Ask HN: Amazon sharing data with Facebook/Meta?

3 pointsogwh3y ago2 comments

I have all tracking settings possible turned off on my devices, including in the Facebook and Amazon apps.

Usually the ads shown to me are random, great!

Except whenever I use the Amazon Android app, not long after Facebook starts showing me targeted ads based on products I've viewed on Amazon.

For instance I was looking for gravel and other types of decorative stones for gardening purposes. Many of the products I looked at were marketed as for use in aquariums or with reptiles.

So now Facebook is showing me ads for fish and reptile pet products. When I checked the "why am I seeing this ad?" page they've added pets, fish and reptiles to my "interests".

The only place I've looked at those types of things is in the Amazon app.

What's going on here?

P.S. I even have the global Android targeted ads setting turned off.

2 comments

geminicoolaf3y ago

Same! It's daunting. I don't want to sound paranoid but what bugs me more is that more than rarely I see things I was just talking to my friend about (in person) showing up in ads when I scroll my social feeds...

(Btw I'm an iPhone user and have all tracking settings turned off as well.)

ogwhOP3y ago

Update: So I discovered numerous services were sending data directly to Facebook, using some form of hashed identifier, presumably a hash of my contact info.

The two big ones being Amazon and Uber.

Anyway I've decided to switch to a dumb phone in the near future and just stop using the internet once I've found offline replacements for everything I currently use the internet for.

It's just not worth it anymore.

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