Can someone help me understand why so much personal data is requested to be shared with BOA download

bransdell

I lost my BOA download configuration when trying to resolve an issue with a broken citibank configuration download that was previously working. When I went to reconfigure for BOA, the login screen showed that I would be sharing an extreme amount of personal information of which I have provided screenshots. I only keep data related to a simple cash account in the cloud. I really need to understand the request for this much private data. What is being done with this data and why is it being requested to be shared with ANY third party company? What is the minimum amount of personal data that I have to share to use the transaction download functionality that I have been enjoying for many years? I have been using Quicken for 30 years and it is important to me to understand why a request to share this much personal data is being made.

Boatnmaniac

I might be mistaken about this but to me it looks like it's just a boilerplate catchall essentially letting you know the full scope of all the kinds of data a 3rd party (in this case, Intuit and Quicken) might be downloading from BofA if they so request it.  I don't think it means that the 3rd party will actually download all that personal information, just that your approval gives BofA the authority to provide some, any or all of that personal information to the 3rd party.

IMO, BofA is simply washing their hands of liability for protecting your personal information from that particular authorized 3rd party and that what that 3rd party (Intuit/Quicken) does with that personal information is between you and the 3rd party.  Most banks and investment companies will also do the same if/when you give POA or even just read authority to another person to access/view your accounts with them.  So if that 3rd party misuses your personal information that they received from BofA, then BofA has no accountability for that because you had duly approved the transfer of that data.

Also, it seems like there is no option to select specifically which personal data you might agree to allow BofA to provide to Intuit/Quicken.  It looks like it is an all or nothing situation.  So, if you don't agree to authorize BofA for everything on these lists then you most likely will not be able to download any of your BofA data into Quicken via the Express Web Connect+ connection method.

Well, that's how I see it.

Boatnmaniac

I might be mistaken about this but to me it looks like it's just a boilerplate catchall essentially letting you know the full scope of all the kinds of data a 3rd party (in this case, Intuit and Quicken) might be downloading from BofA if they so request it.  I don't think it means that the 3rd party will actually download all that personal information, just that your approval gives BofA the authority to provide some, any or all of that personal information to the 3rd party.

IMO, BofA is simply washing their hands of liability for protecting your personal information from that particular authorized 3rd party and that what that 3rd party (Intuit/Quicken) does with that personal information is between you and the 3rd party.  Most banks and investment companies will also do the same if/when you give POA or even just read authority to another person to access/view your accounts with them.  So if that 3rd party misuses your personal information that they received from BofA, then BofA has no accountability for that because you had duly approved the transfer of that data.

Also, it seems like there is no option to select specifically which personal data you might agree to allow BofA to provide to Intuit/Quicken.  It looks like it is an all or nothing situation.  So, if you don't agree to authorize BofA for everything on these lists then you most likely will not be able to download any of your BofA data into Quicken via the Express Web Connect+ connection method.

Well, that's how I see it.

bransdell

Thanks for the response and I agree with your view. My next question is if there is any reference to what out of that data Quicken actually accesses.

Tom Young

I recently had to reauthorize my BofA credit card Account for downloading and did not see what you've posted.  But at least you know exactly what information will be shared with Quicken.  This is in contrast to Schwab - where I also had to go through the re-authorization process - which consisted of some boiler-plate wording that could reasonably be interpreted as "anything they ask for."

As far as understanding exactly what Quicken is actually selecting out of this long list, you could try pawing through the Conn Log and see if you can figure it out.

bransdell

I imagine the data they request has to do with what data is stored in the cloud versus what data that is stored locally. But digging through the conn log is a good suggestion and that could at least let me know if there is anything that gives me some concern. Thanks for the suggestion.

mshiggins

See the Quicken Inc privacy policy here:

https://www.quicken.com/privacy/us

I believe within the policy is a contact to request a copy of data that Quicken has collected about you and your financial institutions. 

Boatnmaniac

Both are good ideas.  I would also suggest reading through the Terms of Use (Help > About Quicken > Terms of Use).

bransdell

It seems that a lot of the comments for the terms of use are about protecting Quicken from liability as is pretty much the same with most companies. And the question about data from a user perspective is your having access to your data especially if you cancel your quicken subscription. The ultimate would be some type of console that would allow me view all of the specific data that Quicken sees so that I know exactly what they can see. Unfortunately in a cloud based world no companies seem to be that open about sharing at that level. And from another perspective if that is easily provided to me, it may be an easy entry point for anyone who wanted to hack that data.

Thanks for all of the responses and suggestions. Very much appreciated.