A Bizarre Coincidence?...

[Adolescent09]

I have never really given the advertisement bar towards the top of this forum much thought over the years, but I just noticed something weird literally 2 minutes ago:

Earlier today I surfed the website 'cars.com'; The ad on LitNet just showed cars.com

I watched the movie 'Life of Pi' on Google Play yesterday; earlier today a google ad for 'Life of Pi' showed up

Here's where it gets truly weird...

I went to a restaurant called Bj's less than an hour ago. I've been going there for some time now and I never used my phone's gps to get there, nor did I ever look it up on the internet or fill out a survey for the restaurant...; Lo and behold an ad for Bj's restaurant popped up recently.

I have an unsettling feeling that virtual eyes are tracing my every step both in the digital world and IRL. Has this happened to anyone else?

[Silas Thorne]

Me and blp (an older member) once had a game where we would change the ads by writing words on particular topics. The ads, or ad-bots, are designed to modify based on topic. Most of the internet does this. The only way out is to use adblockers or block the trackers on webpages. The browser Firefox has some good addons for this. You can even turn off the ads for you (oops, I said it, the sponsors will be annoyed!) , although I guess most people won't care to go to this trouble and the ads will stay.

[Calidore]

I went to a restaurant called Bj's less than an hour ago. I've been going there for some time now and I never used my phone's gps to get there, nor did I ever look it up on the internet or fill out a survey for the restaurant...; Lo and behold an ad for Bj's restaurant popped up recently.

I have an unsettling feeling that virtual eyes are tracing my every step both in the digital world and IRL. Has this happened to anyone else?

That part's probably a coincidence. Google certainly knows your location, and BJ's would have to have paid for the ad, which is most likely to be shown to local folks.

[Silas Thorne]

Your phone gps might have logged you broadcasting your thoughts from there at one time too. Facebook and Google might know you went there.

[kittypaws]

Hahahaha....Big Brother is Watching You!

With all the high-tech phones and so forth if you have your location turned on....well 'they' know where you are.

I may have laughed at Big Brother is Watching You but it really is a serious deal.

[Silas Thorne]

Yes, some care is needed, I think, especially when your gps is switched on and you are social networking or taking photos. But in the case of ad-bots, it isn't really Big Brother, but 'I want to help you find things you might like based on your expressed interests'. This could be a good thing for you.
'They' might be that friend you don't really like, who suddenly starts shopping at the same place as you.

[Calidore]

Following up on my earlier post: If they actually knew you went there, let alone regularly, they would have sent a different ad, as you obviously don't need to be told about BJ's.

[Darcy88]

Can a person disable their smart-phone's gps?

[*Classic*Charm*]

Oh heck, that ad bar knows me personally. The most common ads I get are for the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and Modcloth clothing. Right now, Les Miserables at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto.

[*Classic*Charm*]

I went to a restaurant called Bj's less than an hour ago. I've been going there for some time now and I never used my phone's gps to get there, nor did I ever look it up on the internet or fill out a survey for the restaurant...; Lo and behold an ad for Bj's restaurant popped up recently.

I have an unsettling feeling that virtual eyes are tracing my every step both in the digital world and IRL. Has this happened to anyone else?


Did your phone happen to connect to their WiFi? That would do it.

[Silas Thorne]

sorry, duplicate message

[Silas Thorne]

Can a person disable their smart-phone's gps?

Well, there are settings for this. But your phone's gps can be good if you want to use your phone to find your way if you get lost. You can turn it on and off.

[Calidore]

Also, turning off the GPS won't necessarily disable location tracking. One's a feature for you; the other's a feature for Apple (or whoever).

[cafolini]

Any one can know anything they want to know about you, with or without Internet. Get it through your head. The only thing you can keep private is what you don't say. Hardly anything at all because from what you say, through indirect thinking, what you don't say can be figured out.