As a quick catch-up, most large scale Internets companies are tracking as much info about you as possible. This is why Google, Facebook, etc, are free. They sell that shit, or use it to sell ads to people (like me!)
That might be OK by you. Trading some weirdly specific ads on other websites is a small cost to pay for a free Gmail account and the ability to use a sub-par search engine to find how how birds fuck. Your searches may be for different stuff, I end up in a lot of weird conversations.
Until lately, I was OK with this too, since all my online profiles are filled with filthy lies, so my ads are for random shit like Muslim singles dating sites and server hardware. But there have been disturbing rumors lately that Facebook is spying on your phone. For example, they're listening to your calls, and stuffing that conversation in a database somewhere to help profile you further. FB denies doing this, sort of. They say they aren't selling that information to any advertisers (I can't tell you how comforting that denial is.)
Which I could almost buy. Until today.
See, today I started seeing ads for diapers. I have purchased diapers precisely one time. Two days ago. I don't use any other social media platforms with any real data at all. I don't have kids, and am not expecting one in the near future. I don't have the FB app on my phone. But my girlfriend does. And we had a baby shower to go to. So I bought some diapers, for the first time in my life.
Today? A shitload of ads for diapers on various sites on the internets.
Sounds like Facebook. Might be Google, or a handful of other jackoffs. Either way, I'm a fucking paranoiac about privacy on the internet, and they made me. Your information is being consumed and distributed to advertisers and who knows else far more than you're aware of. Two days turnaround to fling ads at me after a on a one time purchase from a brick & mortar offline store. Happy browsing.
As an addendum, I believe this is a Thing, because I do not see such ads at work, where I haven't ever logged in to Facebook or other stuff I check at the house. I don't dick around when I'm in the office.
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