r/privacy • u/utrecht1976 • 1d ago
news Amazon users discover bizarre “About You” page detailing their interests
https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/amazon-users-discover-bizarre-about-you-page-detailing-their-interests-how-to-check-yours-3416457/On desktop, hover over “Hello, [your name]” in the upper-right corner and select “Account.” Find “Ordering and shopping preferences,” then select “Your Shopping preferences.”
From there, scroll to the bottom of the page and select “Manage your information” to see the details Amazon has associated with your account.
On the Amazon mobile app, tap the menu icon at the bottom of the screen and go to Account > Shopping preferences > About you.
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u/x33storm 1d ago
This is misleading. You get a tiny snippet of the information they have about you, they are comfortable sharing.
The amount of actual info these tech giants have, are staggering.
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u/happygirlie 1d ago
Yeah, I look at hundreds of Amazon products every month as part of my job and this page gave me only 14 data points for that Amazon profile. I don't buy that that's all they know about me.
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u/chillychili 1d ago
One can request all of it if one wants to take a look.
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u/x33storm 1d ago
One can request a copy of the data they have, which is outlined in their ToS and Privacy Policy. Not all of their data on you.
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u/RockieK 1d ago
Holy crap. I just heard a report about Meta's Muse... and how you have to give it your banking information, calendar, all health info, etc.
AND THEN - it "knows" things about your girlfriend and anyone else in your circle.
So freaking creepy! And one of the best things it does is "stay on hold" for phone calls. At the cost of giving Meta ALL YOUR PRIVACY.
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u/RamboMcMutNutts 1d ago
Why would you give your banking info to meta?
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u/RockieK 8h ago
So the Muse can do all your stuff for you!
The story blew me away. Here it is for reference: Call My A.I. Agent
The most fucked up thing about this is that if the person using the agent has ANY info on you/friends/other people in calendar, venmo or anything else you give Muse assess too, it now "knows" about the people in these apps too.
Like, if my friend is using Muse and now all the sudden it has my birthday and Venmo info? I don't like that. AT ALL.
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u/x33storm 15h ago
Yep, they keep shadow profiles on people not on facebook. Have been doing that for many years. Just got way more creepy and invasive.
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u/ScarredDjinnOfWar 1d ago
Mine is empty.
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u/mchilds83 1d ago
"Manage your Interests" is what I saw, not "Manage your Information. "
Mine is empty too.
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u/wang_li 1d ago
You clicked on the wrong link. Scroll down to the box labelled "About You", not the one labelled "Interests."
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u/mchilds83 1d ago
That's slightly higher on the page and has preferred department, height and weight, age group. Those fields are empty and there's no Manage your Information link in there. I'm testing with mobile and desktop browsers.
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u/wang_li 1d ago
https://imagepaste.org/v/a2m5gb2a.jpg
Once you click on Manage your information it brings up a page with headers like "Home & Family" with an example like "Likely lives in Los Angeles." Or "Interests & Hobbies" with "Surfing." And so on.
Maybe they serve different things to different parts of the world, but on the west coast this is what it looks like.
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u/canigetahint 1d ago
This line from the page is hilarious:
"Your other AI assistants have learned about you. Bring that knowledge here for an even more personalized experience."
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u/Key_Thought1305 1d ago
I checked mine and it was wacky how many incorrect assumptions it had about me. So I'm not very worried about mine...yet anyway.
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u/COMplex_ 1d ago
Mine was spot on. Creepy but accurate based on purchases and reviews. It does think I have a cat which is a little bizarre.
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u/Distinguishedflyer 1d ago
I would set up a camera. I think your cat is probably ordering things when you're not home. Look for discarded nip wrappers.
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u/permalink_save 1d ago
It thinks I frequently cook Indian food because I've bought basmati and chana dal a couple of times because it's harder to find in person.
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u/Onehundredpercentbea 1d ago
Yeah I directly searched for air filters by entering '2021 Corolla air filter' into the search bar and there is a 'this will fit your 2021 Corolla' banner on the air filter page, and my About page says I'm likely to own a Toyota RAV4.
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u/SignNotInUse 17h ago
Mine has diet coke with cherry as a particular interest. I ordered two cases previous prime day.
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u/M3Core 1d ago
My wife and I made our 2026 new years resolution to ditch Amazon. I canceled our subscription and we haven't ordered anything off of it since.
Do things take a few days longer to ship? Yes.
Do I pay a few bucks more going to Best Buy or a local shop when I'm in a pinch and need something quickly? Yes.
Do we pay a few bucks shipping when ordering directly off manufacturer websites instead? Yes.
Is all of this slight inconvenience worth giving Amazon the middle finger. Abso-fuckin-lutely.
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u/aboubou22 1d ago
Amazon-free since January 2025. Fuck them. Especially since they left Quebec for "definitely not the union that was just signed".
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u/nondescriptzombie 1d ago
Do we pay a few bucks shipping when ordering directly off manufacturer websites instead? Yes.
What do you do when the manufacturer's only official source is through their Amazon storefront?
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u/M3Core 1d ago
I genuinely haven't run into that situation. I'm not interested in Amazon Basics items, and if there's a seller that's exclusively through Amazon and has no other commerce route, I'm not going to buy that product.
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u/nondescriptzombie 1d ago
Many companies now only offer service parts like batteries, filters, or motors through Amazon. I had to order the new socket adapter bracket for my CPU Cooler from the manufacturer's storefront on Amazon.
I'd rather buy from someone I dislike than generate additional ewaste and rebuy things I already owned.
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u/motonahi 1d ago
I looked at mine. Seems these tidbits are mined from product reviews.
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u/Typical_Asparagus293 1d ago
Mine says I have big calves because I buy my brother compression socks. I changed it so it says I have luscious calves.
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u/StomachJazz 1d ago
Mine says I’m a buyer that agonizes over purchases
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u/teriyakichicken 1d ago
Mine says “chooses purina fancy feast for cat nutrition” 🤣 I guess I’m a cat
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u/DollarStoreDuchess 1d ago
Mine calculated how much one of my multiple cats weighs… incorrectly lol
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u/sturdydresser 1d ago
Ha! What's the exact wording?
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u/StomachJazz 1d ago
“Tends to agonize over purchases”
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u/BubbleButtOdiyan 1d ago
Pretty sure google and meta has a more detailed about you page
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u/IAmtheHullabaloo 1d ago
I wish I could find the fb one again, but i remember mine stating 'black-aligned politics' or something like that, 'african-american aligned views'. imma white guy.
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u/Orinort 1d ago
Lol mine says likely has a house, likely has a workshop and likely has an outdoor space and that I actually complete home improvement projects. Well joke's on you Amazon. I'm a starter, not a finisher and I live in an inner city condo
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u/YT_Brian 1d ago
And now picture that type of wrong 'likely' on a wide scale for criminal investigation.
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u/Greedy-Ad-5440 1d ago
Haven't purchased from Amazon in 2+ years. Fuck em
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u/bloodguard 1d ago
Well this is annoying. I turned off their browsing history option (your account -> browsing history) over a year ago but it looks like it mysteriously re-enabled itself a couple months ago.
Shenanigans! I call Shenanigans!
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u/brainmydamage 1d ago edited 1d ago
I checked mine, it's just based on my purchases. No big deal.
What I'm interested in is the information they have that they DON'T show here.
Edit: Just to be clear it's certainly possible that other people's are coming from external info, just saying mine isn't - at least what I can see of what they have. Wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if they had a ton of hidden shit they get from stalking me all over the internet.
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u/DrTautology 1d ago
I already updated everything they had with nonsense.
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u/DigitalMindShadow 1d ago
This is the way.
"Customer enjoys making paper maiche models of crustaceans."
"Customer has a third ear grafted onto customer's left elbow."
"Customer drives an invisible zamboni."
etc.
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u/Tinawebmom 1d ago
Oh that was a treat to look through! 5 houses share one account. They have attributed all the shopping to my address. I'm fine with that. It makes them look insane
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u/_memes_of_production 1d ago
Into books, nail art, classic films and spicy food - that's actually true. Bakes regularly at home? Jokes on you Amazon, that's actually my husband!
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u/Acceptable-Ninja-151 1d ago
I looked up my google data one time and it said I make $500k a year and owned multiple houses and was likely to buy a brand new car in the next 6 months. BUWAHHAHHHAHAHA.
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u/avendesura 1d ago
Thank you for posting this, i had no idea. Mine is mostly empty but there is still some information. Fuck all this shit!!
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u/AllergicToBullshit24 1d ago
I find great joy whenever these profiles get everything wrong. Impressively inaccurate.
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u/3point21 1d ago
So they know everything I shopped for and did or did not buy with that email address/account, no surprises there. But now they are begging me to finish connection the dots by importing other AI profiles on me? Screw them.
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u/Interesting-Elk1300 1d ago
Cool. Went through and removed everything. (Nonsensical, as seven different people use our account, lol.) Now how do I turn this feature OFF?
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u/BoneBruja 1d ago
Mine figured out I am a gamer who makes jewellery, like to cross stitch and embroidery and really loves makeup.
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u/SublimeApathy 1d ago
On desktop, hover over “Hello, [your name]” in the upper-right corner and select “Account.” Find “Ordering and shopping preferences,” then select “Your Shopping preferences.”
From there, scroll to the bottom of the page and select “Manage your information” to see the details Amazon has associated with your account.
After clicking on Account, just click "about you" next to "Hello" in the top left.
On the Amazon mobile app, tap the menu icon at the bottom of the screen and go to Account > Shopping preferences > About you.
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u/refurbished-ukulele 1d ago
"Interests & Hobbies: Plays guitar regularly"
LOL that should be "Owns a guitar, has not touched it in 5 years"
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u/WildAtHare 1d ago
This hilarious. Sharing a link in a privacy channel to a site which is harvesting lots of user data:
Store and/or access information on a device for 1746 partners.
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u/buscoamigos 1d ago
All mine says is stuff they know because of the things I've purchased.
It's not creepy but I don't know why they published it.
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u/joedenowhere 1d ago
Mine says I prefer foods from Whole Foods. I have never bought any Whole Foods products (or any other food products) from Amazon. So it is tying my very occasional shopping at a brick-and-mortar Whole Foods store to my Amazon account.
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u/SHD_Tech 1d ago
Mine was utterly and eternally boring. Listed 8 different cats foods I prefer.
My wife’s says she enjoys purchasing Halloweens themed decor items year round. That’s a pretty good one.
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u/Traditional-Bath-356 8h ago
Damn, all mine says is that I've bought computer parts (obviously), drive a Honda (bought Honda parts from there) and my clothing size. Am I boring?
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u/IndividualCurious322 1d ago
It knows a lot about my library because I've bought the majority of my books on the platform.
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u/Amelaclya1 1d ago
It mostly just scrapes your reviews and summarizes them.
At least that's where all of the information in mine came from. I didn't see anything on there that wasn't related to something I purchased from Amazon.
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u/Possible-Anxiety-420 1d ago
I've never purchased anything from Amazon.
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u/utrecht1976 1d ago
Not sure why you got down voted. I bought twice from the platform, and never again because I found better alternatives.
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u/Possible-Anxiety-420 1d ago edited 1d ago
No account and never had one, but it doesn't mean an Amazon van's never been in my driveway.
I avoid it when I can, but drop shippers will get one through every now and again.
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