A US customer discovered that Amazon’s app had compiled a profile of details it inferred from her shopping habits. The information appeared in a “About You” section within the app’s shopping settings, and included both purchase-related interests and more personal observations.
The Threads user, posting as “fangirlinmegan,” found entries noting that she owned a Kindle Paperwhite, hosted themed parties and regularly bought hairball treatment for her cats. The profile also suggested she was preparing a Bluey-themed birthday party and probably owned a Shark vacuum. One entry described her as having “a flat butt,” which prompted her to post about the discovery.
Her post led other Amazon customers to share screenshots of their own profiles. Their entries included interests in romantic fantasy books, feeding wild birds and expanding a plant collection, as well as preferences such as not wanting Christmas music on a playlist. Some users said the details were accurate, including information Amazon appeared to have drawn from reviews.
Amazon says it uses customers’ purchase histories, conversations with Alexa’s shopping feature, reviews, lists and search queries to understand their preferences and provide relevant recommendations. The company allows users to view and edit those preferences.
According to the report, the “About You” page is not available in Germany. German users can enter preferences manually in the app, but the report notes that Amazon may still collect data about them.
Sources: t3n.