To view amazon in a totally different light - RE-Panarama

[contentedsoul]

Saw the panorama program about amazon last night and its been on my mind all day.

I noted that the BBC News app on my phone also ran a story about this too - so been reading that in break times.

It actually sounds terrifying. As someone so eloquently put it
"Amazon is first and foremost a Data Mining company,,that also happens to sell items too !!

Some senior bigwig stated that ""we" that's us, fall into three areas Lazy, Greedy and Horny. It transpires we are not customers par se but more commodities to them.

I'm actually in two minds to remove the amazon app from my phone...I just don't trust it.

The BBC reporter asked for a record of his data and was told his computer wasn't sufficient enough to store it !!

I just never realised that amazon knew so much about us.

biarritz I don’t understand why you think the data wouldn’t link?

If anyone wants to listen they can but they would be bored
⏫This is why they get away with it....most people miss the point and don't understand the implications of what's happening

It transpires we are not customers par se but more commodities to them.

Who knew?!!

Most people only focus on Amazon, Apple have been data mining for years, sites like the Guardian all data mine and share data.

The people who pretend to 'know' whats going on like to think they are that important that Amazon are saving 10 hours a day of your conversations to send you the odd targeted add.

>>>>I read that amazon can see which sites you visited before and where you go after...spooky!!

All websites know which page you were on previously.

There are browser add-ons for blocking tracking cookies, and search engines which aren't Google.

Amazon is why I don’t use local shops. The other week my shower wouldn’t stop. Was on full blast so had to switch everything off like water and boiler. Rung up 6 different plumbing shops in the area for the part I needed. Not one had it in stock and only one said they’d get it on Tuesday (this was Saturday). I went onto Amazon and got the part delivered next day and it was £40 cheaper.
I don’t give a shit about data when you get that service and local shops need to realise this is why people use Amazon first.

just to make my position clear, I'm not anti Amazon.

I'm surprised that people are surprised by things I thought were common knowledge. I wouldn't have a listening device in my house.

I'm puzzled by people on the documentary saying "I have it but it makes me nervous". If you are disabled or have need of those devices, that's one thing, but if you have it because you'd rather speak an instruction ...and it makes you nervous....how about, don't have it?

I am a very boring person, Amazon is welcome to my data. I do agree that it is 'Big Bother,' but with the difference that we actually pay for these listening devices rather than them being forced on us. Amazon also sell the things I can't get locally so I use them a lot. I have never seen one of their warehouses, but have read that they are not good places to work, but so are lots of other companies - delivery drivers for instance, have poor working conditions, but people work in these places because in many cases they can't get better employment.

I just kept thinking the potential for mis-use is terrifying really. Alexa is only meant to record when its blue. How would i know if they did a software update and it was always recoding. I just wanted a speaker that played music easily! What if the government started listening out for people talking about the environment as potential extremists. Its not even your own shopping or device to worry about. So many people have a 'ring' doorbell, how many local retaillers are struggling to the point of closing so you end up without that retail option anymore. We've already seen twitter manipulating political debate - will amazon.. Its a new age indeed.

"Alexa is only meant to record when its blue"

but it has to listen all the time to listen for the wake up word.

and if the device is listening, there may well be people listening.

I'm sorry but I can't help wondering what's hard about playing music without it!

AutumnRose1 - well im not that knowledgeable about technology so i find the ease of plugging in a device and saying play 'name of tune' or even singing a tune and it working it out quite easy. I actually dont know how other people play music anymore. Which is a bit embarrasseing. Do people still have cds they buy from physical shops. Or is it all electronic its just a diffferent company than amazon. Thats the trade off with amazon all the time. I give up this data for this service. You can unplug them. Its just one example.

Grass do you mind if I ask how you played music before?

Lots of people don't realise you should turn off microphone access for facebook (not messenger, that one is needed if you make phone calls through it).

Facebook is the worst for listening to you and then getting targeted ads.

In fact, turn off microphone access for most apps on your phone unless they specifically need it.

I didnt. I had a cd player and cds i bought a very long time ago- the cd player broke. I then just had the radio. I had young children and was very busy and lost myself - stopped reading, listen to music etc. Then i decided id quite like to listen to a bigger range of music again and this is what i bought.
But really, as an individual i can sort out the alexa listening to me in my own home by unplugging it. But the bit that is worrying is the potential for miduse. Do you always know when you are in the presence of an alexa? They could be where you have your coffee, in the station, at the library, your friends house Its the same with ring. There are about 12 in my road, whether i own one or not i am under surveillance. Its got bigger than an individual.

Grass yes. I usually get accused of tin foil hattery when I say anything like that on here though.

I really didn't know that two service users, who use different IDs and different devices, would share data when the only thing they have in common is that they use the same wifi from time to time. ExH is only here a few hours a week. Even in divorce, our data will forever be intertwined.

So this is normal? That everyone using the same wifi on their own devices gets each others targeted adverts?

other's

Ah, Amazon. All this data and the best their algorithms can come up with is to offer you ads for more food processors when you've just bought one.

Basically, any website is tracking you. If it's free, you are the product, and you usually are even if it's not free. You can adblock, Firefox blocks trackers and fingerprinters to some extent, I for one refuse to have any listening device in my home but I'm pretty sure our smart TV does it anyway as we can't delete the Alexa from it. Such is modern life, it seems.

Mind you, with my work I have to look up a huge range of various stuff, from tanks to tankards, on a daily basis. So fuck knows what my data is doing for them all. They currently seem to think I'm a good 20-30 years older than I am, like casual cutesy games (I don't) and am interested in investment banking (I'm not). 'Smart' is usually bloody stupid.

They’re an appalling company, I’ e worked with them. Wild jackals have better morals. You should trust them with you’re data and the data they mine is done in completely unnecessary details to save you stuff. They won’t bat an eyelid to make money out of that data including selling it on.
Take your money elsewhere - they aren’t always the cheapest anymore either.

Ah, Amazon. All this data and the best their algorithms can come up with is to offer you ads for more food processors when you've just bought one.

. .

I'm quite concerned by AWS, too. Am I right in thinking they can even track where you go after you've finished on Amazon? That seems totally wrong.

I usually get accused of tin foil hattery when I say anything like that on here though.

Most probably from the old saying that is a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

Am I right in thinking they can even track where you go after you've finished on Amazon? That seems totally wrong.

There are cookies that share your info, like MN shares its cookies with various sites and also has google ads that are not MN related, if you are using an apple device however they track you across everything internally and trade data to amazon, you can see it gets a lot more murky, once you add on the supermarket points cards, cashback sites, facebook check ins, apple pay etc etc, thinking you are that important that Amazon want to send you a targeted add that you 'might' buy shows how you don't realise the situation of how you are just a number, a lot of this blow back will be looked back on as the burning of the printing press, but with added caveats of people thinking its a new intrusive thing while they complain they didn't get the yearly rewards.