Junk Mail Magic

Check what a badge scan permits at a trade show

Before a booth scans your badge, ask what the scan sends to the exhibitor and whether your mailing address is included. What a scan captures depends on the event's system and terms, so the answer comes from the booth staff, the organizer and the attendee privacy notice, not from what is printed on the badge.

By Junk Mail Magic. Updated .

At the booth and after

  1. Check your registration confirmation for the details you gave, such as name, employer, email, phone or postal address.
  2. Ask the booth staff what a scan captures. It may link to more than the badge shows.
  3. Ask whether the exhibitor receives your postal address and whether it will be used for mailed advertising or only for the follow-up you asked for.
  4. Find the organizer's attendee privacy notice or registration terms and read what they say about exhibitors. Prefer the written notice to a spoken answer.
  5. If you would rather not be scanned, ask whether you can hand over a business card or write down only the details you choose.

If you were already scanned

A scan that has already happened can still be followed up. Contact the exhibitor directly with a preference request, and ask the organizer whether attendees can change what exhibitors receive. Use the contact details in each party's published notice, and check the official instructions there rather than assuming a preference page exists.

Private badge-scan worksheet

Example for your own use. Replace the bracketed details and review what you share.

Event and date: [event name, date] Exhibitor: [exhibitor name] Details I gave at registration: [list] What the booth says a scan captures: [answer given] Postal address shared with exhibitor: [yes / no / unanswered] Organizer notice mentions exhibitors: [yes / no] Question for organizer: Can attendees of [event name] choose whether exhibitors receive postal contact details, and how? Still to contact: [exhibitor or organizer names]

Note who you still need to contact

Fill in the worksheet during the event or soon after, while you still remember which booths scanned you. For any booth where the answer about postal details was unclear, send that exhibitor a request, and send the organizer question to its listed privacy contact if the notice does not mention exhibitors.

Official source

Reduce advertising after a trade showRead mail preferences when registering for an eventAsk whether a postal preference covers partner sharingFind postal marketing language in a privacy policyBefore joining another listAll practical mail guides

Keep personal records with the organization that handles them

Junk Mail Magic is for ordinary unwanted advertising. Use the official contact route in this guide for records, account changes or someone else’s correspondence.

Compare removal routes