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 read about this recently. Apparently data is so sophisticated now that they can guess when we'll do or think certain things and target ads accordingly.

It still seems pretty far fetched to me when it's so specific (finger in bum for example!)

Yeah, happens to DH and I all of the time. We have spoken about some rather obscure things at times then seen an advert pop up online for said thing a few hours later. Phones definitely listen to conversations.

I work at a university and visit our website regularly to find information. This means I get targeted ads for our open day quite a lot. One year the university was using a picture of me in its advertising so I was regularly faced with an advert with my face on it!! It freaked me out the first few times especially as I wasn't aware my picture was being used!! 😂

It's either Alexa or your phone but the weirdest one I had was walking on my own through city centre on my lunch break and new bike shop has opened. I walked past and thought they looked alright and how I'd quite like a bike. I was thinking this, not saying it. I don't cycle and have not owned a bike since childhood.

Got back to the office and within minutes my pop ups were bike related. That did get me a bit spooked

I have wondered about the listening thing too. It hasn’t happened for a while. Sometimes it can be linked to what I am watching on the TV.

Oddly, I always have a good idea of what my husband has been Googling because I get the adverts related to his searches.

He doesn’t get any adverts.

DS told me this morning that we have no more orange squash.
Vimto ad pops up on my phone 🤷‍♀️

Yeah. Mine stopped doing it after I checked permissions on apps and took off all I considered unnecessary. There is no need dor Uber to have access to my microphone for example

Absolutely listening!

Friday afternoon DH and I were wandering around a shop and they were playing a song I recalled from my childhood - Grocer Jack. I'd misheard the lyrics as a kid and always believed it was 'Grow Said Jack'. DH laughed at me and in the car on the way home I said to him how 'Grocer' was a word thats really not heard much anymore, they have gone off the high streets etc and the term is becoming a bit lost.

Got home, scrolling FB and I get an advert for a company called 'American Grocer'.

Yes, happens all the time, so no need for a tin hat OP.

I was reading a thread the other day that someone had posted about Boohoo swimwear and for days had ads with women falling out of hideous Boohoo bikinis and looking like soft porn from the 50s.

Probably happen again now I've mentioned them.

www.theguardian.com/news/2021/jul/18/huge-data-leak-shatters-lie-innocent-need-not-fear-surveillance

The amount of cross-connections between data means the marketing features won't be relying on your microphone for much longer -- if it even is anymore at all.

For example, I received a specific ad for a product I'd discussed with DH. At the time we discussed the product, I was in the middle of a swimming pool, at a hotel, with my phone in my room. I hadn't searched for said item, and I hadn't made any mention to anyone else about this particular purchase, which was still in the consideration phase. I also have all forms of ad tracking turned off as much as possible (I work with ad tech and being able to assess processes on a relatively clean device is a part of the job.)

I got targeted ads for the thing I discussed with DH in the pool fairly quickly.

This is because Facebook took my approximate location data and my personal data, lumped it in with all of the other people in my demographic (women, aged 35-55, multiple children, etc.) and served me the ads for the things other women who were in the same location and demographic category were interested in. They didn't need my microphone to do it; it's much faster and more accurate to cross reference data points from things like my demographic and holiday destination/supermarket purchases/shop visits than it is to collect, analyse, and action audio.

But yes, phones "listening" to you was big news a few years ago.

Yes I get this too. The most noticeable one was dh bought me 2 little novelty gifts on my birthday, funny things I’d never have bought for myself but he thought they’d make me laugh. A few hours later I got adverts for both those things on my phone.

Several times Google has appeared to read my mind. I decide to Google something, I haven't been talking aloud about it. It could be something quite random. I begin typing and autocomplete quickly brings up whatever it is. I don't really understand that!

They are listening. Through your phone.

Phones also swap data over bluetooth. They may not necessarily listen to you. Imagine you google a table and buy it online. You then mention your new table to your friend next time you meet for coffee. Your phones are close enough to swap data over bluetooth. Your friend starts gettibg adverts related to the table due to the data, not her phone listening to your conversation.

Yes also these ads work (apparently) by recognising other phones you are near frequently, and then targeting ads to you based on things the nearby phones have searched (presumably friends, family and colleagues). I saw something about that on instagram recently. They don't need to listen, your friend might have searched for something you talked about, then your phone starts receiving ads based on that making it seem they listened.

I'm sure the listening thing happens too though

@KingdomScrolls genius, never thought to test it.

Yes, phones definitely listen - you'll have ticked boxes to allow various apps (including FB) access to your microphone.

I've lost count of the number of conversations I've had about things that have resulted in targeted adverts popping up on my newsfeed within hours.

@Frogsonglue

Your phone is listening to you. This isn't tin hat, it's a known fact. I've been a bit unnerved recently when a couple of ads have popped up for things I've only thought about inside my head...

This has happened to me !!! I thought at first I was going mad so tested it out.

I now feel like I’m living in a sci fi version of the Truman show

I had a chat with our builder recently about rockwool insulation and I relayed the conversation to my husband when he came home.
For about 2 weeks afterwards I got tons of adverts for that very specific product.

Yep I’ve done experiements where I’ve talked about something random I definitely don’t want to buy, haven’t searched for it in any way and mysteriously adverts started appearing shortly after. I know it sounds like I’ve lost my marbles but I’m convinced my devices are listening to me!

This definitely happens. We have noticed in the class I work in when someone else discusses something, I get adverts for the items discussed when I have not searched for those items. Its all a bit 1984 - Big Brother for me!

Last week I was sure my phone was reading my thoughts because things I thought about but hadn't said out loud were appearing