To think amazon are spying on me through my phone?

[DojaCat]

I've been going through phonics books with DD for the past couple of days.

I haven't bought anything, I've just been using books that have been sitting on the shelf for months that I bought from Costco, so nothing to do with Amazon.

I'm wondering if amazon have been listening through my phone somehow (audio?) as now they're recommending phonics books to me.

I'm freaked out and pissed off. I even get some MN adverts are for things DP has bought online and not through me which is weird.

Wtf is going on?

Yes, there is a wee man sitting with his headphones on tracking your movements, on line

Yes, that's exactly what amazon are doing,

time.com/5568815/amazon-workers-listen-to-alexa/

I know you are being sarcastic but I don't know why when amazon have confirmed they do it

There a few things here

Alexa absolutely listens to you and actually records random things that she hears. Why? God knows. But if you ask her, she can produce recordings of conversations you've had in range of her.

With your DP buying stuff, that's down to your shared WiFi and IP address. The cookies are saved in your WiFi and then will show up on every device connected to it, regardless of what account you're using. That's how the adverts show up on other websites.

I'm reading a book (on a kindle) that prominently features a Toyota Hilux... I've just been reading the Guardian on my phone, and the ads were for Toyota Hilux

YABU to have not known this, i thought everyone knew. It was in the news a few years ago when alexa started coming out

Happened to me three times in a row with instagram ads being about exactly what I’d just spoken about (which were quite obscure things).
Definitely makes me uneasy and think it should t be allowed.

What teapotter and others have said. they don't need to listen to understand what to sell you. It might be illustrative to read the stories in the USA of Target using data sets -

www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-target-figured-out-a-teen-girl-was-pregnant-before-her-father-did/#48fa58066668

I work in tech and myself and many colleagues refuse to have Alexa or a smart TV... smartphones are harder to avoid but they are easier to remove from your immediate environment.

I do have an iPhone (which I reluctantly got and now admit, spend too much time on - something I plan to stop) but I never have Location or Siri enabled, and nor do I have personal social media eg fb/insta etc.

On google and across every app I download I’ve opted out of all information gathering, camera, microphone, location and tailored ads.
I never provide diagnostic data from my devices to “improve their service”.

I don’t really get the creepy targeted ads; I’m not deluded enough to think I’m actually off the radar but at least I’m not totally bare arsed, cheeks parted and head in the sand.

I don’t really give a f when in the past friends/family have laughed at my “conspiracy theories”... yes, “theories” literally based on the facts that I encounter daily through my job.

We played cards against humanity at christmas! Ever since then i get getting notifications from reddit on my phone for cards against humanity sub reddit!

The odd thing for me is, i wasnt on my phone during the game and i have never used reddit

Why don't you all have ad blockers ?

was reading an old email from 2008 (not out loud) which mentioned a specific obscure book. Clicked off Hotmail, went onto Facebook and there the book is being advertised for sale on Amazon. Freaked me right out

This is because google scans your emails for the thousands upon thousands of trigger words. So if you were using chrome, thats why. They had a popup about it . a while ago.

Yes, you need to change your microphone settings.

Yeah it's creepy. Quite a few apps and stuff ask for access to your audio, and people just click accept which is scary. There is a way to turn off targeted ads on Facebook now, but people are probably still listening. Amazon based their whole business at the start on building a brand based on data of what people want.

It won’t be long before they find a way to remotely activate the camera on your phone, tablet, laptop. Dear god how scary is that... visiting banking sites, following key strikes and photo/videoing at the same time.

It’s probably already being done

My guess is you ARE being watched

I sometimes get ads for things/situations I’ve thought about but not discussed aloud. I know they’re not reading my mind, which brings me to the conclusion that I’m being led to have these thoughts somehow and then getting targeted ads.

Pretty much every thread I click on mumsnet I get an advert relating to it same day

Amazon’s entire business model is about gathering data on customers so they can predict what you might want to buy in the future and then target adverts/products at you.

There’s a Panorama episode about Amazon on iPlayer at the moment. Very eye opening!

Facebook also reads WhatsApp messages as well as listens to conversations. I've tried a few times to switch it off and remove permissions but it doesn't seem to stop the ads targeting what I've just been discussing/sending a WhatsApp about.

I am very private generally and don't like it but I use WhatsApp and Facebook messenger constantly to keep in touch with people. I wonder if I would actually miss anything if I got rid of them 🤔

Yep I get this all the time. A few weeks back I was telling DH how one of the knobs had broken off one of the Le Cruset soup bowls. Ads for Le Cruset started appearing shortly after. I hadn't written anything about it anywhere so it was either my phone or Alexa listening. Tbh, it doesn't really bother me.

@Hopel probably only a matter of time before they do read our minds...

@BillywilliamV

😂😂😂😂😂

Project Skynet

Most phones are voice activated (hey google, hey siri etc). Which means it's listening all the time. And I bet you haven't read all the terms and conditions on all the websites you have used, and clicking 'accept' for cookies.
My TV has location specific ads - say one for Domino's Pizza plays there's a bit saying where my local one is with phone number ...

I work with data scientists. None of us have any microphones switched on, no Alexa, no Siri, no Google Home. Nope. As a pp said, algorithms automatically scanning your comms (of any kind) for key words and phrases then targetting ads to you, well, that's their whole business model.

As is well known in the industry:
If a product is free to you then you are the product

And don't forget such 'tools' as Grammarly - yeah, have something that records every single keystrike you ever make, your emails, your internet searches, your Mumsnet posts, your job applications, your CV, everything under the guise of making your writing 'better'.

Genius.

Yes Hopel I've had that before

Google do listen I've had my headset in and talking to random people and Google answers me I said the a cashier have a nice day and Google thanked me for asking 😨