Surveillance...??? This was troubling.

[uncledj]

Lisa and I were down in Myrtle Beach since Saturday. When we were there we went into a Wally World to pick up a few things.

I happened to walk through the bicycle aisle, and saw bike seats....there was an over-sized seat that looked comfortable, and I thought of my brother, who we care for ...(Autistic)...and thought that looks like a much better seat for his bike than the one he has on it...I picked it up and examined it...then decided that this wasn't the time to buy it and put it back.

I hadn't searched for bike seats, or any other bike related things....I just happened to see it and examine it in the store and that was the end of it.

 

The next time I signed onto my 'puter, .....an oversized bike seat ad (Amazon) came up on the side of the screen.

What are the odds that out of the blue...by chance....they decided to send me such an ad...???

Not a common thing to look for, but there it was.

How could that possibly happen....No web search....don't even remember mentioning it to Lisa...

This is blowing my mind.

[etcswjoe]

You must have an Android based phone, all the Google stuff is tied together. turn off your location services on your phone and on your Google account.

[bpate4home]

It's called Bluetooth tagging and it is becoming a 'thing' in stores. If your Bluetooth is on they have chips in the isles and if you stand in an isle for any length of time they can make a logical guess as to what you are looking at. These tags are also getting placed inside product boxes. Sort of like the anti theft strips in boxes. The close the box comes to your phone the more your phone registers it. They now have ones that don't require batteries so that is why it is becoming so popular.

[uncledj]

It's called Bluetooth tagging and it is becoming a 'thing' in stores. If your Bluetooth is on they have chips in the isles and if you stand in an isle for any length of time they can make a logical guess as to what you are looking at. These tags are also getting placed inside product boxes. Sort of like the anti theft strips in boxes. The close the box comes to your phone the more your phone registers it. They now have ones that don't require batteries so that is why it is becoming so popular.

 

​WOW.....me no likey.

[saddlebum]

​WOW.....me no likey.

Yeh me no like either.

[Motorcycle Mike]

I don't like that either but it wont work on me.

I never carry my phone into a store or restaurant.

It stays on the bike or in the truck. I'll check it when I get back.

I don't understand why people feel they have to be accessible every minute of every day.

[SpencerPJ]

Me to like either.

I always chuckle when people say, Oh Facebook is free, or Google is free. Folks, nothing is free.

[RDawson]

Check your iPhone, under settings, privacy, health. Any that updated recently had a Covid tracker installed. On Androids it’s under the google if I remember correctly.

[bpate4home]

Check your iPhone, under settings, privacy, health. Any that updated recently had a Covid tracker installed. On Androids it’s under the google if I remember correctly.

 

On iPhones its under Settings/Privacy/Health. By default it is off. I check it after every single Apple update, like the one that installed last night.

 

As far as taking my phone into any location, I carry mine just about everywhere. Primarily work related but sometimes it is used to take pictures, search isle / shelf locations etc.

[CaseyJ955]

There is a reason Google is among 511,788 domains blocked (if I count selectable filter lists and my own blacklist) at the DNS level on my network. In order to take advantage of such tranquility you cant be at the mercy of any Google services, which I am not but I know many are. I have nixxed almost all big tech and killed about anything that even thinks of tracking me or showing me ads. It's been A LONG TIME since I've seen an ad on my comp screen!

 

Once I got a look at my internet traffic in black and white I was appalled and couldn't wildcard block these gross offenders fast enough. I cancelled my Amazon Prime account past-haste and blocked all Amazon serviced to my network as soon as I saw what they were up to. Samsung too, Microsoft, yup, and many many more. My internet is so damn clean I get giddy each time I open it up and surf, it tickles me when I see trackers blocked and blank spots where ads are NOT. If a business web site has too many trackers or analytics I will likely decide not to do business with them. It's equally eerie and offensive that they are so proficient at violating one's privacy and monetization. I'll bet no one person in the world knows all the ways they do it.

Locking down my internet was every bit as liberating as cord cutting my cable and landline.

 

 

One Q for the OP, did you buy ANYTHING bicycle related on that trip or did you Google search anything about bicycles recently? Did you text/email anyone about the bicycle seat? Google and Yahoo do scan your emails and use that to advertise to you. I would love to know if and how they got you on the bike seat.

[uncledj]

One Q for the OP, did you buy ANYTHING bicycle related on that trip or did you Google search anything about bicycles recently? Did you text/email anyone about the bicycle seat? Google and Yahoo do scan your emails and use that to advertise to you. I would love to know if and how they got you on the bike seat.

 

Nope, nope and nope.

Last thing I bought bicycle related was a tire for his bike...maybe last April. (From Amazon) Had no reason to search anything so related since. Just happened to be walking through the bike aisle and noticed the seat,...and thought of Jeff. When I put the tire on and test rode the bike, I thought this is an awful hard seat, and hadn't thought of it again until I saw that big, cushy seat....kinda like the pillow-top on my second gen...lol...

Went to it, took it off the rack and inspected for maybe 10 seconds, then decided I could get him one when I got home.

Then when I logged onto the 'puter, that ad came up for an over-sized, cushy bike seat.

Scary.

[Flyinfool]

OK, even more scarry, yesterday I was thinking about some new toys, I have never searched for them, never looked at them in any store, never communicated the idea verbally or electronically to anyone that I was thinking of it, it is completely unrelated to anything I have ever done before. But this morning there were 3 adds already for that item. So now they are reading my mind???? Or have they got this whole thing down so good that they can predict what I am going to be thinking about before I even think about it?

 

My mind is a very warped thing, for some puter algorithm to have it figured out is a really scary thing.

[CaseyJ955]

One Q for the OP, did you buy ANYTHING bicycle related on that trip or did you Google search anything about bicycles recently? Did you text/email anyone about the bicycle seat? Google and Yahoo do scan your emails and use that to advertise to you. I would love to know if and how they got you on the bike seat.

 

Nope, nope and nope.

Last thing I bought bicycle related was a tire for his bike...maybe last April. (From Amazon) Had no reason to search anything so related since. Just happened to be walking through the bike aisle and noticed the seat,...and thought of Jeff. When I put the tire on and test rode the bike, I thought this is an awful hard seat, and hadn't thought of it again until I saw that big, cushy seat....kinda like the pillow-top on my second gen...lol...

Went to it, took it off the rack and inspected for maybe 10 seconds, then decided I could get him one when I got home.

Then when I logged onto the 'puter, that ad came up for an over-sized, cushy bike seat.

Scary.

 

I know they have algorithms on how to most effectively barrage products (To Google, YOU are the product, not the customer) with adverts most likely to make you spend. Had you bought any bicycle related stuff online ever? Maybe the compiled how often customers that buy bicycle parts shop and average all that out to flash you some adverts when it's about time for you to spend some bicycle money. I know it sounds silly but they are very serious about monetization and no piece of your privacy is sacred to them in their quest to make that happen.

 

It was many years ago before I started to realize how greasy many (all that I've dealt with) big tech companies are, I got an ad on my browser that went something like this, "A must read for male nurses between the ages of 46-51", and being in that category I knew treachery was afoot but I bit down out of morbid curiosity. It was an advert for malpractice insurance. Of course I was equal parts outraged and motivated to cut their greasy tentacles off before they slip over my electronic/cyberspace threshold. It was then that I realized the reach and roots of these advertisers and most specifically, Google. That was the last time I used Google search or Gmail and now Google has no real way to annoy or monetize me. I blacklisted Google and blocked any widgets or trackers even loosely related to it or any social networking service. It was also the last time I used a Microsoft browser or Chrome. I dont use Apple devices, ever. I use an Android (Google OS) phone but I first rooted it and replaced the OS with a fully customized user created OS which is so much faster and never ever even had Google play or store on it. I feel pretty well locked down but it does take a little doing. I'm most interested in how they actually got you with the very same style seat you were eyeballing in the store. I may not sleep until it occurs to me how they made that happen, if they made that happen.

 

I'm pretty sure most folks have no idea what they are getting into when they make a Google account and use the search engine, or gmail, or start syncing devices and accounts. Almost anyone reading this right now, Google and FB probably know you are here reading this. Even when you leave a Google or FB page, they continue to track where you go and what you do on the net. Internet activity trackers are VERY VERY common and grossly overused by tech companies to monetize on their product (you).

 

Last theory, and this one is over the top I know, but here goes. Facial recognition worked into normal store surveillance, names put to shoppers faces before they put that thing down that they were looking at. Does this store do that, I'm guessing no but it would not shock me if a major player like Walmart did this and sold the info en-masse to Google and it's advertising partners. There, hows that for some off the wall crazy talk? Brick and mortar stores helping online giants build your shopping and buying profile. Yup, I dont think so but I would not be at all shocked if it were true. This is a highly interesting and many faceted subject so sorry I blathered on, but I have learned quite a bit about protecting oneself from Google and others.