Source: The Conversation

Rent tech platforms collect extensive personal data from renters and increasingly embed artificial intelligence to automate communications and optimise property‑manager workflows; many renters interviewed for a PhD study and an accompanying report by the Consumer Policy Research Centre described these systems as “dehumanising.” Research surveying platforms across Australia found deceptive design tactics that pressure renters to provide more information than necessary, examples of platforms using a “personality questionnaire” claiming to screen for “agreeableness,” and compulsory or pushed paid add‑ons such as questionable rewards programs or paid data storage.

The privacy commissioner issued a finding in April that the rental application platform 2Apply was collecting excessive personal information and using online choice architecture to unfairly pressure renters; the commissioner urged other providers to improve practices. Victoria introduced new laws in March to limit rental application questions and ban certain third‑party fees, and follow‑up checks showed improved platform practices in Victoria, but the research found similar invasive practices continuing in other states and evidence that platforms may attempt to bypass the new rules by collecting extra data outside the formal application process.