To be freaked out that Amazon seem to know what I bought at Argos today?!

[ChoccyJules]

Went to Argos to get a toy for upcoming birthday of friend's child. Paid with my CC. Later on am showing DH something DD would like from Amazon and, apparently, people who bought that also often bought THAT TOY. Which I've never looked at on Amazon .
I assumed Amazon were somehow tracking my CC use and using it for tailored ads, but then remembered I use Paypal on Amazon. So is Paypal leaky? Has Amazon at some point had my CC details and is now using it for nefarious means?
Really doubt it was a coincidence, given the timing and the exact product match.
Can anyone tell me which security I need to focus on, as this has freaked me out somewhat, am always careful online?

Did you google the toy?

If you looked at a product on Amazon and it told you "people who buy this also bought [toy that you bought today]" then its just a coincidence. Those suggestions are not tailored to you at all, they really are what other people have bought.

It has nothing to do with tracking, cookies, paypal or your credit card. it is simply a coincidence.

Are they both childrens toys? If so, its not even a weird coincidence.

If you searched online for that toy (even if you didnt go on the amazon site) then later went onto amazon, they will very likely have a record of that because of cookies and data analytics on major sites and search engines. Similar to how facebook knows when you visit non facebook sites that have a Like button. It COULD be coincidence but if you are freaked out by this cleaning your browser cookies frequently is a good idea.

If it's in the "other users bought" it is coincidence.
If you've ever looked up the toy on amazon they'd send you emails, i looked up hamster cages and now get emails about all sorts of animal cages and dog crates etc.

🍪

It's coincidence. People who bought x also bought y. People like you op! You bought y and are thinking about buying x. You are 'other people'

Gosh, thanks for the biscuits folks. I was actually quite concerned about my CC security because I've never looked the toy up online, no. And it doesn't match the other thing we were looking at on Amazon at all. I guess Stacey is right, I am indeed other people!

Oh fgs, they're cookies!!

It doesn't need to match, just that someone bought both things. Think about it, in your order you could have a childs toy, a pair of scissors, a sex toy and a cook book, that doesn't mean you are giving them all as a gift to one person

Did Argos send you the receipt by email?

This thread is like one of those children's games where every time a key word is said, the children have to run around (we play them at Guides/Brownies). Except that the key words are the names of the two A shops and the running around is little blue links.

When you visit a site it leaves a cookie on your computer/phone etc other sites then do a nosey at what cookies you have on your system and can use that information to market their stuff at you.

When you visit a site it leaves a cookie on your computer/phone etc other sites then do a nosey at what cookies you have on your system and can use that information to market their stuff at you

This is true, but the particular suggestions mentioned are not cookie driven.

Yes PayPal probably are sharing data to Amazon. Did you read all the T&C and untick all the boxes when signing up?
If your PayPal account is linked to your Amazon account or you use the same email for both it's simple.

I don't know why you are lying about this, but Amazon unequivocally do not accept PayPal.

Everything you do online is tracked. My story goes even further. I've looked stuff up (like holiday destinations) before which has then popped up in adds for DP

Again, many things are tracked and suggestions made but this is not one of them (not an opinion, known fact). It uses real world purchase data rather than static indexes or assumption algorithms. The "recommended for you" suggestions work differently, using more data types.

Ah, I wondered about the odd-looking biscuit but feeling grotty from a cold I didn't twig that it was a cookie.

And I don't tend to lie, so I've obviously got myself worried about Paypal in error (cos I use it so much I forget if a site doesn't take it) when I should have been worrying about my CC. Anyway, I can see that most people think I'm over-reacting so I'll have to go and worry elsewhere!