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🪪 One number to rule them all
Brazil's CPF has become the country's top individual identification number, but its ubiquitous use in retail raises a series of privacy concerns
Letícia Arcoverde
January 29, 2025 • Reading Time: 2 minutes
Welcome back to Brazil Business! Today, we explore the CPF, Brazil’s taxpayer ID that does a lot more than meets the eye. If you have any questions about this newsletter, or topics you’d like to see covered in future issues, you can reach us at [email protected]
How the CPF became a Brazilian's most important number
In 2018, Rio officials launched a CPF issuance effort. Photo: Fernando Frazão/EBC
If you've ever bought something at a pharmacy or any other retail store in Brazil, you were almost definitely asked for your CPF1 number. So routine is this request that it is as common (or even more common) as being asked if you want a receipt. But the practice has drawn scrutiny, especially in the era of data protection.
Earlier this year, Procon-MG, the consumer protection agency in the state of Minas Gerais, fined the country’s largest drugstore chain, RaiaDrogasil, BRL 8.4 million (about USD 1.4 million) for requiring customers to provide their CPF number to access discounts. The agency argued that the company was effectively using the data to “track consumer habits,” raising privacy concerns over the sensitive information collected.
Consumer rights advocates and researchers have long warned about the lack of regulation around the use of personal health data in Brazil, calling for tighter controls.
