Is Amazon reading my text?!

[FitBoop]

Originally Posted by Vintage VFer

One has to turn off a lot of options on your phone to avoid location-based advertising. Many of these options are buried deep in the settings menu. One has to be as deeply paranoid as I am to do it all.

We only have one store card we use for pet food. ETA: Also a drug store one.

I turn off wifi and bluetooth when we go out. I have almost all of my location services turned off. I have as many privacy and advertising options turned off as possible. It's a lot of work to reduce tracking.

You're not paranoid; you are protecting your privacy. I've been advocating for privacy for years, and now, a lot of what I have been saying is in the news (apps tracking you, devices listening, etc.).

Those who are interested in privacy should check out the series in the NY Times called the Privacy Project. There are excellent articles and tips on how to protect yourself.

[wishiwasinhawaii]

Originally Posted by FitBoop

You're not paranoid; you are protecting your privacy. I've been advocating for privacy for years, and now, a lot of what I have been saying is in the news (apps tracking you, devices listening, etc.).

Those who are interested in privacy should check out the series in the NY Times called the Privacy Project. There are excellent articles and tips on how to protect yourself.

Thanks for postingn that NYT link. Very interesting.

[Leonana]

I never noticed anything with my phone, until I started using Chrome for my searching. Safari didn't suggest anything, but Chrome suggests articles underneath the search bar. I mentioned roasting potatoes today to my dh for Christmas dinner, and got on my phone to search for recipes. There it was, an article for roast potatoes. It was two minutes after I spoke to him, and the phone was across the room. Man, they are quick! And I wear hearing aids with blue tooth, which is handy for listening to videos, but I'm realizing that it might give my phone the ability to listen to me from other rooms. Maybe I should just learn sign language, lol.

[nyskier]

Has anyone here noticed a difference between Apple and Android devices? I think Apple may be a bit better about privacy, but I’m not sure.

One way to thwart them is to have as many quirky, diverse interests as possible. I don’t receive too many targeted ads because I’m all over the place.

The spying is so insidious.

[athompson10]

Originally Posted by nyskier

Has anyone here noticed a difference between Apple and Android devices? I think Apple may be a bit better about privacy, but I’m not sure.

Apple security seems better on some things. My email was hacked last year and the same suspicious email (part of a group thread) went to my Inbox but my husband's Spam folder. He's had that happen before, where Apple seems to sort much more to his Spam than my Android does.

ON THE OTHER HAND...on Monday he and I were talking about cleaning up our home office, dedicating it for his use only, and carving out a smaller office space for me in another room. One big thing delaying this is the number of papers in the big office that need to be shredded. DH has a shredding service for his business that comes out in a van and shreds onsite.

During this conversation, the only active device around was his iphone, which is always in his pocket. We don't have a mic on the computer, no enabled thermostats on that floor, and my Android was turned off and charging.

Later that day he was looking at a news site on his phone and an ad pops up for home shredding services.

[kittybug]

I just stumbled on this video on YouTube about how China tracks everyone...and I'm absolutely horrified. Just had to share...

[LAC]

Originally Posted by kittybug

I just stumbled on this video on YouTube about how China tracks everyone...and I'm absolutely horrified. Just had to share...

That was truly disturbing. I can't help but wonder how much of it is taking place in the US as well.

[nyskier]

I am so disturbed by the spying and it doesn’t seem that there is any way around it.

An anecdote from Zucked by Roger McNamee, one of the original venture capitalists behind Facebook: he recounts buying an Echo and installing it. An ad came on the tv for the device, and Alexa answered, “he already has this.” He was so creeped out that he unplugged the device was and trashed it.

It’s all too Orwellian.

[lreidgreen]

Originally Posted by wishiwasinhawaii

Thanks for postingn that NYT link. Very interesting.

Yes that series is very good. The article on location tracking I posted up thread is from that series.
I try not to use Chrome/Google for my searches. I use DuckDuckGo on my iPad and Android phone whenever I can. Out of habit I tend to use Google on my computer but I need to change that.
Yes China is a big time surveillance state but it looks like we are heading in that direction.

ETA: I just watched that video about China. Good grief, They use it to ration toilet paper in public restrooms? Good thing I always carry a roll with me when I travel.* They rate your beauty? They give you a social score based on how well you follow rules? Totally creepy.
*Not that I am going to China now that I know this. Too bad because it was high on my travel bucket list.

[Hattie]

Originally Posted by lreidgreen

ETA: I just watched that video about China. Good grief, They use it to ration toilet paper in public restrooms? Good thing I always carry a roll with me when I travel.* They rate your beauty? They give you a social score based on how well you follow rules? Totally creepy.
Not that I am going to China now that I know this. Too bad because it was high on my ltrqvel bucket list.

That reminds me of a story my friend told me about the time she and her son was able to visit Russia when it was the Soviet Union. Once in the hotel room, my friend says to her son, "There's no toilet paper here." About one minute later, there is a knock on the door. She opens it, and a hotel employee hands them a roll of toilet paper. Not only was toilet paper scarce there, but apparently, the room was wire-tapped.