Tim Hortons app tracked movement in violation privacy laws -Canadian regulator

FILE PHOTO: A man walks past a store front poster advertising the opening of a cafe of the Canadian coffee and fast food chain Tim Hortons in Beijing, China, July 6, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

(Reuters) -Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons' mobile app regularly tracked and recorded locations of its users even when their app was not open in violation of the country's privacy laws, Canada's privacy regulator said on Wednesday in a report concluding a two-year-old investigation.

"Tim Hortons clearly crossed the line by amassing a huge amount of highly sensitive information about its customers," Privacy Commissioner of Canada Daniel Therrien said in a statement that underscored harms that can result from "poorly designed technologies."