Nextdoor

James_N

I became concerned after receiving an "invitation" from a "neighbour" to join a local community forum covering a "neighbourhood" that's a fiction. It originates from a company called "Nextdoor".

This USA based company sends out "invitations" to join their forum of local communities using the names of people who have signed up to invite more - as if the invitation was personal and local. However, it's clear from some angry responses on Trustpilot that the "senders" of the invitations are not aware their details are being used in this way. The letters themselves are misleading: they are amateurishly produced, and franked with a copied 2nd class stamp (legally, but commercially), both of which would at a glance lead you to believe that that nice Mrs Jones down the road had sent this from her kitchen table and licked a stamp to post it - not so. It's a calculated deception.

The stated basis of the forum is to put local communities in contact, although it's quite clear that the aim is primarily to monetise data that the people signing up submit, for instance to sell-on to marketing companies. This, and the fact that your name and address is openly displayed on the forum, is a recipe for abuse and possible malicious use. It's also clear from Trustpilot posts that these forums are frequently populated by curtain-twitchers, those with local axes to grind and the politically motivated. Positive Trustpilot reviews are suspiciously short and entirely content-free.

Questions need to be answered as to how this company is able to send out - using the postal system - what in the opinion of this writer is an abuse of address databases. Their responses to the many criticisms on Trustpilot is that this is publicly available data, and that because names are not used, it's legal. I'd disagree.

One more thing. It would seem that if you are unwise enough to sign up to this organisation, it may be frustratingly difficult to get rid of them and erase your data. GDPR beckons.

All in all a recipe for a very unsatisfactory experience in my opinion. Got one of these "invitations"?

Bin it.

shaun_from_Africa

I used to be a member of a forum called Streetlife that was very good for allowing people in local communities to share information whilst not having to divulge too much personal info if they didn't want to.

Sadly, Streetlife was bought by Nextdoor and it invited all Streetlife members to transfer over.
However, to do this you had to provide reams of personal information including your full address which could be seen by other Nextdoor members living in your local area.

Streetlife was often used by people asking if others could recommend a kennels or cattery as someone was going on holiday and if I was going away and leaving an empty house, I certainly wouldn't want to advertise the fact on the internet knowing that others could easily find out my address.

I declined to transfer over as did just about all of the Streetlife members that I knew at the time.

JReacher1

I find next door harmless and quite interesting. For one thing before next door came along I lived in blissful harmony in what I thought was a nice area.

Now I seem to get hourly updates on people being burgled, stealing cars, or just walking down the street in a suspicious manner. It’s quite an eye opener!

JReacher1

Also the invitation was probably from a neighbour. They do this thing where if you click invite on your page it automatically sends 100 paper invites to the people nearby to your address in your name.

in_my_wellies

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

Sadly, Streetlife was bought by Nextdoor and it invited all Streetlife members to transfer over.

Thanks, I wondered what had happened to Streetlife. I used it to borrow and lend items only used occasionally like a wallpaper stripper and swap plants. I didn't use it for a while then it was gone. I don't remember an email about the change but now I know

shaun_from_Africa

You are not alone in being concerned about the way data is handled.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-38920906

James_N

JReacher1 wrote: »

Also the invitation was probably from a neighbour. They do this thing where if you click invite on your page it automatically sends 100 paper invites to the people nearby to your address in your name.

That rather makes the point about how dodgy the whole thing is, really. It's like getting an "invite' from someone you don't know in Snaresbrook, talking about the "Woodford-Walthamstow neighbourhood" (look em up!). And the person in whose name these get sent out doesn't often know they've clicked this "permission".

Deceptive and underhand. What kind of reputable company does that? One perhaps that is not the friendly "neighbour it pretends to be.

It's a USA company that really doesn't "get" privacy, and arguably doesn't fully understand the legal framework for what they do.

donnac2558

I joined after receiving a letter. Never knew about Streetlife.


My local one is mainly people looking for lost pets, tradespeople, reports of dodgy people calling at doors or why the bins not collected.

Silvertabby

We had one of these letters recently. Didn't do any research, but it just felt - dodgy. Went into the re-cycling bin.