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So it bothers you that they TELL you that they have your purchase history, not that they DO have your purchase history?

by rorrr2 13y ago

falcolas 13y ago
I'll fully admit, it seems counter-intuitive, but yes, it does. I think the reason is that while I know somewhere in my mind that Amazon (using them as an example, since I order from them frequently) has a huge quantity of information about me, but it's not something I think about on a day to day basis. However, the moment they do something to bring my attention to the fact that they have extensive information on me, such as a fictional "you usually buy a movie every Saturday Night, and it's Sunday and you haven't made a purchase, would you like to buy a movie now?" would immediately bring the awareness of their tracking to the front of my mind, and create the associated worry about "just how much do they know about me?" I know that the answer to that question is "a lot," and enumerating exactly how much they might know about me is a very long process. It makes me question "can I trust Amazon to use this to my advantage, and not theirs?" Even if they never do use it in an "evil" way (which I believe will be the case), the capability is still unsettling to me.
- Jem 13y ago
  Actually, I agree with you. It brought to mind when Facebook does that creepy "you probably know these people" thing based on knowing X and Y and going to Z school. I gave it the data, I know I voluntarily handed it over, and yet I still pause and think "holy crap" sometimes.
pessimizer 13y ago
"spending ~13min per day on our website from IP 192.168.0.1" isn't a purchase history any more than a plainclothes security guard following you around a department store is a purchase history.
- ejk314 13y ago
  No (smart) website would actually say that. They'd say something like, "Thanks for being a regular! Here's a discount." Like a friendly checkout clerk, rather than a stalker. So then tech folks know they're probably tracking stuff like that, but you knew that anyways.

So it bothers you that they TELL you that they have your purchase history, not that they DO have your purchase history?

by rorrr2 13y ago

So it bothers you that they TELL you that they have your purchase history, not that they DO have your purchase history?

I'll fully admit, it seems counter-intuitive, but yes, it does. I think the reason is that while I know somewhere in my mind that Amazon (using them as an example, since I order from them frequently) has a huge quantity of information about me, but it's not something I think about on a day to day basis. However, the moment they do something to bring my attention to the fact that they have extensive information on me, such as a fictional "you usually buy a movie every Saturday Night, and it's Sunday and you haven't made a purchase, would you like to buy a movie now?" would immediately bring the awareness of their tracking to the front of my mind, and create the associated worry about "just how much do they know about me?" I know that the answer to that question is "a lot," and enumerating exactly how much they might know about me is a very long process. It makes me question "can I trust Amazon to use this to my advantage, and not theirs?" Even if they never do use it in an "evil" way (which I believe will be the case), the capability is still unsettling to me.

Jem 13y ago
Actually, I agree with you. It brought to mind when Facebook does that creepy "you probably know these people" thing based on knowing X and Y and going to Z school. I gave it the data, I know I voluntarily handed it over, and yet I still pause and think "holy crap" sometimes.

pessimizer 13y ago

"spending ~13min per day on our website from IP 192.168.0.1" isn't a purchase history any more than a plainclothes security guard following you around a department store is a purchase history.

ejk314 13y ago
No (smart) website would actually say that. They'd say something like, "Thanks for being a regular! Here's a discount." Like a friendly checkout clerk, rather than a stalker. So then tech folks know they're probably tracking stuff like that, but you knew that anyways.