We are at our daughter’s. Last night she talked about having her grandma sew her more bowl cozy’s. That’s it.
Today both of us got targeted Amazon ads for bowl cozy’s.
She had a Amazon dot thing, which must be listening. I disconnected mine at home.
I do Facebook and accept that things I search for will show up as ads. I do not do TikTok because it’s owned by the Chinese and my niece told me to.
If you’re of a certain age you may remember the song “Jenny” by Tommy Tutone. People have signed up for rewards program using the number prominently mentioned in the song, 867-5309, at almost every large chain. Next time you need a phone number for a discount just enter your local area code and the number. Usually works!
It turns out pharmacies and insurers share/sell your data too (and sadly it’s legal). According to Consumer Reports [quote]But your records can still be shared and used in ways you might not expect, by:
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Regretfully, if you want to stay connected to the modern world, you will give up your privacy. We, too, have gotten weird targeted ads. The one that stands out is the evening we and another couple went out for dinner. Our first place of choice, associated with a golf course, was closed. We went elsewhere.
I started receiving golf clothing ads non stop. I have never golfed, the only plaid I wore was a Catholic school uniform. That situation made me stop and think.
NO Alexa, Google home assistant etc for us. I can turn on my own radio and lights.
For certain situations I’ve put our phone into a Faraday pouch.
Yes, I think it’s important to turn off the mic on your phone or Alexa. It’s always listening!
I went for a walk in the woods with friends. One friend mentioned that her neighbor had moved to Orcas Island. Ever heard of it? Probably not, right? We talked a bit about Orcas Island, which is off the coast of Washington. I live thousands of miles from it, btw.
A couple of days later, I received emails from VRBO, advertising their rentals on, you guessed it, Orcas Island. That really annoyed me and creeped me out. But I still haven’t turned off my mic because I am lazy 
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@Youdon_tsay, are you concerned that Costco is selling your data or is there something else? I don’t really use the app much (though I am a devoted Costco shopper) but the Costco app has an option to prevent the sale of your data to third parties.
In general, I turn off sale to third parties (but I forget at times). Nonetheless, I think the cat is already out of the bag. Unless you are really unplugged, the know all about you anyway.
Google makes great products (Gmail (not as good as before), Google Maps/Calendar, Google Docs, Google Assistant, YouTube) but the quid pro quo for great free products is that they get your data. My impression is that Apple has chosen not to make money selling data and that using Apple Pay is more secure than using your credit card on a website or even in a store as it uses one-time credit card numbers. I also use Paypal a lot.
I stopped on Facebook years ago and don’t use TikTok. But, I’m sure plenty of other apps are siphoning off data all the time (Uber, Lyft, Amazon, various travel apps, TripIt, CC, etc.).
An alternate version of the world would be one in which we paid for products unless we made an explicit decision to let the app companies purchase the data. [Most people will let quickly cede privacy rights in order to avoid paying for services].
If ask younger people if they mind getting product recommendations (advertisement) most of them would say no, as long as recommendations are useful. They get annoyed with random advertisements. How do you get useful recommendations? They must collect data and figure out what people want to see.
I am not that stressed about my data unless it is about my financial information. I just don’t want any security breach. But I don’t really care if people want to know what I buy, what websites I visit, what shows I watch. That being said, I won’t do generics testing, like myancestry because I don’t know how my data would be used/shared.
OMG, I swear this happened to me too! Was in the parking lot, about to go kayaking with a friend and remarked on the foldable kayak that someone was loading into his car. I also did not have my phone with me - I had left it locked away in my car because I didn’t want to risk dropping it in the lake. And then I started getting Facebook ads for foldable kayaks. Can’t be a coincidence, but I can’t figure out how!!
It may not be specific to folding kayaks, but if Facebook somehow associates you with kayaking, or a location where it is popular to go kayaking, various kayak-related ads may show up, including those for folding kayaks.
I refuse to talk into the TV/cable remote to find shows because I do not want it to be able to decipher my voice.
These kinds of things really concern me. Yes, I have a smart phone, but I don’t use the mic to record messages, etc. I KNOW I’m being eavesdropped on. Hate it. I also use a phony (outdated fax #) for grocery/loyalty cards. Never say never my grandma used to say, but I swear I will never have a “smart” home. Nope.
OK, I missed it. What’s the issue with the Costco app?
That is the mystery. I’ve only been kayaking maybe 10 times in my life - the last time before this was probably 4 years ago. The area we were at is very popular with kayakers, and I did have my phone and might have even checked FB while we were driving there or driving away, but I don’t have location services turned on for my phone. That is the part that bothers me.
Just that you can’t scan/pay your items in store by yourself (basically a self check out from your cart) at Costco (via the app) like you can at Sam’s apparently.
We had that experience with both Amazon and Google Mini. Now, I mute those unless there’s a need and we use heritage language at home which I hope these smart machines are yet to crack.
Your phone is tracking and listening in your home with the same accuracy as the phones in the homes where that heritage language is native. The phones capture sound; translation happens separately. Unless you are speaking an undocumented language, it doesn’t matter which language is spoken or where it occurs. It is understood.
Natural language processing is one of the most developed areas in AI. Google, for example, can translate 133 languages. Muting often just activates a software feature, and you know all software are “buggy” 
. It’s not the same thing as unplugging the device.
We are not safe anywhere then 
Google is incredibly accurate. I had to look at a bunch of documents. Some were in Mandarin. Some in Urdu. We got official translations which were $$$$$. While we waited we did rough translations using google translate. They were remarkably correct.
The funny thing about the internet is that it’s never entirely secure. At the same time, it takes technical skill to get that personal information…a skill few people have. In essence, we’re protected by sheer size. To be honest, neither is our house, car, or other personal things. If a criminal really wanted to get in, they could. It doesn’t stop us from getting a house or a car, though. We just do our best to make it difficult for them.
Technology isn’t any different. In fact, Apple Pay is much more secure than using a credit card directly. It uses a temporary “token” card number that immediately deactivates after the transaction. The terminal never sees your number, making it impossible to steal, either by hacking it, or simply writing it down somewhere.
There are some tech companies I don’t trust. Amazon has the largest and most sophisticated customer database in the world, and their core product is ALEXA. See where I’m going on this? If they’re telling you they’re not spying or using your information, their actions say otherwise. If you like voice assistants, I would trust an Apple HomePod Mini or a Google Nest.
I’m not a fan of smart homes. Seriously…how much effort does it take to turn on a light switch? Even worse, internet connected thermostats are potentially dangerous. A lot of aggressive utility companies are talking customers into controlling your thermostat in exchange for “savings.” That’s fine until the first summer heat wave, and you come home to a 90 degree house. The customer service lady tells you that your house just heroically saved everyone from rolling blackouts. Congratulations! You’ve just been named the sacrificial lamb for their incompetence. Get a $30 thermostat.
People lived with 90F temperatures before there was air conditioning, and some people still save money by not having air conditioning.
It actually is more expensive to generate electricity in the late afternoon on a hot day (utilities have to turn on the expensive power plants that they would rather keep off because they are expensive), so it is no surprise that many have gone to time-of-use electricity rates. If you do use air conditioning, one way to shift your electricity use to cheap hours is to precool the house before the expensive hours and then turn off the air conditioning during expensive hours. It will get warmer in the house, but since you will have precooled it during the cheap hours, it will not get as hot as otherwise. No special thermostat or utility control of such needed.
I keep my dumb thermostat at 74.