Instagram privacy

[SLiath]

Not sure if this is the right thread but it’s definitely one for parents. A few months ago I was bathing my three month old in a baby bath with safely net. Instagram showed me an advertisement of an image of a baby in a very similar bath. I brushed it off being too tired to even comprehend how they received that information. Please note I had not googled this bath or bought it online. A couple of days ago I was again bathing my now 7 month old who has very bad eczema which is highly visible on her stomach. A day later an advertisement for a baby eczema product showing a baby in a bath with a rash popped up on my feed. Again, nothing googled about baby eczema just took her to the doctor. I’m really concerned that Instagram is filming her and I don’t think it’s too far fetched to think they might be. Obviously I can leave my phone in another room etc but that’s not the point. Please only post helpful and sensitive responses. Very sensitive and concerned mum here.

So in my experience it could be one of two things. Happy to be corrected if I'm wrong!

• because of cookie consent, it isn't always googling things that can be picked up on. It could be simple messages, especially if you use Messenger/Instagram chat as they're all owned by Meta. I think the rule is it's all anonymised in theory, so 'meta' sees you've mentioned the word Eczema, knows a Eczema cream company pays Meta to show ads to people who have used this word (targeted ads) - but no one in that process knows it's you as it's all automised.

It can even spread between people - so I mention in person to DM that DS might have Eczema, DM Googles it a few times, and voila - close people to DM are shown ads. I think this is how it works, from what I've been told - but it's certainly close.

• The second is good old fashioned, 'I thought of it once, and now I see it everywhere!' - we see up to 10,000 ads/brands/logos per day. It's perfectly possible you're only 'seeing' them now because that's what you're thinking of. I scroll past dozens, probably hundreds of ads/pop ups a day without giving them any thought. I often do see one for a company who sells a product I've been thinking of though! It's mostly just because I make a split second decision to read an ad I'd usually ignore.

I definitely don't think they are filming, or even listening - though there are lots of conspiracy theories that they might be! But I think advertising has gotten very clever, and cookie consent is not really understood by many.