4 ms·

Today I browsed Google from my desktop PC about "Gundam" (the japonese anime) for about 1 hour. Pretty niche topic. Then when I was done, I closed all browser

by antpls 5y ago

Today I browsed Google from my desktop PC about "Gundam" (the japonese anime) for about 1 hour. Pretty niche topic. Then when I was done, I closed all browser tabs, I unlocked my smartphone to check Instagram, and the second ads I get is a Gundam ad. I have no idea how my shadow "desktop" ad profile and shadow "mobile" ad profile matched. I share no accounts between my desktop and my smartphone : - I use different Google accounts on my phone and desktop (although I occasionally log in one or the other in private tabs) - The internet connections are different : 4G for phone, fiber for desktop - On desktop, I use Chromium with Ad block Plus - I do not use facebook nor instagram on my desktop PC So how the f. did Instagram know about my Gundam browsing on desktop. This must stop.

sroussey 5y ago
LiveRamp connects all the “anonymous” identifiers together for a household.
- ericbarrett 5y ago
  Third party SDKs also report your location to these services[0], which makes it trivial to track your phone to your location (or they could just buy that info directly from the carrier). Your home ISP's assigned IP is also in a database with your name and a unique identifier. So it doesn't matter what adblocking you use, they still know where the hits are coming from. All this data is traded around the ad "ecosystem" and integrated real-time, so it can be milliseconds from action to ad-impression. [0] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/19/opinion/location-tracking-cell-phone.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/19/opinion/locat...
danbolt 5y ago
I think Instagram can usually figure it out from the Minovsky Particles given off by your PC for that short bit of time.
PeterisP 5y ago
If you log in different google accounts in private tabs, then any browser fingerprinting would immediately link them. Also, it's plausible that one of your contacts has your phone number connected with the email of your desktop google account.

by antpls 5y ago

sroussey 5y ago

LiveRamp connects all the “anonymous” identifiers together for a household.

ericbarrett 5y ago
Third party SDKs also report your location to these services[0], which makes it trivial to track your phone to your location (or they could just buy that info directly from the carrier). Your home ISP's assigned IP is also in a database with your name and a unique identifier. So it doesn't matter what adblocking you use, they still know where the hits are coming from. All this data is traded around the ad "ecosystem" and integrated real-time, so it can be milliseconds from action to ad-impression. [0] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/19/opinion/location-tracking-cell-phone.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/19/opinion/locat...

danbolt 5y ago

I think Instagram can usually figure it out from the Minovsky Particles given off by your PC for that short bit of time.

PeterisP 5y ago

If you log in different google accounts in private tabs, then any browser fingerprinting would immediately link them. Also, it's plausible that one of your contacts has your phone number connected with the email of your desktop google account.