To state once again that facebook is listening and targeting ads

[Shackletonbook]

I habe been mocked for this before and told it's all coincidence but this time I've got a good one.
Away this weekend and I bought a book in a small independent bookshop with cash. It was on the explorer, Shackleton, and this was mentioned several times in discussion but never searched for anything. This morning I have this ad.
Now as I say I've been shot drown before for this and told that it's a common ad etc...so go on... how many of you have an ad for Shackleton whisky this morning?

I agree. Once I was out having lunch with kids and dh and Andorra came up in conversation. We chatted about it at length, location, language, what's it's like there etc and then, later that pm, there's ads on Facebook! Completely random? Yeah right.

When was this in doubt? Anyone who doesn't believe it have a little chat about something within earshot of your phone and see what FB ad pops up next.

Yanbu, and I’ve had instagram ads about things I’ve been talking about a few hours before.

Whats the problem?

Op opinion is divided betwren:

• you're a tinfoil hat wearer and it's all coincidence and
• yes of course, so?

And from experience the two sides repeat those to you ad infinitum without ever engaging with one another

Whisky2014 you think it's ok that a device that you're carrying around with you is listening to your conversations and using them to try and sell you things? And for what other purposes? And is anything you say held/recorded? You think this is absolutely fine? Disclosure - I have no smartphone.

I agree. We sat in a cafe discussing the 'aygo' and the next day i had lots of adverts for aygos.

I don’t have the Facebook app on my phone but I do have messenger and WhatsApp and it definitely happens to me.

Very very specific words I’ve mentioned in conversation appearing as ads for either exactly the same thing or an unrelated product that happens to be called that on Facebook on my desktop and instagram up to 24hrs later. So specific and so often, it just can’t be a coincidence.

I turned off the microphone on WhatsApp and i can’t say I’ve noticed it since. I just get ads for things I’ve actually searched for and viewed online. It’s a bit annoying as I have to have advance warning if anyone calling, so I can turn it back on, but that’s no biggie.

I read an article that had the experience of a hard of hearing man who heard his phone click every time the mic was turned on to connect to his hearing aid and make a call and he said he heard it click on lots of times outside of making calls.

A friend called me yesterday about a Christmas present for DD. It’s from a (lovely) shop I don’t use, let alone google. Shortly afterwards an ad for said shop appears in my timeline!

Of COURSE they fucking are! Who mocked you?

As are MN. If I type "ba ba black sheep/have you any wool?", pounds to pennies I'll have a whole sidebar of ads about a special deal on lamb chops at Aldi within seconds.

Whoops, misread. You were only talking about them listening in. Of course, they're doing that too. YASNBU.

Why are there still threads debating whether this is real or not... it's old news 😂

Of course they are. It doesn't bother me at all. I have no issue with seeing ads for things I might like to buy.

Yes it's old news but it's also intrusive and, imo, quite concerning that something is listening to you, recording you, following you and then using your private conversations to make money by selling your data to 3rd parties so they can target you with adverts.

Btw I've uninstalled fb messenger from my phone, disabled the fb app as it won't let me uninstall it, turned off the microphone on all apps apart from phonecalls and have started using that duckduckgo app instead of Chrome so try and stop the tracking cookies and the adverts that follow me around

Turn the microphone off in FB if you don’t like it. Personally, I don’t mind targeted ads.

Whoop... this is the first time I've not been shot down in flames. Usually people deny it and tell me I'm crazy.

I have my shopping list in Google Tasks but Google never shows me ads for anything I definitely do want.

I told my colleague about this a couple of weeks ago and she didn’t believe me. We went on to speak about her recent holiday to Costa Rica. Later that day I got an ad for Costa Rica, screen shot and showed her. She couldn’t believe it! Sometimes me and my DP have specific conversations just to see if it will come up in an ad, it always does!

You’re definitely not crazy. The people acting like it’s a “handy tool” to be advertised things they like are though 🤣 You’re basically being bugged but so long as you get that cashmere cardigan advertised at a good price it’s all good

Although I was driving in Kent with my friend and we were speaking Spanish in the car, and the Google maps voice snapped into Spanish. Freaked us out.

This definitely doesn't happen to me. Is it because I don't have a Facebook App? I do get the ads for things I've searched online, but I don't mind that so much as it's better than the dieting/dating ads I used to get. I do mind it when I've clicked on some monstrosity from M&S that someone has linked on Mumsnet and then it haunts me for days.

I just go through all my apps and turn off the microphone function. Easy peasy

This happened to me this morning. DP and I were having a chat about recruitment agents (he has job interview today) and he thought it was weird that the role wasn't on the recruitment agents website. I was explaining to him that in my previous industry most employees are found via recruitment agents and it is common to need to call the agent to find out who the employer is - it won't be on their websites. I then said if I search X job in Reed 90% of the results would be recruitment agent adverts. A few hours later I was on mn and an advert for Reed came up with the exact job search I said aloud. I haven't searched for jobs in that industry for over 2 years..........

You are being listened to. By algorithms who care nothing about you; but care about emptying your wallet.
It's an odd thing. Privacy invaded, but only in regard to your shopping habits. Mind, be some interesting ads for all those who posted on the lady garden thread.