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  • A few of the most common links here on the forums for newbies and guests!

Shopping Online and being watched

Panina

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Last night I was on Wayfair looking at headboards and ordered one. Today West Elm sends me an email with “picks for you” of headboards.

I am subscribed to West Elm but never looked at headboards on their site.

As far as I know Wayfair and West Elm are competitors so my information had to be snatched and sold from Apple/Safari.
 

CalGalTraveler

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I believe this because of cookies that Wayfair or your browser put on your machine. I've moved to Brave browser, added nordVPN and have ad blockers installed to reduce this.

Run a Norton security scan to resolve and remove the cookies.
 

bogey21

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Something like this happens to me all the time. I search for something on the Interner but don't buy. For weeks thereafter I get banner ads featuring the item from other companies. I don't really see it as a big problem. I just ignore them...

George
 

Ironwood

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I've noticed many more targeted ads, just fairly recently, from the search and social media sites I frequent...and they are fairly immediate. Even more creepy is having a chat over morning coffee about a specific purchase or place of interest, with our devices nearby, only to get bombarded with ads specifically targeted. Obviously Hey Siri and Hey Google are listening....without saying 'hey'!
 

Rolltydr

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In my experience, at least, I am not seeing any more ads than previously. It’s just that they are targeted now because of the cookies. You can turn them off but you’re just going to see ads that you may have no interest in whatsoever. I’ve chosen to allow them for now so at least I feel I have a little control over the ads I see. I guess I hate ads I have no interest in more than I hate cookies.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Ironwood

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In my experience, at least, I am not seeing any more ads than previously. It’s just that they are targeted now because of the cookies. You can turn them off but you’re just going to see ads that you may have no interest in whatsoever. I’ve chosen to allow them for now so at least I feel I have a little control over the ads I see. I guess I hate ads I have no interest in more than I hate cookies.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Yes...I allow cookies as I'd rather have targeted ads than a smorgasborg of ads. I recently updated a small kitchen appliance influenced by a targeted ad I received. So they can be useful. I clear my cache and cookies regularly and start fresh.
 

Chrisky

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Yes...I allow cookies as I'd rather have targeted ads than a smorgasborg of ads. I recently updated a small kitchen appliance influenced by a targeted ad I received. So they can be useful. I clear my cache and cookies regularly and start fresh.

I do that as well, and on some sites I do not allow cookies at all.
 

WVBaker

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Yes we all hate them however, HTTP Cookies are, for better or worse, an integral part of the modern web.

They enable website features and basic website functionality. Things like, e-commerce shopping carts depend on them. Unfortunately, cookies are a necessary part of the way the web works however, as many have said, they are also a source of privacy concerns and security risks.

Try as we might, when all is said an done, cookies aren’t going anywhere and the majority of websites out there use cookies in some form or fashion. :shrug:
 

Cornell

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Yes we all hate them however, HTTP Cookies are, for better or worse, an integral part of the modern web.

They enable website features and basic website functionality. Things like, e-commerce shopping carts depend on them. Unfortunately, cookies are a necessary part of the way the web works however, as many have said, they are also a source of privacy concerns and security risks.

Try as we might, when all is said an done, cookies aren’t going anywhere and the majority of websites out there use cookies in some form or fashion. :shrug:
AGREED. Digital marketing isn't going to stop. So, it's futile to fight it.
 

bluehende

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The scary part (and have to believe a coincidence) was when my wife and I were discussing an actress that we had not heard about in years and 10 minutes later a facebook article pops up about her. That was creepy. I actually verified my microphone was off on my computer.
 

T_R_Oglodyte

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And digital marketing is paying for a lot of content on the web. Just like before the web, when print marketing paid for most of the content in newspapers and magazines. Even now broadcast marketing pays for radio and television content (unless your station is listener-supported and then they conduct interminable fund drives).

Ads is the price you pay to get free content.
 

Brett

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I also mange cookies but even that doesn't always work, there are "super cookies" on the ISP server (Verizon, Cox, etc) where you can't erase them .... big brother is always watching !
 

DaveNV

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The part I find most annoying about cookies is after shopping everywhere to find that certain item I want, (let's say it is a pair of shoes), and I pull the trigger to buy them, for days (even weeks?) afterwards I get targeted ads for the exact same product, often from the same seller, inviting me to "buy it again." How many identical pairs of shoes do they think I need? It's even more annoying if it's a weird electronic part or a cable, or something. Something I only might ever need only one of.

Dave
 

amycurl

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"The next 20 years will be about privacy..." Sometimes, Aaron Sorkin was more prescient than a lot of us thought.
 

WinniWoman

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This always happens to me - especially on Facebook. But in my email inbox ads as well.
 
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WVBaker

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I believe this because of cookies that Wayfair or your browser put on your machine. I've moved to Brave browser, added nordVPN and have ad blockers installed to reduce this.

Run a Norton security scan to resolve and remove the cookies.

Clearing cache and cookies after each visit to a site does have it's drawbacks.

Your settings on some sites will get deleted. This of course means having to sign in every time you visit. The sites you visit can seem slower because content, such as images, needs to load again. If you don't mind that than of course, delete it.

We need to keep in mind that anyone's online accounts such as social media, browsing history and personal data, can be mined by advertisers.
 

easyrider

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Cortana on my laptop, on occasion, will start talking. Sometimes it is about something we are talking about. Other times it isn't. I have the speaker on mute these days.

Some times those cookie adds come in handy, imo. They don't bother us.

Bill
 

Patri

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The part I find most annoying about cookies is after shopping everywhere to find that certain item I want, (let's say it is a pair of shoes), and I pull the trigger to buy them, for days (even weeks?) afterwards I get targeted ads for the exact same product, often from the same seller, inviting me to "buy it again." How many identical pairs of shoes do they think I need?
Dave
LOL This is happening to me now after I bought shoes online (from a specialty company my sister recommended. There is no store near me). Why would I want another pair??? This was a luxury decision and I sure don't need more. Especially the exact same color and style.
 

Glynda

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Brewster Green (two weeks).
...Even more creepy is having a chat over morning coffee about a specific purchase or place of interest, with our devices nearby, only to get bombarded with ads specifically targeted. Obviously Hey Siri and Hey Google are listening....without saying 'hey'!

:eek::eek::eek:
 

Panina

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Something like this happens to me all the time. I search for something on the Interner but don't buy. For weeks thereafter I get banner ads featuring the item from other companies. I don't really see it as a big problem. I just ignore them...

George
This was not a targeted ad in a banner. This was an email sent to me.
 

Talent312

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The idea that personal pricy still exists is a pigment of imagination.
We may as well assume that our lives are an open book to anyone who wants to look.
 
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