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When you provide your CPF at pharmacies, you are fueling advertisements and sales that generate billions in profits.
In Brazil, pharmacies have adopted a highly profitable business model that relies on using consumers’ personal data to drive targeted advertising. It all starts with the famous question asked at the checkout: “What is your CPF?”. As highlighted by journalist Amanda Rossi in a report for UOL, this information is collected and used by companies such as RD Ads, from the RaiaDrogasil group, to sell targeted ads.
By providing their CPF in exchange for discounts that can exceed 70%, the customer contributes to an extensive database that includes details about their health, such as illnesses, medications and contraceptive methods used. RaiaDrogasil, the largest pharmaceutical chain in the country, stores information from 48 million customers, which is later used to target advertisements, either on the pharmacy's own website or on platforms such as Facebook and YouTube.
RD Ads director Vitor Bertoncini commented in a podcast aimed at investors that asking for CPF numbers in Brazilian pharmacies is so common that 97% of customers provide this information without question. He compared this practice to the use of social security numbers in the United States, where collecting this data for commercial purposes would be considered illegal.
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Although the discounts offered may seem attractive, prices without a CPF can be misleading. An example cited in the report shows that a medicine such as nimesulide, which costs R$31,78 without a CPF, drops to R$8,50 with the document. However, private hospitals and public agencies purchase the same medicine for even lower prices, which suggests that prices without a CPF are inflated to encourage consumers to provide their data.
The data stored is not limited to medications. RD Ads’ database has up to 20 different filters to segment customers, categorizing them into profiles such as “weakened senior” or “active senior.” This information is used in targeted marketing campaigns. One example mentioned in the report shows that using data from parents of young children increased sales of baby products by 20%.
The use of health data for advertising purposes, however, generates debate. The General Data Protection Law (LGPD) classifies health information as sensitive data, requiring greater protection and limiting its use for economic purposes. Although RaiaDrogasil claims that the data is anonymized, there are doubts about the effectiveness of this anonymization and whether it actually complies with the law.
Furthermore, the report recalls that the use of biometrics in pharmacies has generated controversy. In 2021, a journalist reported that she was forced to provide her fingerprint to obtain a discount, which led to protests and intervention by agencies such as Procon and the Consumer Defense Institute (Idec). The requirement for biometrics was eliminated, but the collection of CPF numbers persists.
To date, there is no clear regulation prohibiting the use of health data for advertising purposes in Brazil. As a result, millions of Brazilians continue to provide their personal information in exchange for discounts, without being aware that this data can be used for much more than just lowering the price of their medicines.
How can I check the data that pharmacies have about you?
The General Data Protection Law (LGPD) guarantees Brazilians the right to know what information is being held by companies, including pharmacies. This includes access to purchase history and health data, as well as information about the sharing of this data with third parties. It is also possible to request the correction of data or even its deletion.
To exercise this right, pharmacies must provide a specific channel to respond to these requests. The response must be provided within 15 days. If the company does not meet the deadline or refuses the request, it is possible to contact the National Data Protection Authority (ANPD), which is responsible for monitoring the LGPD.
If you wish to request access to or deletion of your data, please contact the pharmacy's Customer Service or visit the company's website. Be sure to detail that you are exercising your rights under the LGPD, specifying whether you want access to the data or its removal.
The price of medicines is regulated by the government, so there is a maximum price to be charged, discounts in pharmacies are NOT OBLIGATED, with or without CPF. There is so much obscurity in pharmacies in Brazil, that only those who have worked their whole lives in one know!!
Drogasil, after being bought by Raia, saw strong and widespread increases in the price of its products, meaning that consumers initially helped Raia pay for the acquisition of its rival and then continued to be bled dry.
It is greed, profit at any “price”.