Author Topic: Is Google/WhatsApp/Facebook listening to our conversations for targeted ads?  (Read 106734 times)

Offline johnsmithlfc

  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 5,399
  • You may say I'm a Dreamer
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #120 on: March 13, 2016, 09:30:09 am »
I wonder why those three though? Not because I think it's dodgy or a conspiracy, but none of them are huge films or current or I'd imagine what most people are searching for.
Seems a weird trio of films to be the first suggestions.
The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively - Bob Marley

Offline CraigDS

  • Lite. Smelt it and dealt it. Worrawhopper.
  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 61,461
  • YNWA
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #121 on: March 13, 2016, 09:32:06 am »
I wonder why those three though? Not because I think it's dodgy or a conspiracy, but none of them are huge films or current or I'd imagine what most people are searching for.
Seems a weird trio of films to be the first suggestions.

The duff appears like its new out, never heard of it personally. Gone Girl hasn't long been on Sky so may well have seen an influx of people searching for similar films after seeing it on there.

Offline Alan_X

  • WUM. 'twatito' - The Cat Herding Firm But Fair Voice Of Reason (Except when he's got a plank up his arse). Gimme some skin, priest! Has a general dislike for Elijah Wood. Clearly cannot fill even a thong! RAWK Resident Muppet. Has a crush o
  • RAWK Staff
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 53,264
  • Come on you fucking red men!!!
  • Super Title: This is super!
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #122 on: March 13, 2016, 10:01:37 am »
I wonder why those three though? Not because I think it's dodgy or a conspiracy, but none of them are huge films or current or I'd imagine what most people are searching for.
Seems a weird trio of films to be the first suggestions.

If you look into the companies who provide these services and place these ads and links then it becomes quite understandable. This is the company that placed the stair lift link:

https://www.taboola.com/
 
This films come up because someone is paying for them to come up, just the same way that ads on TV and at the movies are paid for. There's an overlay of relevance based on your own web searches and profile.
Sid Lowe (@sidlowe)
09/03/2011 08:04
Give a man a mask and he will tell the truth, Give a man a user name and he will act like a total twat.
Its all about winning shiny things.

Offline CraigDS

  • Lite. Smelt it and dealt it. Worrawhopper.
  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 61,461
  • YNWA
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #123 on: March 13, 2016, 10:02:48 am »
If you look into the companies who provide these services and place these ads and links then it becomes quite understandable. This is the company that placed the stair lift link:

https://www.taboola.com/
 
This films come up because someone is paying for them to come up, just the same way that ads on TV and at the movies are paid for. There's an overlay of relevance based on your own web searches and profile.

He's on about the suggested searches that come up in a drop down box as you type. I don't think these are paid for (I've never seen this being available and I do a lot of paid search via Google).

Offline Alan_X

  • WUM. 'twatito' - The Cat Herding Firm But Fair Voice Of Reason (Except when he's got a plank up his arse). Gimme some skin, priest! Has a general dislike for Elijah Wood. Clearly cannot fill even a thong! RAWK Resident Muppet. Has a crush o
  • RAWK Staff
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 53,264
  • Come on you fucking red men!!!
  • Super Title: This is super!
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #124 on: March 13, 2016, 10:24:28 am »
Ok - fair enough. In that case it's probably popularity based - what's 'trending' rather than what's paid for.
Sid Lowe (@sidlowe)
09/03/2011 08:04
Give a man a mask and he will tell the truth, Give a man a user name and he will act like a total twat.
Its all about winning shiny things.

Offline CraigDS

  • Lite. Smelt it and dealt it. Worrawhopper.
  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 61,461
  • YNWA
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #125 on: March 13, 2016, 10:41:42 am »
Ok - fair enough. In that case it's probably popularity based - what's 'trending' rather than what's paid for.

Yeah that's always been my understanding of it. I imagine partly narrowed down by the info they have on you (so would suggest different stuff to a 30 year old male than a 15 year old girl).

Offline The Gulleysucker

  • RAWK's very own spinached up Popeye. Transfer Board Veteran 5 Stars.
  • RAWK Remembers
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 11,496
  • An Indolent Sybarite
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #126 on: March 13, 2016, 11:18:17 am »

I've been well aware for some time of some kind of link up behind the scenes between some websites, certainly between ebay and google.

I certainly strongly suspect both google and ebay are recording searches against at least IP address and quite possibly are using ARP or NDP to probe MAC addresses too to enable resolution down to individual devices. (I did notice the other year when resolving a network problem with a packet sniffer some inbound ARPs but never investigated them at the time. If I get some time, I'll rerun and try to see if there's anything in it)

It's certainly happened too often for apparent coincidence that ebay have sent me an email telling me that some item I'm not even bidding on is nearing the end of its listing, when I never ever search when logged on (and always clear cookies & history etc when the browser is closed down), and also that ebay will also sometimes offer suggestions linked to my previous offline google item searches.

Now all of that I vaguely expect, I shrug my shoulders and think it's the modern world so I just get on with it.

But last night, something made me stop and wonder at the level of sophistication that could be developing.

The last few weeks, here at home on my laptop, I've been searching, offline as usual on ebay, for certain fishing gear.

So last night, when we went to Amazon prime on wifey's Kindle to see if there was any film we might like to watch, strangely, at the end of the list of recent additions, there were several speciality fishing films. 

Hmm. Now as you know, I'm not one to be irrational or for conspiracy theory bollocks at all, but this did strike me as a rather interesting coincidence and has made me slightly curious as it would be easy to jump to the conclusion that Amazon Prime perhaps knew that someone who was potentially interested in fishing lived here.

I think it perhaps needs some experimenting to see if there is a demonstrable link.

I certainly know there's a few techniques at a technical level to enable such linkage to be established, though you are meant to be able to opt out of them.

This page that might be of interest for the curious... http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/

Some of the ads you receive on Web pages are customized based on predictions about your interests generated from your visits over time and across different web-sites. This type of ad customization — sometimes called "interest-based" or “online behavioral” advertising — is enabled through various technologies, including browser cookies as well as other non-cookie technologies.
I don't do polite so fuck yoursalf with your stupid accusations...

Right you fuckwit I will show you why you are talking out of your fat arse...

Mutton Geoff (Obviously a real nice guy)

Online Party Phil

  • Boring Cunt that flies Air Bizarre
  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 12,554
  • Big in Japan
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #127 on: March 13, 2016, 12:22:24 pm »
Gulleysucker - are you logged into the browser on both devices (e.g. with your gmail account on Chrome)?

I have had cross-device targeted advertising between home and work computers which I can only imagine comes from this. My work IP is in Toulouse, France & my home IP is in Seville, Spain so I can only imagine it must be done through having logged into a browser or certain websites on both computers.
If you're lying, I'll chop your head off.

Offline The Gulleysucker

  • RAWK's very own spinached up Popeye. Transfer Board Veteran 5 Stars.
  • RAWK Remembers
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 11,496
  • An Indolent Sybarite
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #128 on: March 13, 2016, 12:38:45 pm »
Gulleysucker - are you logged into the browser on both devices (e.g. with your gmail account on Chrome)?

I have had cross-device targeted advertising between home and work computers which I can only imagine comes from this. My work IP is in Toulouse, France & my home IP is in Seville, Spain so I can only imagine it must be done through having logged into a browser or certain websites on both computers.
No, not logged in on my laptop.
I only log onto a website when I need to, eg here on Rawk to post, or ebay to buy and usually log out and even close the browser down pronto when finished.
I also only use Firefox, (not sure what Wifey has on her kindle),and have all the usual non tracking & clear everything when exit options turned on. I've always been really pretty scrupulous on that for many years and I also regularly clear down the contents of the cookie cache/temporary folders etc, god knows how some stuff seems to remain around in there even though the options are meant to clear it all down automatically.
Incidentally, on my Nexus, there was an Android update just the other day and since that, Firefox seems to no longer have the option button to clear history etc now.
It's meant to clear down when you quit, but doesn't seem to forget history now, even though it claims to. Not impressed. (I never use the Nexus for ebay/banking/email/anything important, only ever offline browsing)
I don't do polite so fuck yoursalf with your stupid accusations...

Right you fuckwit I will show you why you are talking out of your fat arse...

Mutton Geoff (Obviously a real nice guy)

Offline GiorgosCarraGoonies

  • Kopite
  • *****
  • Posts: 934
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #129 on: March 13, 2016, 02:00:07 pm »
I've noticed the same this week, weirdly.

Was on the British Airways website this week looking at joining their membership scheme, reading about the Avios points you get etc.

Now, this was on my work computer, using Firefox, not logged into anything.

Literally a couple of hours later, I was on another LFC forum which has an ad banner at the top of the page.  It was advertising FlyBe and their Avios scheme.  I had never even heard of Avios until just a couple of hours earlier.  This was on my mobile, using Chrome, where I was signed in, but there's no link between that and my work PC.

Offline B0151?

  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 19,093
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #130 on: March 13, 2016, 02:53:59 pm »
Targeted advertising based on internet history is a thing of course but the human mind can be a funny thing. The phenomenon of finding out about something and then seeming to see it everywhere is pretty common, and pre-dates the internet.

I remember a while back I listened to an American history podcast and heard a turn of expression I was positive I'd never heard in my life, couple days I'm watching TV and it pops up on Eggheads and I hear/see it a few times in the week later. I can't even remember what it was now!
« Last Edit: March 13, 2016, 02:57:42 pm by Bakez0151 »

Offline GiorgosCarraGoonies

  • Kopite
  • *****
  • Posts: 934
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #131 on: March 13, 2016, 02:58:13 pm »
With the internet and algorithms and search tracking and so on, people are suspicious, but the human mind can be a funny thing. The phenomenon of finding out about something and then seem to see it everywhere is pretty common, and pre-dates the internet.

I remember a while back I listened to an American history podcast and heard a turn of expression I was positive I'd never heard in my life, couple days I'm watching TV and it pops up on Eggheads and I hear/see it a few times in the week later. I can't even remember what it was now!
It's not, I have never ever had an advert for any sort of airline on that website before, it's almost always for headphones or xbox accessories.  The FlyBe ad is purple and distinctive and I can guarantee I had never had it before that day.

Offline BER

  • Goat fondler.
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 6,286
  • FLOSS IS BOSS!!
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #132 on: March 13, 2016, 03:05:36 pm »
No, not logged in on my laptop.
I only log onto a website when I need to, eg here on Rawk to post, or ebay to buy and usually log out and even close the browser down pronto when finished.
I also only use Firefox, (not sure what Wifey has on her kindle),and have all the usual non tracking & clear everything when exit options turned on. I've always been really pretty scrupulous on that for many years and I also regularly clear down the contents of the cookie cache/temporary folders etc, god knows how some stuff seems to remain around in there even though the options are meant to clear it all down automatically.
Incidentally, on my Nexus, there was an Android update just the other day and since that, Firefox seems to no longer have the option button to clear history etc now.
It's meant to clear down when you quit, but doesn't seem to forget history now, even though it claims to. Not impressed. (I never use the Nexus for ebay/banking/email/anything important, only ever offline browsing)

What is offline browsing?

Offline B0151?

  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 19,093
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #133 on: March 13, 2016, 03:12:47 pm »
It's not, I have never ever had an advert for any sort of airline on that website before, it's almost always for headphones or xbox accessories.  The FlyBe ad is purple and distinctive and I can guarantee I had never had it before that day.

How would they have targeted you when they wouldn't even know it's the same person?

Genuinely curious at to how it does work. Must be a link between the two devices somehow.
« Last Edit: March 13, 2016, 03:38:32 pm by Bakez0151 »

Offline CraigDS

  • Lite. Smelt it and dealt it. Worrawhopper.
  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 61,461
  • YNWA
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #134 on: March 13, 2016, 03:20:20 pm »
I've noticed the same this week, weirdly.

Was on the British Airways website this week looking at joining their membership scheme, reading about the Avios points you get etc.

Now, this was on my work computer, using Firefox, not logged into anything.

Literally a couple of hours later, I was on another LFC forum which has an ad banner at the top of the page.  It was advertising FlyBe and their Avios scheme.  I had never even heard of Avios until just a couple of hours earlier.  This was on my mobile, using Chrome, where I was signed in, but there's no link between that and my work PC.

Ruling out the chances of it just being a coincidence, it's likely that they have previously made a link between your work and home PC, and thus serve up the same ads across the two devices.

Marketing across devices and platforms is a huge part of online marketing these days, in fact it's vitally important for anyone carrying out a decent sized online marketing campaign as peoples habits will differ depending on the device they are on, i.e. a lot will use a mobile device for researching something they may be looking to buy, then use a home laptop/PC to actually make the purchase, so if you can target ads across platforms for when they are on the 'buying' device then there is a larger chance they'll move down the funnel to a purchase.

Offline johnsmithlfc

  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 5,399
  • You may say I'm a Dreamer
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #135 on: March 13, 2016, 04:51:50 pm »
He's on about the suggested searches that come up in a drop down box as you type. I don't think these are paid for (I've never seen this being available and I do a lot of paid search via Google).

I am indeed and I really can't imagine that those 3 are THE most searched for films in the UK.

But who knows?

The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively - Bob Marley

Online Elmo!

  • Spolier alret!
  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 13,335
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #136 on: March 13, 2016, 09:37:30 pm »
Targeted advertising based on internet history is a thing of course but the human mind can be a funny thing. The phenomenon of finding out about something and then seeming to see it everywhere is pretty common, and pre-dates the internet.

I remember a while back I listened to an American history podcast and heard a turn of expression I was positive I'd never heard in my life, couple days I'm watching TV and it pops up on Eggheads and I hear/see it a few times in the week later. I can't even remember what it was now!

They were talking about this phenomenon on QI recently and it has a name, can't for the life of me remember it though.

Online Party Phil

  • Boring Cunt that flies Air Bizarre
  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 12,554
  • Big in Japan
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #137 on: March 13, 2016, 09:51:17 pm »
They were talking about this phenomenon on QI recently and it has a name, can't for the life of me remember it though.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophenia
If you're lying, I'll chop your head off.

Offline Claire.

  • RAWK Staff.
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 21,763
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #138 on: March 13, 2016, 09:54:26 pm »
Targeted advertising based on internet history is a thing of course but the human mind can be a funny thing. The phenomenon of finding out about something and then seeming to see it everywhere is pretty common

Yep, when we were looking for a puppy and decided on a boxer everyone said 'oh you don't see them anymore' but alas we saw them everywhere. Then a few weeks ago before we bought our new car. We were looking at Audi a3's and all of a sudden everyone seemed to have them.


Online Elmo!

  • Spolier alret!
  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 13,335
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #139 on: March 13, 2016, 10:02:57 pm »
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophenia

Not quite, managed to find it:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases#Frequency_illusion

   
Quote
The illusion in which a word, a name, or other thing that has recently come to one's attention suddenly seems to appear with improbable frequency shortly afterwards (not to be confused with the recency illusion or selection bias).[38] Colloquially, this illusion is known as the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon.

Offline Skidder.

  • Minster. Aka The Censored Baron XII. I remember watching that as a skid!
  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 11,408
  • Kloppite
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #140 on: March 14, 2016, 12:04:35 pm »
Not quite, managed to find it:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases#Frequency_illusion

If it is a phenomenon, well it is as strong as nostalgia or deja vu.

Whilst unrelated to the topic of discussion - over the weekend I got talking to a University friend over Whatsapp - we got talking about scripts and what we were working on, spoke to him about something I was working on and more or less, the conversation went on for around 30 minutes. When we hung up, I powered up my laptop and whilst waiting, went on Facebook on my mobile. The first suggested post was an online course in screenwriting run by Stage32.com - entirely possible coincidence, Facebook could easily find that I had liked other Screenwriting pages, and/or visited Screenwriting pages previously. At the very least, it was a stark reminder that I should have been working rather than dawdling on Facebook.

If there is such a phenomenon then that proportion of people experiencing it would make terrible advertising/marketing folk.

Edit: An interesting article from Webpronews concerning Facebook ads and Frequency Illusion. http://www.webpronews.com/facebook-listens-2015-02/
« Last Edit: March 14, 2016, 12:25:26 pm by Kidder. »
Continually on 11,420.

Offline Alan_X

  • WUM. 'twatito' - The Cat Herding Firm But Fair Voice Of Reason (Except when he's got a plank up his arse). Gimme some skin, priest! Has a general dislike for Elijah Wood. Clearly cannot fill even a thong! RAWK Resident Muppet. Has a crush o
  • RAWK Staff
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 53,264
  • Come on you fucking red men!!!
  • Super Title: This is super!
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #141 on: March 14, 2016, 12:27:32 pm »
Good article at the weekend in the Observer:

Want to wrest back some privacy from Mark Zuckerberg?

The Zuck has his eye on 3.5bn social media accounts – that’s a lot of data handed on to advertisers. Here’s how to cover your tracks

David Nield

@davidnield

Sunday 13 March 2016 07.00 GMT

Mark Zuckerberg has a gargantuan social network. If you add up the number of accounts from the services he owns – Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram – you get a figure of 3.5bn, which is roughly half the world’s population. Granted many people will have multiple accounts and belong to multiple services, but still, that’s a lot of pokes, likes and cat gifs. Especially impressive given the scepticism and the love-hate relationship many have with his empire, particularly the Facebook mothership – or Dark Star, depending on your point of view. Being part of modern society without being involved somehow with the Zuck is increasingly tricky: instant messaging is hard without going via Facebook’s servers; you’ll need Instagram if you want to show off your perfectly arranged avocados and children’s fancy-dress outfits to the world; and if you want to date, no Facebook means no Tinder. Even if you’re one of those refuseniks who proudly claim “I’m not on Facebook”, you probably are – what about that chemically inconvenienced stag weekend in Tallinn that your pals created a Facebook album for? Yes, you’ll have to join to find out.

It’s a Faustian pact: in return for these sometimes useful services we give up our privacy and allow Facebook to mine our lives for data to sell to advertisers – but it’s a deal we can finesse a little to reclaim a bit of our dignity. Here are some suggestions how…

1 Hide your Facebook profile from search engines

If someone should Google (or Bing) your name, the chances are your Facebook profile might be one of the first entries to appear in the list of results. If you would rather this didn’t happen, head into the account settings pages of the Facebook app and choose Privacy. The final option, “Do you want search engines outside of Facebook to link to your profile?”, can be disabled with a couple of taps. Note that it may take some time before you disappear from search engine results, and you can still be found in a search inside Facebook.

2 Prevent Facebook from tracking you outside Facebook

Facebook’s technology stretches well beyond Facebook itself, as you will know if you have ever logged into a different site or app using your Facebook credentials. As a result, you might see hotel ads on Facebook if you spend a lot of time on hotel websites. If you’d rather this didn’t happen, go to ads in account settings, select “Can you see online interest-based adverts from Facebook?”, then turn it off. You will still be shown the same number of ads on the social network, but they won’t be based on the browsing you do on non-Facebook sites.

3 Stop Facebook using your likes in ads

You’ve probably seen ads in your newsfeed related to something that one of your friends has liked. If you don’t want your own likes to be exploited in this way, open up the account settings page, tap the ads button, and choose “Who can see your social actions paired with ads?”. By changing the bottom value to No one, you can make sure your Facebook contacts don’t see ads linked to your likes – although they can still be used to influence the ads you see in your own feed.

4 Stop people tagging you

If one of your friends wants to upload an embarrassing photo of you, there’s not much you can do except beg them not to; but you can prevent the picture (or any type of post, from updates to locations) being tagged with your name. From the Facebook apps menu, choose settings menu, settings and timeline and tagging: this screen lets you enable a post-review feature, so that you can block or approve all tags before they’re applied. There are a number of other tag-related settings to play around with on the same screen, too.

5 Disconnect third-party apps

You’ve probably logged into various apps and services using Facebook but you don’t want to give these third-party developers permanent access to your account. Head to account settings and apps, inside the mobile apps you can change the permissions of these external apps and even kick them out altogether – ideally you want to boot out any that you’re not using on a regular basis (you can always add them again later). The fewer connections you have, the safer and more private your account.

6 Stop Facebook automatically playing videos

Your timeline can resemble a cascade of YouTube spam and irrelevant video ads – the latter are important to Facebook as they are a major revenue earner. The YouTube content might not be fit for viewing at your desk and the ads are probably irritating, so you may want to turn the auto-play feature off. Here’s how: from your browser select settings, video, and at auto-play videos, hit the off button. Within the iOS app you take the same route and select “never” for auto‑play video.

7 Mute conversations in Messenger

For particularly busy conversation threads inside the Facebook Messenger app, you may not want to see or hear alerts every time there is a new message – that’s where the mute feature comes in. On Android, tap the info button (top right) inside a conversation and choose notifications to mute alerts for a certain period – anything from 15 minutes to indefinitely. On iOS, tap the title of the conversation rather than the info button. Messages will still come through, but you won’t get any notifications to that effect on your device until they’re enabled again.

8 Block other WhatsApp Users

Unfortunately, there’s always the chance not everyone you chat to has nice things to say, but WhatsApp includes a contact-blocking feature that’s fast and efficient. Blocked contacts can’t send you messages or calls, can’t see when you’ve been online, and can’t see your status or WhatsApp avatar picture. Go to the app menu, choose settings, account, privacy and then select Blocked contacts (Android) or Blocked (iOS): the subsequent screen lets you block and unblock contacts as required. You can also quickly block contacts from inside individual conversation windows by opening up the chat menu.

9 Keep your location to yourself in Instagram

Be wary of adding location information to your Instagram photos, especially if your feed is public and for areas near your home or place of work. If you go to your profile page and tap the location pin, you can see which of your images are linked to a location – to remove the geotag, tap the menu button (on Android), choose edit and tap the photos or groups of photos you want to remove. Remember Instagram also allows you to share pictures (geotagged or otherwise) in private one-to-one conversations rather than your main feed.

10 Prevent contacts seeing when you read their WhatsApp messages

Head to the main settings page inside WhatsApp to the read receipts option – if you untick this setting, people won’t know whether you’ve read their most recent messages. However, the function will be disabled in the other direction, too, so you’ll no longer get any indication whether your messages have been received (those two blue ticks that usually appear after posts). The last seen update (which shows your contacts when you last had the app open) works in the same way and can also be disabled.

11 Enable two-step verification

This is probably the wisest security precaution you can take to prevent your account being hacked. With this feature enabled, each time you or someone else attempts to log into your account from a new computer or device, Facebook will text you a code – which you will need in order to finish the process. Find this feature on the drop-down menu top right: settings, security, login approvals and check the box: “Require a security code to check my account from unknown browsers”.

12 Download all your data

While this isn’t a security measure in itself, downloading all the data that Facebook holds about you is an eye-opening exercise. Go to settings and click on the link “Download a copy of your Facebook data” at the bottom of the page. Once you’ve unstuffed the zip file, you’ll be able to see everything. This includes every message you’ve ever sent or received but not deleted (ie still plenty you’d rather forget); every time you’ve clicked on an ad; every survey you’ve completed; every photo you’ve uploaded; IP addresses you’ve used logging into Facebook (and the locations Facebook infers); the ads they think you’re interested in; and everyone one you’ve ever poked (stop sniggering). You might describe it as surveillance.

13 Choose who can see your posts

Whenever you update your Facebook status through the mobile apps (or indeed anywhere else) you’ll see an audience selector box that most likely has “friends” selected. Tap this to choose who exactly can see your next post: you might want to restrict it to family members, work colleagues, or an even smaller group of people (you can specify contacts one by one if necessary). This is where friend lists come in handy – Facebook makes some for you automatically (close friends and acquaintances for example), but you can create your own through the desktop Facebook site.

14 Delete your account?

If downloading your data freaks you out, the only way to remove it from Facebook’s servers is to delete your account. It takes Facebook up to 90 days to scrub you from their data banks, but be aware that items such as messages you’ve sent and friends’ photos you appear in will remain. The bonus of this tactic is that you’ll never be able to use Tinder again.

15 Deactivate your account

If deleting your account seems too drastic, too cold turkey, you could choose a trial separation from Mark Zuckerberg. Maybe you need a little space to think things through, see if you can survive without the emojis. Deactivation hides your timeline and means aunties, exes, criminals etc won’t be able to find you from a Facebook search. It also requires an iron will – your account will be reactivated any time you log back in – so stay away from the wine. You may also accidentally reactivate your account when you use your Facebook details to log into another site such as Airbnb. Therefore it would be wise to disconnect third-party apps (see above) before deactivating. Another precaution would be to change your password prior to deactivation, which would disrupt any saved logins you have scattered around your devices.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/mar/13/privacy-facebook-social-media-mark-zuckerberg-how-to
Sid Lowe (@sidlowe)
09/03/2011 08:04
Give a man a mask and he will tell the truth, Give a man a user name and he will act like a total twat.
Its all about winning shiny things.

Offline Skidder.

  • Minster. Aka The Censored Baron XII. I remember watching that as a skid!
  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 11,408
  • Kloppite
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #142 on: March 14, 2016, 12:43:59 pm »

2 Prevent Facebook from tracking you outside Facebook

Facebook’s technology stretches well beyond Facebook itself, as you will know if you have ever logged into a different site or app using your Facebook credentials. As a result, you might see hotel ads on Facebook if you spend a lot of time on hotel websites. If you’d rather this didn’t happen, go to ads in account settings, select “Can you see online interest-based adverts from Facebook?”, then turn it off. You will still be shown the same number of ads on the social network, but they won’t be based on the browsing you do on non-Facebook sites.

3 Stop Facebook using your likes in ads

You’ve probably seen ads in your newsfeed related to something that one of your friends has liked. If you don’t want your own likes to be exploited in this way, open up the account settings page, tap the ads button, and choose “Who can see your social actions paired with ads?”. By changing the bottom value to No one, you can make sure your Facebook contacts don’t see ads linked to your likes – although they can still be used to influence the ads you see in your own feed.

These are more apt in relation to what people are talking about.

Whilst the http://www.webpronews.com/facebook-listens-2015-02/ article pre-dates The Observer article, and whilst it does mention third-party apps communicating with Facebook, it doesn't address the issues mentioned in the webpronews article.

The Webpronews article provides a number of anecdotal evidence, (and some 'experimental' evidence) relating to Facebook's ability, bullshit-or-not, to target adverts based on keywords/hotwording. It mentions frequency illusion, as Party Phil and elmo were talking about - it even goes further into the debate over the coincidental timing of the said adverts. 24 hours (as cited in the article), to 30 or so minutes is a longshot by any stretch of the imagination, but nonetheless, there seem to have been grumblings over that Instagram/Facebook thing for a while now.

« Last Edit: March 14, 2016, 12:45:30 pm by Kidder. »
Continually on 11,420.


Offline conman

  • Ohh aaaah just a little bit, Ooh aahh, a little bit more. Aerial stalker perv. Not cool enough to get the lolz.
  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 27,498
    • Cocopoppyhead
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #144 on: March 21, 2016, 09:40:28 am »
Ok - fair enough. In that case it's probably popularity based - what's 'trending' rather than what's paid for.
they are populated in order of query volume and relevancy.

Online oojason

  • The Official RAWK Audio Visual God. Founder Member of the Ricky Gervais' 'David Brad Fan Club'.
  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 23,518
  • The Awkward Squad
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #145 on: March 22, 2016, 11:21:30 am »
'Web ads are reading my keystrokes' (even before he presses Enter on his keyboard):-

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/03/18/web_ads_are_reading_my_keystrokes_and_i_cant_even_spell_propperlie/

As ever with articles from 'El Reg' the Comments section is always worth a read...



and this... from a health and wellness information website... just because:-

.
Some 'Useful Info' for following the football + TV, Streams, Highlights & Replays etc - www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=345769

A mini-index of RAWK's 'Liverpool Audio / Video Thread' content over the years; & more - www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=345769.msg17787576#msg17787576

Offline Kenny's Jacket

  • Kenny's Vegan Jacket Potato. Talks more sense than me.
  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 12,448
  • We all Live in a Red and White Kop
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #146 on: March 22, 2016, 12:02:04 pm »
Did anyone see the one show last night? Google eavesdropping got a mention but the people answering the question didnt really understand the question properly and just spoke about search history.
As I've said before, the Full English is just the base upon which the Scots/Welsh/NI have improved upon. Sorry but the Full English is the worst of the British breakfasts.

Offline Skidder.

  • Minster. Aka The Censored Baron XII. I remember watching that as a skid!
  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 11,408
  • Kloppite
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #147 on: March 27, 2016, 10:57:14 pm »
Did anyone see the one show last night? Google eavesdropping got a mention but the people answering the question didnt really understand the question properly and just spoke about search history.

Did not see it myself sir, but will Iplayer it.
Continually on 11,420.

Offline Kenny's Jacket

  • Kenny's Vegan Jacket Potato. Talks more sense than me.
  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 12,448
  • We all Live in a Red and White Kop
As I've said before, the Full English is just the base upon which the Scots/Welsh/NI have improved upon. Sorry but the Full English is the worst of the British breakfasts.

Offline PaulF

  • https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/paulfelce
  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 21,648
  • Nothing feels as good as fat tastes.
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #149 on: May 20, 2016, 02:23:52 pm »
Personally, if they 'fessed up to doing it, I wouldn't mind if they target ads based on listening to my everyday speech. Assuming it's shoved through the same filters they claim gmail is, so it's purely to target advertising.
I'm fairly confident they aren't doing it yet though. On a regular basis I chat to my colleagues about the Moysiah and Van Gaal. And not once have I seen an ad for a clown suit.

(Be interesting to see if I get clown suit ads now).
"All the lads have been talking about is walking out in front of the Kop, with 40,000 singing 'You'll Never Walk Alone'," Collins told BBC Radio Solent. "All the money in the world couldn't buy that feeling," he added.

Online oojason

  • The Official RAWK Audio Visual God. Founder Member of the Ricky Gervais' 'David Brad Fan Club'.
  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 23,518
  • The Awkward Squad
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #150 on: June 1, 2016, 11:15:11 am »
Facebook is listening (and how to turn it off):-

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/05/31/facebook_is_listening/

(as ever the comments section on El Reg is well worth visiting for more info too)
.
Some 'Useful Info' for following the football + TV, Streams, Highlights & Replays etc - www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=345769

A mini-index of RAWK's 'Liverpool Audio / Video Thread' content over the years; & more - www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=345769.msg17787576#msg17787576

Online Crosby Nick

  • He was super funny. Used to do these super hilarious puns
  • RAWK Scribe
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 111,213
  • Poultry in Motion
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #151 on: June 1, 2016, 11:26:54 am »
I was doing a pub quiz yesterday and one question was "what is the opposite of a symonym?"

After a bit of discussion in the team I decided to sneakily google it (I'm a monster, I know!)...typed out "opposite of" and the top of the autofilled options was "symonym". Seems a bit weird as it can hardly be a regular so made me think of this thread.

Turns out we already had the correct answer so I wasn't technically cheating, merely verifying by the way. :D

Offline SamAteTheRedAcid

  • Currently facing issues around potty training. All help appreciated.
  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 22,203
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #152 on: June 1, 2016, 11:39:21 am »
I was doing a pub quiz yesterday and one question was "what is the opposite of a symonym?"

After a bit of discussion in the team I decided to sneakily google it (I'm a monster, I know!)...typed out "opposite of" and the top of the autofilled options was "symonym". Seems a bit weird as it can hardly be a regular so made me think of this thread.

Turns out we already had the correct answer so I wasn't technically cheating, merely verifying by the way. :D

Is it antonym?
get thee to the library before the c*nts close it down

we are a bunch of twats commenting on a website.

Offline SP

  • Thor ain't got shit on this dude! Alpheus. SPoogle. The Equusfluminis Of RAWK. Straight in at the deep end with a tube of Vagisil. Needs to get a half-life. Needs a damned good de-frag.
  • RAWK Staff.
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 36,042
  • .
  • Super Title: Southern Pansy
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #153 on: June 1, 2016, 11:40:46 am »
Antonym, if you were wondering.

Online Crosby Nick

  • He was super funny. Used to do these super hilarious puns
  • RAWK Scribe
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 111,213
  • Poultry in Motion
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #154 on: June 1, 2016, 11:47:55 am »
Good work both of you. Welcome aboard.


Offline CraigDS

  • Lite. Smelt it and dealt it. Worrawhopper.
  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 61,461
  • YNWA
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #156 on: June 1, 2016, 02:24:38 pm »
Yes, Google is listening.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/google-voice-search-records-and-stores-conversation-people-have-around-their-phones-but-files-can-be-a7059376.html

The article is a bit misleading, as it saying 'stores everything you say around your device' then later says it records and stores interactions with Google.

The latter definitely happens, as it's just another form of search (like it stores your typed searches).

Offline Alan_X

  • WUM. 'twatito' - The Cat Herding Firm But Fair Voice Of Reason (Except when he's got a plank up his arse). Gimme some skin, priest! Has a general dislike for Elijah Wood. Clearly cannot fill even a thong! RAWK Resident Muppet. Has a crush o
  • RAWK Staff
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 53,264
  • Come on you fucking red men!!!
  • Super Title: This is super!
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #157 on: June 1, 2016, 11:01:17 pm »
The article is a bit misleading, as it saying 'stores everything you say around your device' then later says it records and stores interactions with Google.

The latter definitely happens, as it's just another form of search (like it stores your typed searches).

So the story is that if you use Google to monitor what you say for searches, it doesn't delete what you've said unless you actively delete it or switch it off?
Sid Lowe (@sidlowe)
09/03/2011 08:04
Give a man a mask and he will tell the truth, Give a man a user name and he will act like a total twat.
Its all about winning shiny things.

Offline CraigDS

  • Lite. Smelt it and dealt it. Worrawhopper.
  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 61,461
  • YNWA
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #158 on: June 1, 2016, 11:52:32 pm »
So the story is that if you use Google to monitor what you say for searches, it doesn't delete what you've said unless you actively delete it or switch it off?

Basically if you search using Google (or use any of Google's services) then they'll store and use that information. Be it type, voice or some other form of input.

The story is fairly misleading though and kind of makes out it listens and stores everything, which is highly unlikely to be true.

Offline Kenny's Jacket

  • Kenny's Vegan Jacket Potato. Talks more sense than me.
  • RAWK Supporter
  • Legacy Fan
  • ******
  • Posts: 12,448
  • We all Live in a Red and White Kop
Re: Is Google listening to our conversations for targeted ads?
« Reply #159 on: June 2, 2016, 05:38:48 am »
I was doing a pub quiz yesterday and one question was "what is the opposite of a symonym?"

After a bit of discussion in the team I decided to sneakily google it (I'm a monster, I know!)...typed out "opposite of" and the top of the autofilled options was "symonym". Seems a bit weird as it can hardly be a regular so made me think of this thread.

Turns out we already had the correct answer so I wasn't technically cheating, merely verifying by the way. :D

And to think you're a mod. 

Did you use Shazam for the music round?
As I've said before, the Full English is just the base upon which the Scots/Welsh/NI have improved upon. Sorry but the Full English is the worst of the British breakfasts.