Ok I have a question. I’m kinda a noob when it comes to privacy. I’ll follow the guides and do the things to try to minimize ad companies selling my data etc.

Some basic stats: I have a Samsung running stock android. My GF has an iPhone. I use brave as my standard browser (I know that’s not super popular but I haven’t made the move to Firefox yet.) I have DNS level ad blocking on my router cause I hate ads with a passion. She uses safari.

So here’s the deal. I was browsing the web looking for gift ideas for Christmas and came across some moccasins I liked. I mentioned to her that I liked them and browsed their website for a few minutes.

About 10 minutes after that, she’s checking her Instagram and sees an ad for the exact brand of moccasin I just told her about. Just for kicks, she also checks her Facebook and sees the same ad there (makes sense cause it’s the same company).

My question is basically how on earth did she get an ad for something I looked up? And how can we prevent that from happening? It’s very very disconcerting to have ads pop up on others’ phones right after looking that thing up.

  • edric@lemm.ee
    3·
    11 months ago

    One possibility: Are you on the same network (i.e. wifi) without a vpn? If yes, then both of you have the same public IP, so it’s trivial to figure out you’re likely in the same household.

    • Knuschberkeks@feddit.de
      1·
      11 months ago

      Most likely this. If not, there is a host of other possibilities they could make the connection. Sone that come to mind:

      • You both have instagram and have connected in a way that makes it likely you are in a close relationship (tagged in photos, DMs)
      • She allows Instagram to access the contacts on her phone, and OP is saved in there as her S.O.
      • They are connected through Whatsapp or some other Meta service.
      • The Company targets their ads at category which they both fall into (companies can manage which groups see their ads VERY specifically)
      • Coincidence
      • Telcontar@lemmy.todayOP
        2·
        11 months ago

        Lemmy is the only social media I have, but we are connected via Whatsapp. I’m thinking that since we were both connected to the wifi without a VPN, that’s the probable source of information bleed.

    • akilou@sh.itjust.works
      0·
      11 months ago

      So what are the mechanics of this? OP would also have had to interact with Meta somehow after finding the moccasins but before the girlfriend did, right?

      • sdoorex@slrpnk.netEnglish
        1·
        11 months ago

        No, you don’t have to interact with Meta. Websites that utilize Facebook ads in some fashion will install a Meta Pixel to their site in order to track users and better target their ads. That information can be correlated to others in the same household extremely easily.

        You can read about the specifics of how Meta does it in their developer information here: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/meta-pixel/

  • Ebby@lemmy.ssba.com
    3·
    11 months ago

    Welcome to advertising tricks. My SO gets my ads because I block them too. “Blocks ads” is a data point that is tracking you around the web. They simply redirect your content to the next closest impressionable consumer. If they can’t reach you, they’ll market everywhere around you.

    But this takes off doubly so this time of year. This trick really ramps up around gift giving events like The holidays, v-day, birthdays, or other life events.

    • Telcontar@lemmy.todayOP
      0·
      11 months ago

      Is there any way to prevent search information from being linked to me? Like some way so ad companies can’t even gather than information That would be great

      • RmDebArc_5@lemmy.mlEnglish
        2·
        11 months ago

        -Privacy friendly sites (no google, ddg/searxng and stuff) -VPN (Proton is private with a free tier, Mullvad for maximum privacy) -Fingerprint blocking in browser (Brave has it too standard, put it on aggressive)

  • BmeBenji@lemm.ee
    2·
    11 months ago

    Do you have a Facebook/instagram account where you have marked your GF as your GF or tagged your GF in a lot of photos? More likely than not, Meta pays attention to those connections and shows ads to people it deems close to you based on your browsing history. And remember that Meta tracks user actions beyond what they do on Meta sites.

  • Lorindól@sopuli.xyz
    2·
    11 months ago

    Few days ago I was talking with my wife about groceries, reminded her about buying more cat food. My daughter was sitting next to me, playing some game on her Android phone. Then she chirped “I got a cat food ad! I’ve never gotten a cat food ad before, ever! It’s like the phone heard what you just said, dad!”

    Yep. VPN and Adguard are now installed to every single mobile device in my household.

    • Dislodge3233@feddit.deEnglish
      2·
      11 months ago

      I got ads for sexual assault therapy after I talked to my friend about my assault. I was livid. The audacity to try to make money off assault victims.

  • Gooey0210@sh.itjust.works
    1·
    11 months ago

    Some people say it’s your IP, but actually IP is rarely used for tracking

    On the way to privacy there are some things you should know:

    1. Companies know who are your friends, especially if you communicate on the same messaging apps, etc
    2. Also they have your location
    3. And it seems like apps and Instagram are always listening (so if you say “pizza, pizza, pizza, I really like pizza, I really want to buy pizza now around me” you will get an ad with pizza)
  • dangblingus@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    1·
    11 months ago

    You have DNS ad blocking, but not IP encryption or DNS rerouting. DNS rerouting encrypts your plaintext DNS lookups, but your packets are still very much sniffable. If you aren’t using a VPN + DNS filtering/rerouting, you’re not anonymous. Also, if your girlfriend is away from home, she’s probably completely unmasked on the internet. Same with you. Your phone keeps that metadata. Also, Facebook and Instagram all use tracking software that tracks your activity even if you close the apps. It would be wise to delete your facebook and instagram accounts as they aren’t really necessary to live a happy life and they are actively spying on you.

    If you really need to share photos, I’d recommend flickr or photobucket, and if you need to talk about yourself, get a blog. Your actual friends and family will find a way to stay in touch with you.

  • wincing_nucleus073@lemm.ee
    1·
    11 months ago

    As long as you are running closed source Operating Systems, they can listen to whatever they want, and scan whatever they want that’s happening on your screen. Wake up people. Facepalm.

  • rzlatic@lemmy.ml
    1·
    11 months ago

    same thing happened to me. talked about very specific health-related topic, didn’t googled it or anything, the next day instagram came up with ads for the very same specific health subject.

    for a start, you can check instagram’s permissions (and facebook of you use it, it’s meta too) and disable access to microphone.

    however, that leaves whatsapp which is also meta and mic is more of a neccesity than insta/fb, but in my case, haven’t seen weird ads for subjects i didn’t typed into any devices since i disabled insta mic access.

  • sic_semper_tyrannis@feddit.chEnglish
    1·
    11 months ago

    A similar experience is what got me into privacy. Time to get off of social media and get rid of apps that have access to your keyboard, mic, files, etc.

  • Zerush@lemmy.ml
    1·
    11 months ago

    It’s irrelevant which phone you use, iOS or Android, all smartphones are spyware by definition, risky to have important data in it.

    • NekuSoul@lemmy.nekusoul.de
      01·
      11 months ago

      Yup. Maybe even just pure coincidence. People are very susceptible to confirmation bias and, as an extra spicy hot take, people in communities like this one even more so.