I’m I turning into a tin hatter or…

[Keeva2017]

Do you get adverts linked to conversations you’ve had?

So I have asked people IRL but can’t get a straight answer, same deal with google really.

We all know that if we search for something then we get adverts for said thing on social media. But I swear a few times this week I have had scarily specific adverts for things I know I haven’t search for. But have spoken about IRL or on watsapp.

Examples;
Went old fashioned shopping for kids trainers, didnt pre research or price check after. Suddenly getting adverts for the exact trainers.

Tonight had a convo about (forgive me I’m the mum beautiful but minging under 5’s) not sticking your finger up your bum. Que advert for a finger puppet where it says finger access is in the bum (this sounds weird but it looks legit, please don’t judge me or my children).

Daughter talking about rapunzal and me and partner wondering where the new obsession came from. Que advert for Rapunzal Lego.

At work Friday me asking about Mermaids Purse charity - Amazon toy advert for a mermaids purse.

ALL of these - Amazon?

AIBU and a conspiracy nut or is my phone and possible Amazon listening to me?

I talked about an old colleague on the phone on Friday. The old colleague appeared as someone I may know next time I opened Facebook. I get the adverts too including random items I have mentioned on the phone at work that I personally would never search for.

I've been following a thread on here about someone's ex who is as useful as a chocolate teapot

Look at the advert on this very page

Yes, I had this until I revoked permissions for the microphone on my phone.

There was a Netflix show about Cambridge Analytica, and it made out it was even worse than your phone listening to you.

Your phone knows where you’ve been, who you’ve sat near, what they’ve been looking at on the internet. It knows all the other things you’ve looked at, and so can predict your conversations with some accuracy.

You have kids, have been to trainer shops - therefore kids trainers.

You have a daughter, Rapunzel based advertising isn’t a stretch but maybe you’ve only just noticed? And how has your daughter become interested… YouTube?

And if your colleagues that you sit with all day have been searching for Mermaid’s Purse - then maybe it guessed you would be talking about it.

This logic is strengthened by the PP who said that it has shown things she has only thought.

It’s more terrifying than it simply listening. It knows your conversations before you have them.

This has happened to me on several occasions but remember, Google has a listening function. Like sometimes you are saying something and it searches it starts saying: according to Wikipedia blah blah blah? Am sure that's what happens. One truly bizarre thing that happened to me two weeks ago was something I was thinking of but did not say loudly and suddenly got adverts around it. It was such an odd odd category not common. Now that's proper tin hattery

Whatever I look at online pops up on DHs phone. Not linked in any way but can never get away with online shopping anymore

It happens to me too sometimes. My in-laws have Alexa which also listens. Things are getting too creepy

Also if you’re logged in to practically anything on both devices (eg work and home phone, work and home laptop, yours and DH phone) then that’s enough to link both devices for advertising purposes which may explain the work / home crossover a few are seeing.

Qué?

Alexa did suggest calming music for dogs after my dogs had a barking session.

It’s the algorithms, innit.
Doesn’t bother me - price you pay for free access to content and resources that previous generations could never have dreamed of.

Without a doubt phone is listening to everything. My dp and eldest dd worked this out about a year ago, we even for fun sometimes sit and talk about random things we would never have googled, like for instance needing a new litter tray when we don’t have a cat, every time one of us within a few hours have ads for the items discussed!!!

Phones definitely activate the microphones to listen, as pp said. If you ever have to give permission to an app, it's usually for camera, mic and location.
I've had adverts for private fertility clinics pop up since I had a very brief conversation with a friend about it Saturday, so far so stalky phone standard. But what I did not expect to see was an advert for my contact lenses after literally just thinking 'oh I must order more' as I only have a few days worth left .

There is a lot of interconnectedness in the online world that explains a lot of this (I am not convinced it explains everything though). Someone told me how the AI works, it might have been a podcast.

If you search for something online then it will start sending you adverts for what you searched for, thats basic.

If you have location tracking switched on on your phone then it might know that you have been into a shoe shop and start sending you shoe adverts.

If you are friends with people on social media then it assumes you are interested in similar things. So if they are searching for stuff, it might send you adverts for the same things.

So if you are talking to a friend about something, they might go and google it or look for it in a shop and then you get an advert for the same thing.

I don't think this can explain everthing though.

I've had adverts for things I've only thought about ffs 🤯

I’ve noticed a little dot appears randomly in the top right hand corner of my iPhone and iPad sometimes.

Google tells me it’s a microphone listening, can’t work out though how to stop it.

Told my friend (while we were sat in his living room) about how dolphins attacked sharks whenever they saw them and he was reluctant to believe me and said I must have misheard or got my facts confused as that doesn't sound quite right. Only for him to turn on the telly minutes later and go to YouTube to look for something to watch and then a 10 minute clip in his top suggestions about how dolphins attack sharks. No Google searches prior, nothing in the algorithm to suggest a specific nature video as he watches music and workouts on YouTube only. He was instantly spooked.

You're 100% right.

Very recently in a small WhatsApp group we were talking about the ooni pizza ovens.

The mate that hasn't got one, spoken about them or Internet searched them was bombarded the next day with adverts for them on multiple platforms.

The Social Dilemma is a doco worth watching.

Just have in your mind these companies are trying to manipulate you.

Jeff Alexa listens.
We get two cat litter bags per month. My Ddad likes to flex and lift the 30l bags into the litter bin.
So he asks every week have we got enough cat litter, Amazon sends the litter early.
Razor blades are fought over here, as soon as the row happens the subscribe and save blades are despatched.
It NEVER happens with my cleaning stuff, vitamins, bog rolls because nobody mentions those.

Oh yeah we know Jeff listens

Ive never noticed it because I do search for most things online so I expect to see the ads. I do know the finger puppet ad you’re talking about though as I saw it myself the other day. I definitely hadn’t discussed (or searched for) anything remotely related! You’re probably right though, I’m sure technology is tracking our moves in way more ways than we’re aware of. I know I “agree” to so many terms and conditions of sites online without ever bothering to read them so probably I’m not the only one.

Yes, your data is being harvested and used to serve up ads thhey think you'll be interested in.

Some sites make it easier than others to turn of 'legitimate interest'

Did you notice, for example, that to turn if the trackers in MN you need to say no to both cookies and legitimate interest, AND go to the 'partners' page and turn off a further 40 or so companies?

Yes it 100% happens and much much more than we understand. You can test it by talking about something completely random and you will find that adverts begin to appear.

Facebook came out and denied that it listened, and my microphone is supposedly turned off for everything except phone calls and WhatsApp calls but it still happens. And WhatsApp and Facebook are the same people anyway. We have Alexa turned off for listening other than after the trigger word, but I'm not convinced.

Even without the listening, these companies know how old we are, where we go, what we buy, what we look at online, everything really. It's hard to escape it.

There was a documentary on Netflix where ex tech company staff talked about this, I think it was maybe The Social Dilemma, it is worth a watch.

With all those "qués" you'll be getting adverts for Spanlsh lessons. Try cue.

To reduce this you can:
Switch off the microphone on your apps/ devices
Turn off Bluetooth
Turn off Siri
Don’t use an Alexa.

You need to essentially shut off any audio.