Bizzby is a service that lets people book tradespeople and laborers on-demand — think of it like Handy or TaskRabbit. A few hours ago, it sent an email to all of its users — tradies and general public alike — asking if they’d like to install a thermostat for Reuben, from Hartlepool, England.
Can someone *urgently* get a plumber to Reuben in Hartlepool, some app has just sent his contact details to their entire database. pic.twitter.com/bUXEeXF428
— Jim Waterson (@jimwaterson) August 21, 2017
The email contained Reuben’s full address — which will almost certainly earn the company a good telling-off from the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office — along with the time when he’ll be at home.
Some users reported receiving the email more than once, while others report receiving the email despite having not registered with the company.
The 💜 of EU tech
The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!
On Twitter, the company attributed the incident to an “emailing error,” and apologized for the inconvenience. It suppose it is awfully inconvenient, having your personal details mailed to hundreds — perhaps thousands — of people.
We're aware of an emailing error, which has caused some details to be sent to a section of our customers. We apologise for the inconvenience
— BIZZBY (@BIZZBY) August 21, 2017
In separate tweets, it also said that it assumes “full responsibility” and has “immediately isolated and resolved the error” in their system, ensuring this is an isolated incident.
As you’d expect, this incident has been tweeted far-and-wide. To the credit of the company, Bizzby has got in touch with those that shared unredacted copies of the email showing Reuben’s address, and asked them to remove it.
Emails sent to Bizzby asking for details on how this embarrassing mistake came to pass, and how they intend to make things up to Reuben after leaking his details to the world, were not immediately answered.
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.