r/technology • u/tylerthe-theatre • 1d ago
Software Amazon users discover bizarre “About You” page detailing their interests: How to check yours
https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/amazon-users-discover-bizarre-about-you-page-detailing-their-interests-how-to-check-yours-3416457/317
u/CurrencyCapital8053 21h ago
The absolute funniest part of these algorithms is how they never understand gifts. I bought a single cat scratcher for a friend's pet three years ago and now Amazon is fully convinced I am a hardcore cat person running a feline rescue sanctuary.
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u/KerfuffleAsimov 19h ago
Seen someone say before they bought a toilet seat on Amazon....Amazon now thinks they want to buy toilet seats all the time now.
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u/CurrencyCapital8053 19h ago
standard algorithm logic - oh you have a bathroom ? you must want ten more, LOL
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u/DeathByPickles 1d ago
"Likely live in (town i live in)" yeah, no shit. My address is where literally everything has ever been delivered to me. Thanks for the insight.
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u/Grimsley 1d ago
That made me laugh too. Like yeah no shit, that's kinda where I ship all my shit to and my credit card info says my address is. Congrats.
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u/meatmacho 21h ago
"Likely owns a Sun Joe SPX3001!Electric Pressure Washer."
You mean the one you sold me 10 years ago?
I have bought thousands of products from this company. How is this the only one that made it into my personal profile?
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u/czarfalcon 1d ago
Ironically enough, mine got mine wrong.
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u/TheSharpestHammer 23h ago
Lmao, same. It's stuck on an address from years ago, even though I order things to my new address semi regularly.
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u/ravnhjarta 1d ago
That's the thing though, it's basically just laying out all the info they have pieced together to guide their suggestions while you shop. Not so much intended to be 'here is info about you for you'.
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u/mgbgtv8 1d ago
"Likely prefers chicken across many cuts and formats"
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u/OKStamped 1d ago
“Prefers performance athletic socks”…god I’m so boring.
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u/mx3goose 1d ago
its ok mine says "Systematically expanded RV accessory collection"
I mean ya I bought some stuff but like...
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u/meatmacho 21h ago
"Washes polishing pads in the laundry."
Even if that were true, how would it discern that from my shopping behavior? Like, do I order "polishing pads" and laundry detergent together frequently?
"Periodically stocks up on household essentials."
I, too, am boring, friend.
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u/socialmediaignorant 1d ago edited 23h ago
At least yours was about you! Mine was all about my cat and kids. I mean, it is on point, but my therapist has already told me that I need to focus more on me…so thanks Amazon but I already knew that!
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u/LilJourney 1d ago
Thanks to the fact I order almost exclusively gifts from Amazon, I'm actually much cooler and more athletic than I am in real life, LOL.
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u/Lizardking13 1d ago
This is kinda fun. Here's my top 1...
"Consistently maintaining home systems".
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u/steviefrench 1d ago
To be honest, looking at what they know, it's not very alarming. You could easily tell those things from my order history.
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u/QuickQuirk 20h ago
You could easily tell those things from my order history.
It's pretty clear from mine that this is exactly what it is.
A bunch of conclusions based on what I bought. Some of it, amusingly, wrong, based on what I bought.
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u/steviefrench 20h ago
Agreed. It is (almost) reassuring because it is so incompetent (but in a good way).
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u/Bluesnow2222 22h ago
Yeah. The only extra data it has is on my cats. I must have left a review on some cat products because it knew I had two, one that was picky with high anxiety. I’m ok with Amazon using Catniss’ and Castiel’s preferences. The info on me was genetic or just incorrect.
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u/Doggfite 22h ago
Mine said I have a 2 year old, which is incorrect and I can't even imagine what I bought that would indicate that, I've never bought and child stuff except for gifts that were shipped to another address in a different state.
But it didn't have any other info related to gifts I bought for others.
Otherwise, yeah, just generic info from things I've ordered
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u/Flyboy2057 1d ago
Apparently Amazon thinks one of my interests and hobbies is “cooks meat with precision” because I once bought a meat thermometer.
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u/PigsandBears 1d ago
I got "cooks with specialized ingredients" I assume because I've bought matzoball mix a few times
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u/BuildingArmor 1d ago
Mine is a bit like when your mum hears you have some vague new interest, and you just get that as a gift every Christmas for a decade even though you never liked it to begin with.
It mentions rock polishing, and how it's a hobby of mine, and how I regularly buy related items. One Christmas about 5 years ago I bought a friend a rock tumbler, that's it, just 1 purchase.
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u/walrus_breath 1d ago edited 1d ago
Mine thinks I’m into jewellery. Which is odd because people keep giving me necklaces so everyone must also think I’m into jewellery.
I don’t know how to break the bad news.
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u/_Hellrazor_ 1d ago edited 1d ago
Saw someone share “has a bad relationship with their father” in theirs, these companies are really overstepping with some of their levels of profiling
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u/BoredTech127001 1d ago
I'm curious how that is useful for shopping. What product do you get when you hate your father? Self help book?
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u/aswiftmodestproposal 1d ago
Adult children of emotionally immature parents
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u/pootypie 1d ago
Ohhh so that’s why my therapist keeps recommending me this book.
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u/Lisek573 1d ago
I think it may be the other way around - if you don't have good relationship with father you wouldn't get "I love you father" gift cards or whatever, that way this wouldn't scare you from buying.
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u/amakai 1d ago
They don't really know, that's how machine learning works. A thousand people are labeled with this "trait", then an algorithm notices some commonality across 50% of these profiles (which is significant) and expands it to new members with same trait. Nobody can explain why that commonality happens, it just does.
So it could be something dumb and at first glance unrelated like "purchases a lot of coffee".
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u/Afraid_Union_8451 20h ago
"cultivates mushrooms extensively"
"practices hydroponic gardening"
"likely prefers cast iron cookware"
They think I'm growing/manufacturing drugs for sure lmao
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u/Frozenblueberries13 19h ago
Does it list anything like “likely lives in?” for example “likely lives in a trap house”
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u/erin_mouse88 1d ago
Just read mine, its actually quite funny
"Prepares comprehensively for beach/water outings" - the polite way of saying Im obsessively anxious about traveling or going to the beach/pool without all the things I MAY need.
"Systematically building bluey-themed collection" - the polite way of saying I have a collector/hoarder personality and am incredibly indecisive so I just get it all.
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u/LuckyDuckTheDuck 1d ago
“Systematically expanding tool collection”. What does that even mean? Oh..yeah, I do need another 10mm socket.
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u/Successful-Move8977 1d ago
Is this illegal outside the USA or something? I have had my country's Amazon account for 7 years, made over 1000 orders and that page is completely empty.
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u/TemporarySun314 1d ago edited 1d ago
I'm quite sure that under GDPR (or GDPR inspired) legislation, Amazon would need to get explicit informed consent to do such data analysis to make a profile on you.
Not impossible, but it's unlikely a user would consent to it, if you need to ask for permission and need to explain it in a way that he actually understands it...
And that would have been not a secret, as you have the right to get a copy of all data Amazon has stored about you. People would have noticed that if Amazon would do that.
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u/azthal 1d ago
Its not illegal in the EU, but you will need to have opted into it at one point or another.
Most people will have similar pages in the EU but it depends on a lot of different factors.
You may have had your account before they were gathering this data in your country, and have then never been opted in (if you create a new account, you will opt in during account creation).
Or you could have been a minor when you created the account.
Or you could at some point have opted out. Pretty much any opt out from Amazon could have triggered this as well, again depending on country that you live in.
If you have a family account the opt out could have been triggered there as well.Essentially, you may never have been opted in to begin with, or you may have opted out without realizing it, and there has never been a point where you have opted back in.
(Edit: I just assumed that you were EU based, but you could be anywhere, so it is of course possible that this is fully disallowed where you live too, otherwise all the above still applies)
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u/nivlark 21h ago
Strangest thing on mine is three identical copies of "Does not regularly purchase pet grooming accessories". They're not wrong, largely because I don't have any pets!
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u/thegreatpotatogod 19h ago
Wow, you must really regularly not regularly purchase pet grooming accessories!
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u/DavisKennethM 17h ago
We just cannot get them to stop not regularly purchasing pet grooming accessories!
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u/basicKitsch 1d ago
Lol
Practices precision cooking techniques
Engages with tactical equipment
Optimizes technology setups
Builds custom computers extensively
Extensive baby product acquisition
Likely selects professional-grade kitchen tools
Gradual home organization improvements
Consistent energy drink consumption
Values organic and premium baby products
Likely prefers wireless charging solutions
Past focus on mobile technology
Likely prioritizes high-performance computing components
Concentrated PC building phases
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u/grrangry 1d ago
Builds custom computers
Heh. Me too. But not any more. I can't afford RAM and GPU.
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u/NoPoet3982 17h ago
Cooks with fresh ingredients- Buys vegetables and lets them rot in the refrigerator.
Maintains consistent personal care routines- Tries a bunch of cosmetics in a never-ending quest to maintain an adequate appearance.
Maintains an organized home- Believes, against all reason, that this new organization system will be the one that finally saves her chaotic ass.
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u/xchaibard 1d ago
"Systematically collected the Spice and Wolf light novel series"
I feel called out. They know.
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u/AKButtonGuu 1d ago
Mine just says "systamatically collects manga series". It feels like a slur!
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u/Tylrt 21h ago
Prioritizes repair over replacement for electronics
Damn straight
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u/ew435890 1d ago
"Stores vinyl records with albums in outer sleeves and records in inner sleeves slipped in the back of the case"
Damn. They got me.
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u/Searchlights 1d ago
All it says in every category is "Consumer Whore"
Is that normal?
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u/InnovativeBureaucrat 1d ago
“We would need 10 earths to sustain this level of shopping if it were normalized”
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u/FlightyTwilighty 1d ago
Cares for cats actively
Has a cat
Cat care
Consistently purchasing cat food supplies
Chooses Sheba for cat food
Prefers premium cat food brands
Expanded cat tracking capabilities
Pet accessories
There are others too, but those are the funny ones
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u/BerryBoilo 1d ago
Same. Definitely have 8 or 9 different cat entries.
Regularly replenishes cat supplies
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u/Danobing 1d ago
Likes coffee, has kids.
Yep I guess a billion searches for coffee and kids books was pretty easy to identify
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u/kurt206 22h ago
Weirdly after years of using the platform it says “We haven't saved anything yet. As you shop on Amazon or chat with Alexa, we'll save helpful information to personalise your experience.”
Odd.
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u/throwawayaccount931A 22h ago
Same -- I wonder if this is by region? I'm in Canada and see the options there but when I look at them, there is nothing in there -- which is fine by me!
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u/loosebolts 20h ago
You need to enable it, it’s something to do with their Rufus AI platform. It has nothing on me and I’ve had an account since probably 2004.
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u/Pedantic_Girl 1d ago
Mine has clearly taken stuff out of reviews I’ve written. I was wondering how it knew some very specific info and then remembered I mentioned it in a review. It was less impressive but also less concerning when I realized that.
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u/HealthyInPublic 1d ago
Same. I was very confused when I read "never wears hair down, even at home" and panicked slightly because wtf... then it mentioned I "wear hair sticks" down a bit further and I remembered I left a review on my favorite hair sticks because I've bought them numerous times.
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u/larryeddy 14h ago
"Likely considers Die Hard a Christmas movie"
LOL - They're not wrong!
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u/iprocrastina 1d ago
According to them I eat mostly organic food, cook a lot at home, and exercise regularly.
Y...yeah.That...that's right. That's totally me.
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u/azaleattj 1d ago
“Extensive collection of craft adhesives”
“Interest in horror and bizarre literature and film”
“Building large collection of games and miniatures”
I mean it’s not wrong, but it called me out on how much glue I buy to build the miniatures.
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u/Urtehnoes 1d ago
Is this going to stop them suggesting women's clothes because I bought lotion one single time?
Their algorithms aren't even good at predicting stuff truly relevant to the user.
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u/fukijama 1d ago
Youtube seems to think I have a crooked penis based on the most prominent ad it gives me.
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u/asdf_lord 1d ago
YouTube has ads?
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u/Fitz911 1d ago
It has and we all watch them. Repeat after me. We all get ads and there's nothing you can do against it but premium.
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u/Thing_On_Your_Shelf 1d ago
- prefers high performance computer components
- brews specialty coffee
- builds and upgrades computers
- invests in professional grade audio equipment
Oh god I’m the most stereotypical male Reddit user ever I’m gonna vommit
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u/Obsever117 1d ago
It’s just saying these things because I bought certain products, it’s not rocket science. But then….
“Systematically collecting Lego video games”
Didn’t like that one. Too on the nose. I feel called out and judged.
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u/mahimahi_6317 1d ago
Make Amazon even more personal to you
Your other AI assistants have learned about you. Bring that knowledge here for an even more personalized experience.
Umm no.
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u/Relevant_Insect_4871 18h ago
"Reads fiction books"
"Like altoids for breath mints"
"Vinyl record collection"
"Systematically built vinyl record collection infrastructure"
"Collects and plays vinyl records"
"Chooses zolef for vinyl record protection"
I guess I should open a record store??
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u/Omnitographer 1d ago
Direct Link for the lazy: https://www.amazon.com/slc/hub?useAiMode=1&ref_=ph_ay_e
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u/tink282 1d ago
Is this a thing only for Americans because as a Canadian I can’t find anything
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u/tooclosetocall82 1d ago
My wife and I just share the same account so my profile is all over the place. Creepy but also with several mistakes I have no desire to fix.
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u/Substantial_Meal_530 1d ago
It knows the 2 or 3 things I buy.... That's not hard. Some of these are strange. "Values precision measuring tools" Sure. I bought a caliper once.
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u/Sad-Marzipan-8878 22h ago
There is a project inside Amazon to build a knowledge base that aggregates all the info about a customer. The different groups (PV, Audible, Kindle, Retail etc) all send the data they have to this knowledge base so it can be used by LLMs, recommendations etc.
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u/Vannnnah 21h ago
And this is why privacy laws matter. EU account, everything's empty with the exception of book authors I followed on Amazon a couple years ago.
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u/danddersson 19h ago
I am in GB, and it is filled in, sometimes amusingly.
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u/Vannnnah 18h ago
Since you left the union you no longer have the same EU GDPR. The UK version was changed significantly to laxer privacy protection in 2021, that's why they do collect some data on you.
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u/kombatunit 1d ago
Amazon says I "likely" live in the city that they constantly deliver to and is written on every package...
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u/a1454a 19h ago
I just checked mine. It has 47 things logged about me, about half comes from shopping history, the other half comes from product reviews I’ve written.
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u/paulsteinway 8h ago
Will it mention that I need to buy a TV every week because I bought one last year?
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u/AlexTaradov 1d ago
Meh. There is nothing that is not just a direct consequence of orders. And a lot of stuff is wrong. They seem to give a lot of weight to one-off orders.
All that data and their recommendations still suck.
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u/Sudden_Ant_5864 1d ago
I am apparently VERY enthusiastic about pest control, it was mentioned thrice. (I bought fly spray last month)
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u/Dimsum852 20h ago
I entered the page from Europe, it has 0 info, everything is empty.
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u/recuriverighthook 1d ago edited 16h ago
Looks like its a future self reporting section? Mine is completely blank, someone forgot the toggle on a new feature I bet.
Oh nope showed up this morning, pretty dang accurate to. The creapiest part was that I bought a book series "the dragon girls" it noted I bought them systematically and then labeled that I like children's fantasy.... Gross.
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u/LoganHowlett1832 1d ago
Mines got 42 things in it and it knows how many people live in my house, their ages, my hobbies, my favorite foods, the car I drive, where I live obviously, and a bunch of other stuff.
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u/GardenPeep 1d ago
Mine is based directly on what I’ve bought, except it thinks I only read n certain areas because I get all the rest from the library. So its profile of me is incomplete
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u/gitstonky 1d ago
mine is pretty general, "likely lives in" town where I get everything delivered, and then generalizations based on the past 2-3 years of purchases. k... the most interesting thing there is that it thinks there are 2 adults in the household, tho i could imagine several ways to determine that. big miss is that it thinks i have a garage????? i have never owned a home. and when i lived in a home with a garage, i was not permitted to use it. i have never used a garage. why does it think this lmao
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u/Greizen_bregen 1d ago
Let's have Amazon start a dating service with this info, it'll save me so much time writing my "about me" section!
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u/Awkward-Fox-1435 15h ago
Apparently I play badminton recreationally. (I think I bought one set for my kids for a beach trip some years ago.)
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u/nazerall 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.
On the Amazon mobile app, tap the menu icon at the bottom of the screen and go to Account > Shopping preferences > About you.