I agree with her that this is an invasion of privacy, but her advice on avoiding it is faulty. OTOH, fake info doesn't work unless you're very very disciplined about never using a debit or credit card on purchases with that "fake" info. The instant you do, all the history acquired with that card can now be attached to you. But...on the other hand, it's not nearly as universal as she makes it out to be. Among mainline stores, Albertsons doesn't do this (they did but stopped). Wal-Mart doesn't have it, Trader-Joe's doesn't have it, and probably some more that I'm not aware of. Plus just avoiding any cards isn't enough. Even without a card, they can build the same virtual profile if you pay with credit or debit. Just pay cash, and patronize stores that don't try to foist a card on your and you're good.
You said it best: cash. Cash for everything. They’re not FORCING us to a cashless society... yet. The wife and I both withdrawal $200 a week for incidentals. We hit the bank before each grocery trip. The only thing coming off the bank account are the regular bills. People laugh at me, but I’m not going to be a part of this electronic experiment.