Paranoia or bigbrother?

[The Valkyrie]

Google often do make mistakes though.

Ebay tried to sell me some naughty ladies lingerie!





*note to self: change wifi password on home security cameras!*

Too late.

I have THOSE pics, too.

I'm a bit concerned that you put a tutu on your rabbit as well...

[GrandizerII]

They're not random Kit.
I buy and sell shit on ebay.

I've ticked the box to send me emails like this.

My specific concern in this instance is how the fuck they know I'm vaguely interested in sandals, boots and backpacks!
Scary shit if you ask me...

GPS.

[Little lunch]

Nice panties, Ig, but maybe shave off the side burns.

[Brian37]

[This is 100% serious.]

Guys, I don't want to jump to conclusions just yet.

So I had a nice day out with the Mrs at a shopping centre yesterday.
She bought a jumper...  I looked at a lot of things but didn't buy anything. (I don't really need anything).

Anyway, I remember looking at some nice hush puppy sandals in one store.
I remember looking at some nice hiking boots in another store.
I also remember looking at some backpacks in another sporting goods store.

Just now, my phone goes blip (notification of email). I click on gmail and it's just another "just for you" email from ebay.
No big deal, I get them regularly.

It was recommending to me: That's right! Sandals, hiking boots and backpacks! WTAF!

This is NOT something I searched on ebay.   EVER!
My mind is going bigbrother crazy at the moment ...
With today's tech, it wouldn't be hard to do...
Cameras, Face recognition, personal and/or public photos I've posted on youtube, google drive (automatic backup from phone), etc.

Any other explanations? Is this type of highly organised marketing by the big players even legal?


I think I'll wear a burqa next time I go shopping. I don't really know what else to do...

Google DOES track your devices. That is not government doing that, but the private sector looking to sell you something. But it sounds to me in this case this was just a random algorithm.

Ever since I booked my trip on Travelocity BY PHONE, I have gotten all sorts of fucking spam in my e-mail, and Quantas adds on FB.

BUT one thing I have never done is give my personal info on the web, nor in e-mail. You consider what happened to you more like the junk mail you get in your mail box on the end of your driveway.

[popeyespappy]

My specific concern in this instance is how the fuck they know I'm vaguely interested in sandals, boots and backpacks!
Scary shit is you ask me...

They are pretty much outright spying on us including reading our email. I'm heading out of town today. Yesterday I emailed a copy of my itinerary to Karen. This morning she got a notification from Google saying flight number ____ (my flight) was departing Huntsville at 11am.

[I_am_not_mafia]

Anyway, I remember looking at some nice hush puppy sandals in one store.
I remember looking at some nice hiking boots in another store.
I also remember looking at some backpacks in another sporting goods store.

Just now, my phone goes blip (notification of email). I click on gmail and it's just another "just for you" email from ebay.
No big deal, I get them regularly.

One thing to consider is that if you're looking for hiking boots or sandals, you'll probably also be considering a backpack. Or at least there will be some statistical correlation in that they are often bought together.

Did you go into these shops because there was a promotion on these products? Or they were displayed prominently in the shop window? It could be that your movements were tracked to these shops which also had on-line promotions and maybe there is some service for targetted advertising which uses this data and informs their clients what you are most likely going to respond to.

I had an interview at a company last year in Edinburgh which were working on tracking where people were in shopping centres for exactly this kind of reason,.

[ignoramus]

M, what I find the scariest is that the sandals I picked up and looked at was at a big shoe shop with all sorts of shoes for men and women.
The hiking boots I looked at was in a Kathmandu store. Ebay could have tried to promote anything from them stores, but the next morning they were advertising about 5 different pairs of sandals and about 5 different pairs of hiking boots. I can understand the wifi/gps picking my location in the shops themselves and trying to intelligently promote items for me to buy. But they knew exactly what I was looking at! It might've been some fluke Not sure what else to say without sounding like a tinfoiler...

[Whateverist]

They're not random Kit.
I buy and sell shit on ebay.

I've ticked the box to send me emails like this.

My specific concern in this instance is how the fuck they know I'm vaguely interested in sandals, boots and backpacks!
Scary shit if you ask me...

Wait .. you don't have some sort of shoe fetish, do you?  If most of what you buy and sell related to said fetish that would explain a lot.

[GrandizerII]

M, what I find the scariest is that the sandals I picked up and looked at was at a big shoe shop with all sorts of shoes for men and women.
The hiking boots I looked at was in a Kathmandu store. Ebay could have tried to promote anything from them stores, but the next morning they were advertising about 5 different pairs of sandals and about 5 different pairs of hiking boots. I can understand the wifi/gps picking my location in the shops themselves and trying to intelligently promote items for me to buy. But they knew exactly what I was looking at! It might've been some fluke  Not sure what else to say without sounding like a tinfoiler...

You sure you didn't search for sandals and hiking boots earlier online before heading to the stores? This seems really creepy otherwise.

[LastPoet]

I wonder why I needed penis enlargement pills and other methods a few years ago. Suddenly they stopped. I guess my peen grown enough on its own. Not today, its chilly.