Last Saturday as the HH finished putting up the last of the drywall in the kitchen, I said to him… you know, I kind of like the teal blue background. Don’t you think a teal blue tile would look good with the cream cabinets?
He said yes it would, but maybe in another house, with floors that weren’t honey colored, and I agreed. And then I took a photo on my phone of our cream colored cabinets with the teal background and didn’t think anything of it.
Until later that night when I was scrolling through Instagram {I was literally on my phone for 10 seconds} when this image popped up. And it creeped me out. I’ve been on Instagram a gazillion times over the years and not once do I remember seeing a kitchen with cream cabinets and a teal blue tile background before. Not once.
But the moment I snap a picture on my phone, and say it out loud, the same thing pops up on my phone. Now if that’s not a coincidence, I don’t know what is. But the thing is, things like that are happening more and more.
I’m sure everybody knows about contextual ads {Contextual advertising is a form of targeted advertising for advertisements appearing on websites or other media, such as content displayed in mobile browsers. The advertisements themselves are selected and served by automated systems based on the context of what a user is looking at.}* Wikipedia
But here’s the thing… Not once, have a typed in the words cream colored cabinets, teal blue tile into the Google. Not once. And yet, I take a picture and *poof* suddenly I’m seeing an ad for it. I have friends who have those Alexa {or similar listening} devices in their homes, and I think they’re crazy to have them. But I’m not talking about those right now, I’m talking about the pictures on my phone.
So does that mean something, somewhere is scanning the photos I take on my phone now too? Has this happened to you before? Or do you think it’s all in my head. I mean, I can’t possibly be the only one creeped out about all this so called artificial intelligence stuff getting out of hand, can I?
Curious minds want to know.
~ Mavis
Melissa M. says
They definitely are listening to us. I cannot give an example now but the same thing has happened to me several times.
Nancy from mass says
I was one sitting in a conference room at work with another coworker who plays guitar. I didn’t even have my Facebook app on while we were talking. And we talked at length about how i used to play guitar and the brand that I had in the brand that he has. That night, I received so many guitar ads on Facebook. It creeped me out so much, that I texted him and told him about the ads.
Virginia says
https://www.consumerreports.org/smartphones/is-your-smartphone-secretly-listening-to-you/
Here’s an article last year from Consumer Reports about this very issue. There are also a few comments on the bottom of the article that might interest you. I’ve never heard of anything like this before, but it makes one wonder. You did write on your blog about your interest in that particular kitchen color combo, so perhaps that triggered the ad?
Jenny Young says
This is a very helpful article but it doesn’t explain how ads come up from conversations alone….which has happened to me. My husband told me to test it by talking about something I’d never searched for to see if any ads came up….none did. But it seriously is weird.
I did go in & turn off my camera & microphone of some of the apps. I thought I had that all turned off but I’d never gone to each specific app to do that before.
Cilleen says
Yes! Just had a similar experience two days ago…not with a photo, but an ad popped up on my phone less than an hour after I had been looking at the same item at an office supply store. I hadn’t done any searches online and hadn’t made a purchase. Out of all the products from that store that could have shown up in the ad in my FB feed, it was the exact item I had been looking at. I told my husband too that someone / something is watching us.
Tracey says
Happens all the time. Totally creepy.
Sharon says
There is no such thing as privacy anymore. As soon as you participate in any form of social media, the door is opened, and all sorts of things creep in. Unfortunate side effect that we forget/choose to ignore.
Connie says
Yes your phone listens. Friend was scussing colleges and suddenly ads started popping up.
You want privacy no smart tv’s and phone off and in microwave !!
JoAnn C says
It’s widely known that if you don’t turn off the microphone feature on your phone, the analytics of your actual phone “listens” to your conversations and this data is mined by social media to give you suggestions based on that sort of stuff. If I talk about a show I want to see, for sure I will get an ad for that phone in the next day or two.
Mavis Butterfield says
The microphone on my phone has always been turned off. For everything. And I only have about 5 apps on my phone.
Deb K says
I read in an article once that it doesn’t matter if the microphone is turned off. The microphone being turned off makes us feel better but doesn’t stop the phone from taking in the information. It’s fake. It has been awhile since I read it so I don’t remember more but I try to use my land line mostly. Half the time I let my phone run down and it’s stuck in a drawer and needs to be recharged. Anyway, I’m no expert, just something I read in an article on privacy. Creeped me out.
KC says
“Turned off” is not always actually turned off, unfortunately. Sorry. While you can stick a post-it over your camera, I’m not sure of any similar solution for microphones. I would not be at all surprised if cell providers were in on the sales game – targeting the right thing to interested people rakes in the money.
That said, it might be as simple as “oh, she has *this* photo in her photo storage, and that is a close match for this *other* photo, and maybe she was looking at photo 1 for renovation inspiration and we can sub her over to this other brand for $$$” – which would just mean that somewhere on your photo storage/upload path is compromised/listening.
(Various companies also monitor phone locations tightly within stores – Walmart’s privacy policy comes to mind, where they’ll “see” where you’re going in the store if you use their wireless connection or if you have their app, and they tell you they’ll use that to “help you find the products you want” and… no thanks.)
I block most tracking with umatrix in my internet browser, but it’s kind of a pain to get the settings adjusted (less of a pain if you only visit a few sites regularly, but more of a pain if you buy anything from unusual-to-you sites; I have a separate browser that I use for things like plane ticket purchases, where yes, they are also tracking me, but no, it is more important to know that the ticket purchase went through without glitches than it is to be not-tracked).
Also, I would like to note that I HATE this stuff. And drone photography. No, I do not *want* to be watched and listened to in my own home/backyard, or even in private contexts within public spaces!
Anne says
I agree that our phones are listening. After a conversation with my husband, the topic at hand started showing up in Facebook ads. I hadn’t done any searching of the topic on my phone at all. Super creepy.
Lynne says
Happens to me ALL the time. It freaks me out.
Robin says
Well, well — this is interesting and adds to my own suspicions. 😉 Have been wondering about Instagram too — avoided Facebook but FB bought IG. Instead of Google I use Firefox with add-ons DuckDuckGo, HTTPS Everywhere, and Privacy Badger, but I still get some creepy tailored items.
CherylV says
Robin, Firefox now has something called “Facebook Container” to block FB from watching your every move on other sites.
JulieP says
It’s definitely our phones. Our son told us it was happening and we didn’t believe him so on paper they decided to talk about buying a Toyota. Nothing could actually be further from my DH mind but he and my son had a chat up the kitchen table with their phones nearby almost instantly on Facebook and instagram they both had adverts for Toyotas buying renting selling and it seems to happen when your phone isn’t actually ‘open’ scary stuff!!
Mrs. C. says
Yes, they are. One thing most people don’t realize is that if you download a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, google, etc., app, they actually monitor ALL of your net surfing. All of it, even if you are not actively in the app. They harvest the info and sell it.
Sabrina says
I love the look of the blue tile.
Rachel B says
I totally agree that the teal looks amazing with the cream cabinets and the honey wood floors, the fact that they are sort of complementary colors (blue and orange) makes them both pop but not compete. It looks fresh and happy to me.
Diana says
I agree. When I saw the pic I actually thought they’d gotten the blue tile…
Deb says
I love the tile also. In fact, when Mavis first mentioned it I didn’t understand why she thought it wouldn’t work. I think it looks quite scandinavian.
Lolly says
That tile is amazing!!! It’s a beautiful kitchen!
Kara Beth says
Ads always pop up on Facebook that are directly related to conversations I’ve had with coworkers during our lunch break.
Diane says
How do you turn off the microphone feature?
Mavis Butterfield says
Go to Settings,then privacy,then microphone. Mine has always been turned off.
Christine says
So this is even more weird:
We are building a house and my husband had mentioned several times about getting one of those rolling nail magnets. A few weeks later he tells me that he has an errand to run but did not tell me any details. Later that afternoon I think to myself “I bet he is going by Harbor Freight to get one of those rolling magnets for nails.” Later I was scrolling through Facebook and up pops an add for one at Harbor Freight! I cannot remember search for anything at Harbor Freight. Yes, he had gone by and purchased one. Now. I know Facebook can’t read our minds but it does know that we are married so I assume it is connecting our information.
Through this house building process I have realized how much data mining is going on. If I add a sub contractor to my contact list I will get a friend suggestion from Facebook for that person. Sometimes the contact name might not be real specific but more familiar like “Tracy the Plumber.”
I bet I will get a whole bunch of Harbor Freight adds in my feed.
This is too weird.
Ramona says
My husband was on his tablet just a few evenings ago. I said I need to go floss my teeth. He said Do you need some floss?, since he keeps some by his chair at his end table. Within a few seconds an ad popped up on his tablet for several kinds of floss. That has happened a few times but not always. “They” are listening.
dj_1973 says
Yes, they are listening, and if you use anything on the cloud, they are looking at your data. Right now they are just trying to sell you things, but in the future, who knows how the data could be used?
As someone in the web industry, things like the new California privacy laws present as kind of a pain, but as a human using the web, I’d like to see more laws like this in more states – we should have the option to opt out, and the right to not allow our data to be used by whatever business or person or entity online wants it.
Bruce the Duck says
Listening? Yep. Selling stuff via ads? Sure, no big deal. Linka like when you overhear a friend mention that they are considering selling their home so you mention your other friend who happens to be a realtor.
But who else is listening? And why? I get it: throw a few “key words” around in your conversation and get picked up by the watchdogs who are looking out for us – and doing well. They are looking for terror plots, espionage against the country and the like. Thank you, please do your job of keeping us all safe. I’m glad our front line of defense is on the ready.
Still, when does this get political? As an avid conservative with all the labels – pro-life, pro-wall, pro-Trump 2020, etc., when do my views start to get things shut down for me? And yes, this can work both ways (I agree with neither happening) that anybody voicing an opposing view to mine getting shut down. China has something like this now called a “Social Credit Score” where your views determine your access to things.
Deepen this a bit. Many cell phones today come with batteries you cannot get to. I can get to mine so I can not only turn my phone off but I can also remove the battery. For those who cannot get to their battery, is your phone ever really off? I honestly do not know, but it does make me wonder.
You know what? Let’s just have some fun with it. If your friend leaves the room for a moment and does not take his/her phone along, say things like “road kill pot roast recipes” or “size chart for adult diapers” just to screw with their ad preferences!
Leslie says
HAHA. That’s a good one.
Ruth says
My cell phone communicates with my tablet in another part of the house. They’re talking behind our backs! A conversation in the kitchen produces ads in the living room!
Turn this to your advantage…search for “Flowers by mail” and your devices will be wreathed with photos of pretty floral arrangements. Sometimes it lasts for days!
We have several of the “listening devices” and enjoy them tremendously. All kinds of music, Audible books, news and weather, political commentary, timers, reminders, alarms. We don’t use the “smart house” features.
Each device has an “Off” button to press for privacy. But frankly, our conversations run to: “Who’s a good boy? Would you like a treat? Walkies!”
LOVE the blue tile! ESPECIALLY with the honey wood tones. Blue canisters? Pot holders/towels/apron? Rug?
Rita says
No it’s not all in your head Mavis. They are out there watching and listening to us. It’s scary.
Dottie says
This isn’t about an ad, but related and equally creepy, I think. We had gone to visit a local landmark with another family- I’ll call them the Smith family. Took lots of pictures. A few days later my phone automatically created a photo slide show of those pictures and of its own accord labeled it “ St. Louis with the Smiths” …just unsettling that my phone knew who we were with and that they were in the pictures!
Rosaleen says
A news report before Christmas announced that mall stores were reporting purchases by individuals to Facebook. Most creepiness!
Jenny Young says
I just recently noticed this….we’ll have a conversation about something then I see ads or news articles on the same topic. …without doing any searches or taking any pics. I’ve thought about covering the camera on my phone & pc because the thought of someone remotely turning them on in my home is too bizarre. I try not to be a paranoid person but I do think these kinds of things happen.
Amber says
I was at a dinner party and one of the guests mentioned a very specific off road vehicle. There is nothing further from my lifestyle and my phone was not even in the building. However, my husband’s phone was. About an hour after we left I saw an ad for that vehicle on my phone.
I noticed the customized ads show up if I have the Facebook messenger app installed and use the speech to text function. That turns the microphone on in settings. Try not using that feature – and install Duck Duck Go as your privacy browser.
Elle says
They are listening if you have turned on access to your phone. Every program requests access. Also, if you have location turned on, they can track the stores you go into. Security is EVERYTHING in today’s world.
Julie says
I don’t doubt that is highly likely targeted technology. However, it keep in mind the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon.
https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/baader-meinhof-phenomenon.htm
Ali says
Julie, Just read it. Interesting article!
Annette says
Talk about creepy: Last week my brother’s work truck (semi) broke down so he call road side repair. As he was going to give them the address to come fix the truck they said that they would just ping his cell phone for his location and be there within the hour.
Susan says
AAA has that feature but I think you have to opt in to do it. A nice feature if you’re alone and not in a city with addresses I suppose.
andrea d says
Just the other night, I was on Instagram and someone had a link for a rug that they had purchased. (This was on my computer, not my phone) I clicked the link to open the web page, but didn’t interact with the site yet, I was doing other things and wanted it open so I could go back to it later when I had the time. About an hour later, still haven’t interacted with the open website, I was checking my email. There in my messages is an email from that rug company website asking me if I was interested in anything. How did they get my email address? All I did was open their website; hadn’t even clicked on anything yet.
It was a good conversation starter for my kids about the importance of #1 – privacy and what a creepy place the internet can be; and #2 – be careful what you do online because someone is always watching.
Jennifer says
The algorithms are smarter than us. AI is real.
Deborah Herman says
Let’s face it, they rack our every digital move. of our photos on our smart phones, why not. Our personal lives are no longer private. It is the new reality.
I’m sure this communication will be on file somewhere.
By the way I like the teal and cream idea. Wood floors and all.
Be creative, be different. Don’t follow the mob.
Micaela says
This has absolutely happened and we don’t have any listening devices like Alexa either. While having dinner a few months back for my husbands bday, my 8 year old said ‘dad, now that you’re over 40, you should start taking nugenix’ or however it’s spelled. 1- the things my kids pick up on from commercials and retain is ridiculous and 2- later on that night my husband was seeing Facebook and instagram ads for nugenix
And this is just one of the possibly hundreds of examples we’ve seen from what we are talking about. Mentioning needing to go to Kohl’s and then within minutes- getting Kohl’s emails etc.
It’s frustrating but there have been a few times where it’s been helpful.
MARY LEGATES says
Your phones is a listening device.
Renay says
I encourage every one of us, and tell our friends also, to contact our representatives at both the state and local levels and tell them what you think. I am! The federal government needs to enact some smart regulation on this, though not restraining free speech. They are way behind the ball on it.
Naomi says
Had something similar happen last night! Hubby and I were planning a yard/garden redo. Big piece of paper and pencil, nothing on our phones or computer. He said parts of the yard need to be leveled, top layer of grass (mostly crabgrass) scraped off, etc. I mentioned our neighbor’s friend having a Bobcat. He said no, it’s not a Bobcat, and not what we needed. Fast forward to today, I’m browsing Facebook and up pops an ad for a homeowner sized Bobcat! This conversation was the only time one was talked about and I have never searched for one. Super weird!
Linda Sand says
You also wrote about it on your blog. They could have found it there. That’s why my blog is not findable. (Yes, that’s a word.)
Mavis Butterfield says
The conversation was before the blog post. 🙂
Patti says
Yes, as long as your microphone is around, your words are being picked up. I do not know if any person is physically listening but a computer is”listening” and deciding what is being said and what ads will be useful to you.
Gina says
“Duck duck go” is a search engine that does not track you.
Mimi says
I’ve experienced this multiple times. I rarely use my cell phone, I don’t have Alexa in my home, not on social media at all and yet…eerie intrusions like that enter my life routinely. Do not like!
Makes me want to run for the hills!
Katherine says
Every app you load onto your cell phone has permissions it asks for, such as reading your email, accessing your contacts and turning on your camera and microphone etc. Most folks don’t give it a second thought and grant the app permission. Companies make lots of money selling our info.
Linda Harper says
They absolutlely are listening. Two years ago I fell down our basement steps and broke both ankles so I couldn’t even use a walker. We used an office chair to roll me around the house. I never mentioned it online but a week later got an email for replacement wheels for office chairs. I also started getting ads for a stair elevator! I don’t have Alexa but I’m sure google was listening through our “smart” phones.
Athena says
Mrs. Mavis I seem to remember you posting online somewhere about how you thought the teal looked nice. Not sure if it was a blog post, Instagram or Facebook (I think I may follow you everywhere now, I swear I’m not a stalker!). Since you clearly posted about it, that’s why you’re seeing the ad! It’s easy to think something is listening or watching us, but the reality is that EVERYTHING we do online now is tracked, whether it’s a Google search or not. They know when you post about liking the teal and post a pic about it (I know your post included a pic because I saw it!). That’s then used to target you with ads that match what you posted about. Almost every time I get an ad like this that makes me a little creeped out I can look back to something I saw, clicked over or searched for online. Unfortunately this is the way of the world now! Sometimes I find it helpful, other times it’s a bit creepy!
Jacqui Gauld says
Every app you use, website you look at, etc. are all collecting and quite possibly exchanging or even selling that info. Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Google, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp, Pinterest, you name it. Big Brother has been around for a long time and I’m not just being paranoid.
Btw, I think the teal tiles would look really good, I definitely prefer them to the white.
Nancy D says
Try taking a random picture of something else and send it to Mrs HB and see if you get an advertisement for it ;).
We unplugged our Alexa unit because of stuff like this happening and we just weren’t liking it.
Richelle says
Here is another good explanation of phone tracking and data sharing and analytics. It’s read published Feb 13, so is very recent.
https://www.cnet.com/news/your-phone-talks-about-you-behind-your-back-these-researchers-are-listening-in/
Wendy Steele says
Well, all this privacy discussion is interesting and all—but I’m here to vote for the teal tile backsplash!!! That’s the color I’ve picked out for whenever I get the funds to re-do my 1957 Formica-ridden kitchen!!!!!
Stacey says
I never assume privacy at all! We never know who is watching or listening, and I’m not usually paranoid. I’ve come to realize it’s just the world we live in now.
Nekey says
It has happened to me too. I read the book Data and Goliath by Bruce Schneier. It was an eye opener and scary. I’m afraid it is just the way things are now.
Candice says
Yes! They are listening to us and it is creepy as heck! I’ll look up something online and then all of a sudden I am getting similar things popping up on Pinterest. I very rarely ever get on Facebook any more and the only social media I use is Twitter. They are listening to us and spying on us, too. We have Google home and I have mentioned to my husband several times that it is listening to us. My husband works in IT and knows more about tech stuff than any person I know. He always says “Who cares” when I tell him I think Google is listening. He said we have nothing to worry about as long as we aren’t doing anything illegal. It still creeps me out, though!
Tammy says
Mavis,
Houzz has a kitchen with your colors and a blue tile backsplash AND honey colored floors. It’s lovely. Link here:
https://www.houzz.com/magazine/10-times-to-hire-a-professional-organizer-stsetivw-vs~116764966?utm_source=Houzz&utm_campaign=u13149&utm_medium=email&utm_content=gallery7_9&newsletterId=13149
Barbara says
Mavis, tried to post a picture of my kitchen. Let me know if you’d like to see it. Only difference is my cabinets are white and paint is a little lighter, and I installed dark laminate flooring. I have dark granite counter tops like yours.
Mavis Butterfield says
Hi Barbara, you can send me a pictures at onehundreddollars a month@gmail .com spaces removed}
BARBARA says
Thank you, Mavis! I’ve subscribed for several years but don’t post. You do such an excellent job! You are the only one I subscribe to. We have similar interests.
Amanda Childress says
Check this one out….I was in a thrift store by myself and a shirt caught my eye. I touched it and looked at the tag. It was from an obscure store I have never looked up, talked about, nor purchased from. My phone was in my purse and I never said nor texted anyone about the shirt. That night, I got an ad on my phone via Facebook about that store. I am not even kidding. It weirded me out so bad. My husband and I have so many examples of this. We noticed we were being listened to years ago. Like one time I said I wanted a caboose for a tiny house. What do you think was recommended on our YouTube first thing that night? Tiny house cabooses! I hate it. It ought to be illegal.
Heather says
I love the sea glass looking aqua tiles. I also like hand cut subway tiles and cement tiles!