ Balena Etcher] without consent.<ref>{{Cite web |last=sneak |date=2018-02-18 |title=etcher spies on the user without consent · Issue #2057 · balena-io/etcher |url=https://github.com/balena-io/etcher/issues/2057 |url-status=live |access-date=2025-03-31 |website=Github Issues}}</ref> Specific information includes IP address, usb device info and the filename being flashed being sold to their 3rd party AD network partners compromising users privacy and trust for profit. Many other privacy focused open sourced groups that have relied on etcher like [https://tails.net/ Tails] have completely removed recommendation of using Balena Etcher to install their operating system.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-02-19 |title=Tails - Replacing balenaEtcher with Rufus as installer for Windows |url=https://tails.net/news/rufus/index.en.html |url-status=live |access-date=2025-03-31 |website=Tails}}</ref> While there are many alternatives to Balena Etcher they tend to be a bit less user friendly and likely are not cross platform. Making them the de-facto choice among non tech literate users that are drawn into using it.

===Balena's Privacy Policy===
Recently Balena made a minor change to it's privacy policy.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-04-01 |title=Old Privacy Statement - balena |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250322034030/https://www.balena.io/privacy-policy |url-status=dead |access-date=2025-04-01 |website=Balena}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2025-03-27 |title=Privacy Statement - balena |url=https://www.balena.io/privacy-policy |url-status=live |access-date=2025-04-01 |website=Balena}}</ref> The changes were not that big (mainly removing their physical address) however this is worthy of note because it is the first change to their policy in nearly 5 years! With that being said their terms still remain concerning for any previous and future users. Below are some concerning topics that their policy includes:

====Fingerprinting users with help of third parties====
<blockquote>"'''Automatic Data Collection'''. We may collect certain information automatically when you use the Services. This information may include your Internet protocol (IP) address, user settings, MAC address, cookie identifiers, mobile carrier, mobile advertising and other unique identifiers, details about your browser, operating system or device, location information, Internet service provider, pages that you visit before, during and after using the Services, information about the links you click, and other information about how you use the Services. Information we collect may be associated with accounts and other devices."</blockquote><blockquote>"We may obtain information about you from other sources, including through third party services and organizations to supplement information provided by you. This supplemental information allows us to verify information that you have provided to us and to enhance our ability to provide you with information about our business, products, and Services."</blockquote>

==== Collecting information on your referrals or "friends/colleagues" ====
<blockquote>"Share Content with Friends or Colleagues. Our Services may offer various tools and functionalities. For example, we may allow you to provide information about your friends through our referral services. Our referral services may allow you to forward or share certain content with a friend or colleague, such as an email inviting your friend to use our Services."</blockquote>

====Sharing information collected about you to third parties and AD networks====
<blockquote>"We may share any personal information we collect about you with our third- party service providers. The categories of service providers to whom we entrust personal information include: IT and related services; information and services; payment processors; customer service providers; and vendors to support the provision of the Services."</blockquote><blockquote>"'''Business Partners.'''

We may provide personal information to business partners with whom we jointly offer products or services. In such cases, our business partner's name will appear along with ours.

'''Affiliates.'''

We may share personal information with our affiliated companies."</blockquote>

====Having to manually request data to be erased through legal channels instead of by default====
<blockquote>"You can access and modify the personal information associated with your Account by logging in to your Balena account. If you want us to delete your personal information and your Account, please contact us at legal@balena.io with your request. We will take steps to delete your information as soon we can, but some information may remain in archived/backup copies for our records or as otherwise required by law."</blockquote>

==Products==

===Balena Etcher (2016)===
Formerly known as Etcher; Balena Etcher is a free open source tool that flashes image files. it has recently had some controversial stir around how it collects user data within it's app. Many users have started using other software to flash image files such as GNOME Disk, Rufus, DD (bash command), and the Disk Utility (Mainly for mac) that work without selling the consumer out.

==See also==
{{Placeholder box|Link to relevant theme articles or companies with similar incidents.}}

==References==
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