The payment service PayPal has announced an innovation for its app. TECHBOOK explains the new function and why it is so practical for users.
Most users probably only know PayPal as a payment service. Simply transfer money to friends or pay for your last order by email and a saved account. Especially for the latter, there should now be an upgrade or a completely new function. In the future, package tracking will be offered in the PayPal app.
PayPal confirms new function
Anyone who has placed an online order in the past and selected PayPal as a payment option could only view the payment process in the app. Further information about order processing was not available. So you either had to go to the website of the responsible freight forwarder or supplier to find out the tracking ID or laboriously look through the emails and find a tracking link.
But that should change in the future. Because PayPal has on its own website a new package tracking function presented and confirmed. It says, among other things: “Paypal’s package tracking service is a new feature in the PayPal app. It can provide live updates and notifications for things you buy that are shipping.”
In addition, the US-American Tech portal “Techcrunch” inquired about the payment service provider and had the new function confirmed. There were also speculations about a corresponding feature on X (formerly Twitter).
Also interesting: Does the tax office have access to my PayPal account?
This is how PayPal package tracking is supposed to work
Now the question arises as to how PayPal actually wants to enable package tracking. The notice states that PayPal will use Gmail account data to track packages. The service provider promises that the data will be read in accordance with data protection regulations or “in accordance with the user data policy for Google API services”.
To put it simply: You order anything online and enter your Gmail address as your email account. If you authorize PayPal to access your Gmail account, the payment service will record the shipping details and provide you with the package information. And the special thing about this is that the purchase does not necessarily have to take place via PayPal. Thanks to the Gmail integration, purchases with other service providers can also be tracked via the PayPal app.
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The app then not only shows you the delivery status of the order, but also constantly updates the status via a live map and also sends you push notifications if there are any changes or the package is about to arrive. There is no additional fee for this service.
Even if you don’t agree to the Gmail integration, you can track your order through the PayPal app. To do this, however, you would have to enter the shipment data, IDs, etc. manually, which makes things a little more complicated, but also possible.
Competition for other providers
Live tracking is nothing new for Amazon customers. Anyone who orders something via the online shipping giant can also track the order via the app. PayPal is now following suit with the new function and offering the same service in its own app. In the future, Amazon customers will no longer have to use the Amazon app, but can also view and track their purchases via PayPal.
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How and when exactly the new function will be available is not yet clear. According to rumors, PayPal parcel tracking will initially start in the USA and will soon be offered here as well.
TECHBOOK means
“I wouldn’t call the new function overdue; I rather see the innovation as sensible and practical. Online customers probably know the problem too well when they have to constantly rummage through emails to find out the tracking ID of the order. For privacy reasons, PayPal promises the Gmail integration will be “in line with the Google API Services User Data Policy.” You must therefore be aware that one service can access another to read out data. We will probably only see whether it can become worrying or problematic when PayPal parcel tracking is available in this country. The feature is definitely practical.” – Isa Kabakci, editor