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Based on the rubbish ads I get on YouTube on my phone I don’t think google are in any place to know what my interest even are. 5 years ago I used to get advert

Based on the rubbish ads I get on YouTube on my phone I don’t think google are in any place to know what my interest even are. 5 years ago I used to get adverts for things like films which I would often watch the whole way through. Today I get adverts for phones and Chromebook. It’s like google are unable to sell adverts that actually target me and instead just throw their own rubbish I have no interest in, and even if I did they are not using the right features (I think they said that a Chromebook can run something by adobe? A company I haven’t run any tools from for about 20 years). I guess they don’t have much data on me as I don’t do google other than YT and sometimes maps on the desktop, but the adverts aren’t even based on the types of youtube videos I watch, they feel like very generic adverts for products I don’t want.

burningChrome 3y ago
>> I guess they don’t have much data on me I would consider this a good thing. My wife and I were talking the other night at a friends who have an Alexa in their kitchen. We were talking about taking a ski trip out West to Colorado or Utah. We get the car to leave. She pops open her Facebook feed and wouldn't you know? She's getting ads for resorts in. . .wait for it. . . .Colorado and Utah along with the two places were thinking of going. I was creeped TF out because this wasn't the first time its happened and the other two times, we weren't near a listening device like an Alexa and similar things have happened. If they don't know your preferences, then you're doing something right.
- kortilla 3y ago
  Someone in the group searched something. Alexa doesn’t share with Facebook even if it did listen for advertising interests. It’s much more benign, but Facebook definitely does advertise things to a whole group it guesses (usually correctly) were located together.
  - cmrdporcupine 3y ago
    It's also likely that the conversation about the ski resorts was preceded by (or concurrent with) people Googling around about these things, or visiting ski related topics on FB, etc.
- jiveturkey 3y ago
  common human biases that led to this common incorrect assumption of spying. alexa was definitely not involved here. i bet you were also talking about a bunch of other things, that didn't show up in the FB feed.
- firecall 3y ago
  I get the same thing! I know logically and rationally how it works in a broad fashion. But yet I swear that sometimes it feels like something is listening to my conversations! For instance: the other night in my Hotel Room, I watched Last Week Tonight which was about Elon Musk. I turn off the TV, and shortly afterwards check Instagram. And Boom! I’m seeing Ads for Starlink. It does freak you out a bit! I had only my iPhone with me. So no Alexa or Google devices. But still…. Coincidence or not, it’s disconcerting!

burningChrome 3y ago

>> I guess they don’t have much data on me I would consider this a good thing. My wife and I were talking the other night at a friends who have an Alexa in their kitchen. We were talking about taking a ski trip out West to Colorado or Utah. We get the car to leave. She pops open her Facebook feed and wouldn't you know? She's getting ads for resorts in. . .wait for it. . . .Colorado and Utah along with the two places were thinking of going. I was creeped TF out because this wasn't the first time its happened and the other two times, we weren't near a listening device like an Alexa and similar things have happened. If they don't know your preferences, then you're doing something right.

kortilla 3y ago
Someone in the group searched something. Alexa doesn’t share with Facebook even if it did listen for advertising interests. It’s much more benign, but Facebook definitely does advertise things to a whole group it guesses (usually correctly) were located together.
- cmrdporcupine 3y ago
  It's also likely that the conversation about the ski resorts was preceded by (or concurrent with) people Googling around about these things, or visiting ski related topics on FB, etc.
jiveturkey 3y ago
common human biases that led to this common incorrect assumption of spying. alexa was definitely not involved here. i bet you were also talking about a bunch of other things, that didn't show up in the FB feed.
firecall 3y ago
I get the same thing! I know logically and rationally how it works in a broad fashion. But yet I swear that sometimes it feels like something is listening to my conversations! For instance: the other night in my Hotel Room, I watched Last Week Tonight which was about Elon Musk. I turn off the TV, and shortly afterwards check Instagram. And Boom! I’m seeing Ads for Starlink. It does freak you out a bit! I had only my iPhone with me. So no Alexa or Google devices. But still…. Coincidence or not, it’s disconcerting!