Next level targeted advertising/propaganda etc

[killer b]

That's all it takes. Facebook owns Whatsapp remember.

so if he's looking at glasses, facebook will show adverts of them to all his friends on fb? or just those that have been standing near his sister?

 

[Boris Sprinkler]

check app permissions on your phone. Chrome will be listed.

 

[Boris Sprinkler]

Edward Snowden talked about this. But the smoke and mirrors was all about the military secrets he supposedly gave away. But that's not why they got angry at him. Luckily, noone really paid attention to the really scary stuff.

 

[Sasaferrato]

I just wish I could afford the stuff I get targeted with Or its stuff I have just brought .

Yes that does irk. I bought an Epson ecotank printer, next day, adverts for printers.

 

[killer b]

I haven't had them since either, other than for a few days after this event

actually I just started getting adverts for glasses again, from the same company, within minutes of posting about it here.

 

[killer b]

If phones really were "listening in" all the time, the hyper-vigilant security/privacy geeks would have uncovered it by now. It's impossible to hide. In all of these stories I don't see anything that can't be explained by coincidence or creepy algorithms.

Show me some controlled experimental data and maybe I'll buy into it.

I don't think they are 'listening in' fwiw, I was just wondering what the mechanism was, what the algorithmic link is between mrs b's brother and me in this case...

 

[skyscraper101]

Or its stuff I have just brought .

This.

I don't really mind being advertised things that might be useful. It's when I get a zillion ads for guitar cases AFTER I've already bought the one I was searching for that seems a bit pointless.

 

[ska invita]

if adverts is the only aspect of this i dont care
political messaging and covert listening for non-advertising goals is what worries me

 

[Serge Forward]

It's a waste of time though, adverts have no effect on me. I just drink Guinness because it's good for you.

 

[two sheds]

why do you drink it if it's good for me though? See they got to you

 

[Serge Forward]

 

[cupid_stunt]

I posted this yesterday on the covid memes thread, but as the subject is targeted ads, I'll stick it here too.

Just had this whatsapp message from my brother...

I have just got back from my first jab. I am now getting inundated with special holiday offers for Cyrus from May or when I have had my second jab, I guess the 5g tracking chip must be working.

 

[salem]

This one is confusing me, I wondered if anyone had any idea how this could work, or if it's just a weird coincidence: A few weeks ago, Mrs B showed me a photo on her whatsapp of some glasses her brother was thinking of buying from a non-mainstream glasses manufacturer. Mrs B doesn't have a facebook account, the photo wasn't forwarded to me, and she didn't name the glasses manufacturer when she showed me the picture.

Later that day, I started getting adverts for glasses on my facebook - this is new, I don't normally get adverts for glasses (I haven't had them since either, other than for a few days after this event) - I laughed and mentioned this to mrs b, along with the name of the manufacturer I was being advertised about: it was the same manufacturer her brother had been looking at.

Any ideas? I am friends with her brother on facebook, but we don't interact on there at all.

Has her brother used any of your devices or have you used his, perhaps even connected to wifi at the the others house? May be that your wife looked up the glasses on your shared internet connection?

You say you're friends on facebook and it seems there is also a way to target Friends of People Who Like Your Page - you don't have to interact on facebook for facebook to know you're connected - might be as simple as you being marked as related or your patterns of messages on facebook or that you have lots of mutual contacts in your phones. The social graph facebook holds is the real scary bit.

That's all it takes. Facebook owns Whatsapp remember.

If phones really were "listening in" all the time, the hyper-vigilant security/privacy geeks would have uncovered it by now. It's impossible to hide. In all of these stories I don't see anything that can't be explained by coincidence or creepy algorithms.

Show me some controlled experimental data and maybe I'll buy into it.

This is the point I always make when people ask me about it. The thing is the listening in bit is tangible and easily understandable to everybody as a concept. The actual way they do this by cross referencing many many data sources is far more dangerous and accurate than trying to decipher spoken word.

That being said I've recently found out that the Google Pixel phones now have a feature where they do a real time shazam type thing 'now playing'. I believe this uses an offline database of sound signatures which is updated weekly. It's exactly the type of trojan horse feature that would be the cover for getting permission from people to use the feature and of course it's not a huge leap to use the tech to identify targeted keywords and feeding back into the adverting networks would be easy enough.

It's still the other tracking bits that are already in use today that are more concerning to me though.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

The instances of women being served pregnancy-related ads before they knew themselves they were pregnant come to mind.

They're also an example of how "oh but I don't mind being tracked and seeing a few ads" is an attitude that doesn't just affect you. It all goes into training the systems to be used on everyone - let alone your personal connections that it's identified.

Some of these can also be wildly off. A co-worker of mine found out that his ex-wife was pregnant because he started getting spam calls about baby services. He couldn't figure it out until his ex-wife confirmed that she was pregnant with the new man she married. I saw his face when he got a couple of these calls. I think it broke his heart a little.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

I think a lot of my ads come through location tracking. I bought a sofa last year and when I got home I had a Facebook ad for the exact model of sofa I'd just bought an hour before. If the furniture company didn't share my data, a big if, then they tracked my cell phone to the store.

The bane of my existance at the moment are spam calls offering to buy my house for cash. The number that shows up on the register is a local one, so I'm tempted to answer it in case its someone calling with something important. I have an elderly parent who has a home alert. It could be them calling for all I know.

 

[killer b]

Has her brother used any of your devices or have you used his, perhaps even connected to wifi at the the others house? May be that your wife looked up the glasses on your shared internet connection?

You say you're friends on facebook and it seems there is also a way to target Friends of People Who Like Your Page - you don't have to interact on facebook for facebook to know you're connected - might be as simple as you being marked as related or your patterns of messages on facebook or that you have lots of mutual contacts in your phones. The social graph facebook holds is the real scary bit.

he lives in another city, we have very little contact at all, and no mutuals other than one of the other brothers. He may have used my internet when he stayed overnight in my house a few years ago I guess?

Mrs b didn't look up the glasses, she just showed me a photo he'd sent her (it was probably received via a shared internet connection though)

 

[mauvais]

he lives in another city, we have very little contact at all, and no mutuals other than one of the other brothers. He may have used my internet when he stayed overnight in my house a few years ago I guess?

Mrs b didn't look up the glasses, she just showed me a photo he'd sent her (it was probably received via a shared internet connection though)

Although you say it's a non-mainstream company, it's still entirely possible that the root cause has nothing to do with your connection or activity - i.e. a relatively small glasses company has run an advertising campaign targeted at a particular online demographic (not necessarily just gender and age etc) and you have both been targeted by it without any other connection.

 

[killer b]

Although you say it's a non-mainstream company, it's still entirely possible that the root cause has nothing to do with your connection or activity - i.e. a relatively small glasses company has run an advertising campaign targeted at a particular online demographic (not necessarily just gender and age etc) and you have both been targeted by it without any other connection.

it's the company he normally gets glasses from though apparently

 

[salem]

If he likes them on facebook and you're a friend on facebook than target Friends of People Who Like Your Page could be it. As Facebook also tracks beyond their site with their 'pixel' I wouldn't be surprised if it also worked for targeting friends of people who showed an interest even if they're not followers.

 

[muscovyduck]

It could be that we're getting this the wrong way around too - I've noticed algorithms prime me to think about certain things (eg I should buy a moisturiser with retinol in), then a while later the adverts pop up. In that middle bit I'm talking to my mates about retinol. Could be they've got the timing down to a tee and they don't need to listen

 

[Sasaferrato]

It's a waste of time though, adverts have no effect on me. I just drink Guinness because it's good for you.

No, it gives you strength.

 

[two sheds]

Give me strength