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Personalized pricing is when a company uses your data to charge you a different price than the next shopper pays. The Federal Trade Commission is now studying the practice at nine companies, and a proposed policy statement would treat undisclosed use of personal data to set prices as potentially unlawful.
What personalized pricing is, and what it is not
The FTC’s August 2026 release puts it this way: personalized pricing uses personal data to set a price based on what a company thinks one consumer will spend. Ordinary price changes apply to everyone.
| Type | Who sees the change | Typical trigger |
|---|---|---|
| Dynamic pricing | Every shopper at the same moment | Demand, supply, time of day, inventory |
| Sale or coupon | Every shopper, or everyone who qualifies under posted rules | Promotion calendar |
| Personalized pricing | One shopper or one segment | Browsing, purchase history, location, device, loyalty status |
The FTC’s proposal puts the line there: consumers expect prices to follow supply and demand, not their browsing or purchase history.
What data can set your price
The FTC’s January 2025 staff findings listed the kinds of personal data intermediary firms reported using to set individualized prices.
| Data type | Example in the FTC findings |
|---|---|
| Location | Where the shopper is when browsing |
| Demographics | Profile traits attached to an account |
| Browsing and search activity | Pages viewed, searches, mouse movements on a webpage |
| Shopping history | Past purchases and items left in an online cart |
| Product-specific traits | Skin type and skin tone in a cosmetics example |
The staff drew on documents from six intermediary firms that retailers hire to adjust prices algorithmically, and those firms worked with at least 250 clients, including grocery and apparel retailers. The FTC released only hypothetical examples, such as a shopper profiled as a new parent seeing higher-priced baby thermometers first. The findings are preliminary, and the study did not reveal what any retailer actually charged any person.
What the FTC has done
| Date | Action | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 17, 2025 | Staff findings released | Commission voted 3-2 to let staff issue the report |
| Aug. 19, 2026 | Proposed enforcement policy statement | Voted 2-0 to publish for comment; comment period extended past the original Sept. 18 date; docket FTC-2026-1057 |
| Oct. 28, 2026 | Orders to nine companies | Section 6(b) study; each company has 45 days from receipt to respond; vote 2-0 |
The October orders went to companies that set prices, not to intermediaries. The FTC said the 2025 study looked only at middlemen, so it showed no actual pricing decisions. The orders ask whether the same product or service is priced differently for different people based on factors such as loyalty-program participation or analysis of personal data. For ride-sharing and food-delivery firms, they also ask how worker pay is set.
| Sector | Companies named |
|---|---|
| Airlines | Delta, United, JetBlue |
| Ride-sharing | Lyft, Uber |
| Food delivery | DoorDash, Instacart |
| Retail | Target, Walmart |
A named company has not been found to have done anything wrong; a 6(b) study only gathers information. A company that does not comply can be taken to federal court to enforce the order.
What the proposed policy statement says
The proposal names two practices. Implying that a price is static when it varies by person is deceptive. Collecting or using personal data to set personalized pricing without telling consumers is unfair or deceptive. Chairman Andrew Ferguson said the FTC lacks legal authority to ban personalized pricing in all circumstances, but that businesses which do not tell consumers how their data sets prices may violate the FTC Act and other laws. A policy statement describes how the agency plans to enforce existing law. It is not a new rule, and it does not ban the practice.
A 10-minute personalized pricing test
A single price difference proves little, since stores change prices for stock, region and time. Repeating the check shows whether a gap is a pattern.
| Step | What to do | What to record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pick one item and note its price while logged in, in the app | Price, time, screenshot |
| 2 | Open the same item in a private browser window, logged out | Price, time, screenshot |
| 3 | Check it on a second device or a different network | Price, device, network |
| 4 | Repeat steps 1 to 3 an hour later and the next day | Whether the gap persists |
| Result | Most likely reading |
|---|---|
| Same price everywhere | No sign of individualized pricing on that item |
| Different once, then back to normal | Ordinary price change or a store test |
| Different every time by login, device or app | Worth documenting and reporting to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov |
Illustration, not a measurement: the FTC has not published how large individualized price gaps are. Assume a household spends $400 a month online. A 3% premium costs $12 a month, or $144 a year. A 1% premium costs $48 a year, and 5% costs $240.
How to protect your wallet from personalized pricing
| Step | Why it helps |
|---|---|
| Compare in a private window before you buy | Shows the price without your login history attached |
| Limit app permissions, especially location | Location is one of the data types in the FTC findings |
| Weigh loyalty programs against the data they collect | The October orders name loyalty-program participation as a pricing factor to study |
| Test a VPN on large purchases | The FTC proposal notes informed consumers might use one; it can change prices in either direction, and our VPN guide covers what to check |
| Screenshot prices before checkout | Gives you a record if the total changes |
| Review what connected devices collect | See what one smart-home product does with sleep and breathing data |
To see how much of your budget online prices touch, compare your spending with the averages in our look at household spending in 2025.
Editor’s Take
Evidence is partial. The 2025 findings describe tools and hypotheticals. The 2026 orders reach the companies that set prices, but each has 45 days to respond, and the FTC has not said when results will be published. No named company has been found to use personalized pricing. For shoppers the step is the same as for any purchase: compare first and keep records.
This is general information, not legal or financial advice. Details come from FTC releases and may change as the agency acts; check ftc.gov for current status.
