The 72 hours between deleting Facebook and getting a targeted ad for a book I only mentioned in a text to my sister

I deleted the Facebook app off my phone last Tuesday. By Friday, an ad popped up on my laptop for a niche memoir I had only texted my sister about on Wednesday. The ad wasn't on Facebook, it was on a news site that uses Google's ad network. So which company actually sold my data between those hours, and does it even matter anymore? I am trying to figure out if the phone itself is the leak or if the ad network connections are just that fast now.

3 comments

3 Comments

robertgreen24d ago

Pick your jaw up off the floor, @phoenix29, because that timeline is actually terrifying and it works exactly like you think. The phone itself is the leak, the ad networks are the leak, basically everything with a microphone and an internet connection is snitching on you 24/7. The scary part is people like you who say nothing really changes, but this has been changing for years while nobody paid attention. By the time the average person figures out their phone is ratting them out, the companies already sold that data to three other brokers. Tuesday is actually late for that kind of tracking, its probably been happening since you picked up the phone this morning.

phoenix2924d ago

Tuesday seems fast but nothing really changes.

wyattrobinson24d ago

Yeah I used to be the same way, always thought if nothing actually changes then what's the rush. But @phoenix29, I gotta say I changed my mind after watching a buddy of mine drag his feet on selling his house for like three months waiting for the perfect offer. By the time he acted the market had already shifted and he lost like 15 grand compared to what he could've gotten the first week. Sometimes Tuesday really is the sweet spot before things quietly go sideways.