Amazon's 'About You' section is quietly roasting users, and people love it
Copy link Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Amid mounting privacy concerns, the big tech companies have been trying to increase the semblance of transparency around how they profile us while…
Annons
Annons
Copy link Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Amid mounting privacy concerns, the big tech companies have been trying to increase the semblance of transparency around how they profile us while reframing it as something that helps us as much as them. An unusually explicit example is the new About You section on Amazon.Little known until a few days ago, this feature buried in customers' account settings reveals some of the information the online retail giant thinks it's gleaned from your activity. This can vary from mundane records about preferences to surprisingly specific and descriptive observations about customers' habits, interests, lifestyles and buttocks. Post by @fangirlinmegan View on ThreadsAmazon introduced About You in May, but the recent Threads post above is largely responsible for bringing it to public attention in recent days. The section lists assumptions that Amazon's AI has formed based on customers' purchasing history, reviews, wishlists and conversations with Alexa (the OP above later concluded that the comment on her physique may have been deduced from her purchase of some “butt scrunch leggings”).Latest Videos FromCreative BloqWatch full video here: According to Amazon, the assumptions listed can influence the ads and product recommendations that it shows the user. You can edit or remove details that are wrong or that you don't want to be used for recommendations, and you can also import data from other AI bots to help Amazon build up a more detailed profile for you, should you be inclined to do that.Discovery of the feature has triggered a wave of other Amazon users to check their About You sections and post screenshots of them to social media. In some cases, people have been Amazon's profiling to be eerily accurate, while others have found assumptions that were wildly off the mark.The accuracy of the Amazon “about you” info is cracking me up 😬😅 https://t.co/1AbI8dF6nROctober 7, 2026I really enjoy the ai “about you” on Amazon. Some are funny, but it did nail it. I DO love gold jewelry, clean dog teeth, and possibly embroidery. https://t.co/GrwuLL398qOctober 7, 2026@GameOverStation Dear lord... https://t.co/0B0WftlY0eOctober 8, 2026I bought ONE part that fits my Pacifica that also fits a Jeep and suddenly I'm a jeep owner to Amazon 😿 Most depressing part of my new "About You" section. https://t.co/jwdsSVy0uCOctober 7, 2026We know by now that most tech companies profile us. What's surprised people is that Amazon's now letting us read the notes without having to make a freedom of information request. Google and Meta allow users to edit their ad preferences, but they use fairly broad categories. Amazon's go much more granular. It thinks it knows whether you "engage in serious coffee brewing", whether you care for a cat and whether you have "tall books".While some people are saying they find this algorithmic profiling sinister, most seem to be amused. Perhaps we've become desensitised to data collection amid the normalisation of AI, or maybe Amazon's made a smart move, gaining trust by revealing some of the logic behind its algorithms.Get the Creative Bloq NewsletterSign up to Creative Bloq's daily newsletter, which brings you the latest news and inspiration from the worlds of art, design and technology.But is Amazon showing us what it knows about us, or just what it wants us to know it knows? The company doesn't claim that the About You page represents all the data associated with an account, but rather a way to view and edit details used to personalise shopping recommendations. It's potentially only a carefully curated view of a small subset of the data it has on us.How to see Amazon's About YouYou can find About You on Amazon in your account settings via the website or the app. Go to your name at top right and select 'Account' and then look for 'About You' under 'Ordering and shopping preferences'. In the app, go to Account > Shopping preferences > About you.
