Amazon and Proximity

[dinny_g]

Everyone with a tinfoil had knows that Zuckerberg and Bezios are listening into to everything we say on our phones but I had an unusual one today which suggests 3rd party involvement in the survelan... Sorry, the targeted marketing of products and services I might like.

I was in the garden centre on Sunday looking at BBQ's and after, I took a quick walk around the rest of the store (as it was a Dobbie's I hadn't been in before). The only item I looked at for more than the briefest moment was a 4 wheel Garden Cart type thing. I literally paused at if for a few seconds, touched the material (to see if was plastic or metal) and walked on.

I didn't speak, I didn't say the product, I haven't googled anything or looked up garden products at all. I also haven't bought anything garden related from amazon in over 12 months. I didn't buy anything from the garden centre.

But today, I received an e-mail from Amazon outlining all of their garden cart options. No Wheelbarrows, only 4 wheel garden cards. In the immortal words of Ron Swanson, "What the hell???"

Can't be just a co-incidence so how the hell have they managed that one???

[Simon]

If it's of any use I've had garden cart recommendations on Amazon in the last week and I've been nowhere near a 'dobbies'...

[dinny_g]

Get the hell away from my phone Simon...

so you're saying coincidence ???

How much are amazon paying you???

[Simon]

Get the hell away from my phone Simon...

so you're saying coincidence ???

How much are amazon paying you???

LOL. Yes. £50.

[KiwiDave]

Before I left the museum I worked at, they were well on the way to implemented a wifi system which could locate a user accurately enough within the building to know what they were stood in front of and which way they were facing. The purpose of this, far from being sinister was to support guided tour apps in different languages and to do away with needing loan devices or guides who spoke different languages. It's entirely possible, the wifi could locate you really accurately, but whether that technology is employed in a DIY store I'd doubt, let alone the shit being on a shelf in the right place.

[ZedLeg]

Check what location data your phone’s sending. Geotargeted advertising has been a thing for ages.

https://mailchimp.com/resources/what-is-geotargeting/

[duncs500]

Whilst I wouldn't rule anything out, I do think that we are bombarded by so much advertising these days, it's near constant. You might have inadvertently looked at another 100 adverts that day, but you remembered that one due to the relevance (also probably they knew you were at a garden centre so you're already narrowing the odds).

[dinny_g]

Check what location data your phone’s sending. Geotargeted advertising has been a thing for ages.

https://mailchimp.com/resources/what-is-geotargeting/

Interesting - I hadn't checked that in a while and it's interesting just how many apps want location data that have no real need for it - Sonos app for example.

there doesn't seem to be any link to Amazon but I suppose it could be a chain link - from this app to that app to Amazon etc.

Fuckers - I really want to buy an Garden Cart now...

[Rich B]

They're definitely listening, but presumably this was a fluke? I remember talking to my missus about selling our old prams, push chairs and stuff ages ago - we decided it would end up being hassle because they needed properly cleaning and stuff., I then looked at my phone for something else and had an advert for pram cleaning services come up.

[dinny_g]

Yeah I get the "Discussing a topic - get advert for it" all the time.

As I'm boring and have no life, I might pop back on Saturday morning and try with something else. Although as I've now said I'll do it I've compromised any results

I do need weed killer that can be sprayed on grass and not kill the grass around it. I'll just choose one of the Amazon recommendations that will pop up on my inbox shortly...

[ZedLeg]

The cheekiest example of geo targeted advertising is you have location always on for an app like uber. They track your location 24/7 and sell your data to retailers, they check that location data to see if you spent any time in a store and if you have they’ll start targeting you for marketing.

There are so many layers to this now that the chances of you tracking the algorithm are pretty low.

[Rich B]

The cheekiest example of geo targeted advertising is you have location always on for an app like uber. They track your location 24/7 and sell your data to retailers, they check that location data to see if you spent any time in a store and if you have they’ll start targeting you for marketing.

There are so many layers to this now that the chances of you tracking the algorithm are pretty low.

I don't think I have any apps with location always on (except "find my..."), only "whilst using the app".

[DeskJockey]

Phone companies can track you very accurately too. Whether they monetise the data is another question.

[Jobbo]

The cheekiest example of geo targeted advertising is you have location always on for an app like uber. They track your location 24/7 and sell your data to retailers, they check that location data to see if you spent any time in a store and if you have they’ll start targeting you for marketing.

There are so many layers to this now that the chances of you tracking the algorithm are pretty low.

I don't think I have any apps with location always on (except "find my..."), only "whilst using the app".

That makes me think: I wonder if you don't manually close down the app it considers you are still using it? Every now and again I go through my iPhone and close all the apps; it used to make a difference in older iPhones because it slowed them down to have them still paused in the background but processing power is so vast now I don't notice a slowdown and don't think about it.

[DeskJockey]

The phones tend to mark the apps for "deep sleep" when they've not been used for a while, but that is hours or days. If you just swipe away the app is still active.

[IanF]

Maybe on Android, but Apple is:

The existing “Allow While Using App” option will grant location permissions to users in the foreground just as it has in the past. However, if an app’s developers have additionally requested that the app track background location, then selecting this option will additionally grant provisional “Always Allow” permissions. This means that the app is actually granted permission to request the user’s location data while the app is not actively visible on the screen for a short period of time. During this short period, Apple will be keeping track of that usage, and eventually will prompt the user with the following: “Keep Only While Using” or “Change to Always Allow.” The notice includes a customizable subtext explaining why the app needs “Always Allow” location permission and helps users understand why and how the location is used to deliver value (see below).

I’ve had that prompt come up in the past, so nice to know why I was getting it!

Tl;dr - Apple is apps in foreground mostly, although certain apps can monitor afterwards, but Apple will send you a prompt to decide if you want it to or not