What does Amazon actually think of you? How to find your hidden 'About You' profile
Amazon customer profile makes assumptions about shoppers
A recently uncovered feature reveals that Amazon is actually categorizing its users with highly specific, and occasionally blunt, personal profiles.
NEW YORK CITY - We all know that Amazon tracks our purchases to recommend new products, but a recently uncovered feature reveals that the retail giant is taking its assumptions a step further.
Amazon is actually categorizing its users with highly specific, and occasionally blunt, personal profiles.
What we know:
The feature recently went viral on Threads after a stunned user posted, "I stumbled upon a page of assumptions that Amazon has made about me based on my purchases, and I’m literally speechless."
According to her screenshot, Amazon had bluntly categorized her as having a "flat bottom buttocks" based on her product preferences.
The post prompted a wave of users to check their own profiles, revealing a hilarious and slightly unsettling list of algorithmic assumptions. Some of the wildest user profiles shared online include:
- "Too short to reach into a 40-inch deep box"
- "Not a big SpongeBob fan"
- "Cannot keep real plants alive"
- "Does not want to be reminded about rip currents unless asking specifically"
- "Husband has skinny legs"
- "Cusses when scared"
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Dig deeper:
The algorithm builds these hyper-specific profiles by analyzing exactly what you buy. For instance, purchasing certain types of shapewear or padded clothing might prompt the system to assume your body type, so it can recommend similar products in the future.
While it is a clever marketing tool designed to feed you better product recommendations, it also serves as a stark reminder of just how much data e-commerce platforms are gathering about our personal lives, habits, and even our phobias.
How to find your Amazon ‘About You’ profile
What you can do:
Curious to see how the algorithm perceives you? You can check your own profile on the Amazon app or desktop website by following these steps:
- Click on your Profile Icon (usually located in the top right corner)
- Select the Account button
- Scroll down and click on Shopping Preferences
- Look for the section labeled About You
Check your page to see if Amazon has you pegged perfectly, or if its algorithmic assumptions are wildly off base.
The Source: Information from this article was sourced from Amazon, as well as Threads posted about the feature.