Are we being monitored?

[Amber Avenger]

1 hour ago, Dave T said:

I suggest that this was maybe a new brand on the market, hence your colleague showing you as it was new, and they are advertising heavily. As you had this brand fresh in your memory, their advertising stood out to you.

 

Or the more simple solution that your colleague is an advertising robot planted by that brand.

That's what I would have thought prior to this thread. This forum is making me paranoid. 

Another one I've just noticed. This morning my girlfriend sent me a screenshot of a bridesmaid dress she is going to be wearing later this year on Whatsapp. No link or anything, again I've just seen the exact dress pop up as an advert on my phone. OK I know where this one has come from at least but I do find that quite clever and scary at the same time. 

[gingerjon]

2 hours ago, Amber Avenger said:

That's what I would have thought prior to this thread. This forum is making me paranoid. 

Another one I've just noticed. This morning my girlfriend sent me a screenshot of a bridesmaid dress she is going to be wearing later this year on Whatsapp. No link or anything, again I've just seen the exact dress pop up as an advert on my phone. OK I know where this one has come from at least but I do find that quite clever and scary at the same time. 

Does this mean your apps are getting married?

[ckn]

34 minutes ago, Saint 1 said:

One thing I do find crazy is that analytics companies can now link your phone with your computer, even if you've never signed into the same account or visited the same websites. So for example (and this one has happened to me), I browsed Airbnb for Barcelona on my work computer, then left the office, checked my phone and was getting adverts for Airbnb Barcelona having never looked at it on there before. 

A fascinating article about analytics (which would give the incorrect impression of monitoring) is this - http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-habits.html

Essentially Target created a statistical model which predicts pregnancy in order to try and create lifelong customers. They managed to spot a pregnancy before the pregnant girl's dad even knew! 

The really annoying thing is companies that sell your email address and details without your permission, or hiding "opt-in" permissions on vague T&Cs hidden well away from easy access.  I have my own email domain, I don't buy stuff or register using my main email address, I use a different email address for each company for the most frequent purchases and a catch-all one for the rest.  It's far easier than you think as they all go into a catch-all folder on my Outlook.  I then know exactly which company has sold my details as I get spam from say currys@ or telegraph@ (examples only).  Coincidentally, I've never had spam on my amazon@ address.  To be fair, the amount of spam I get has really dropped off over the last year or two...

On the non-email side, I usually put my cat's name down when I have to give a name/address/phone number for "warranty" purposes.  "Can I speak to Oliver please?"  "Sorry, he can't come to the phone right now"  "When would be a good time to call back then?"  "Not sure, he's under the table licking his bum right now so I don't want to disturb him".  *click* from their end.

(And, no, for those worried about personal security, I don't use "cat name" for any of my password reminder security questions)

[Amber Avenger]

46 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

Does this mean your apps are getting married?

Couldn't speak for my apps, but I know the phone is engaged.  

[gingerjon]

1 minute ago, Amber Avenger said:

Couldn't speak for my apps, but I know the phone is engaged.  

No.

[Bleep1673]

Yes you are all being monitored, and you are not paranoid. 

We are monitoring you from GCHQ Hastings, you thought it was Cheltenham, but why should we go so far west? As a decoy. We have based ourselves in the least affordable Private Hospital in a lower working class area of the South-East, so we can keep an ear on the traffic in the English Channel. We also have one on the Orkneys, and Anglesey. 

[Bearman]

Please bear with me on this.

On Wednesday I was given a note by my wife. A prospective patient wanted an appointment. I phoned her on my iphone and arranged to go at 5pm this evening.

Between then and now I have made a dozen or so calls. Her number was new to me and was not in my contacts.

Whilst I was with her in the Old Folks home she lives in her land line phone rang. She has a phone system that announces the callers number.Being wary she does not answer her phone unless she recognises the callers number.  The machine announced " You are being called by *********"

I suddenly realised that the number was in fact my mobile. I know I am prone to making random pocket calls and often discover I am calling family or friends that are in my contacts list.  lo and behold I was calling her.

How could it happen that I called a number that I had last called two nights ago, meant nothing to me and was not even anywhere near the last call I had made. But was the very number of her flat?

 

[TMF]

Ron, see what you've started. Nobodies out to get you. Actually, when you look at the above posts, i think they are. And me. Have you seen Pete's posts lately, lol? Just kidding Pete. Thing is, as someone has said, it's the world and their phone is engaged. I'll put up with it because I really don't like the alternative.

[Shadow]

I have recently been diagnosed with a heart condition and will be shortly be seeing the cheerily named heart failure team at Salisbury Hospital.

I am now finding funeral plan adverts on my browser.

[TMF]

Whoa. Can i just say this. A few minutes ago I posted a light hearted reply to the bear about paranoia . About 15 minutes before I posted the reply to Ron, I replied to an email from a friend from a town called Kendal, in the Lake District. When I went back to my email site, my first message was for an advertisement from a hotel for guess where? You got it. I kid you not.

[Bearman]

15 minutes ago, TMF said:

 When I went back to my email site, my first message was for an advertisement from a hotel for guess where? You got it. I kid you not.

Was it Coventry??

[ckn]

22 minutes ago, TMF said:

Whoa. Can i just say this. A few minutes ago I posted a light hearted reply to the bear about paranoia . About 15 minutes before I posted the reply to Ron, I replied to an email from a friend from a town called Kendal, in the Lake District. When I went back to my email site, my first message was for an advertisement from a hotel for guess where? You got it. I kid you not.

Do you use google mail?  If so, they admit they scan your mail to better serve you adverts. 

[Mark S]

On 21/02/2018 at 2:51 PM, Saint 1 said:

One thing I do find crazy is that analytics companies can now link your phone with your computer, even if you've never signed into the same account or visited the same websites. So for example (and this one has happened to me), I browsed Airbnb for Barcelona on my work computer, then left the office, checked my phone and was getting adverts for Airbnb Barcelona having never looked at it on there before. 

A fascinating article about analytics (which would give the incorrect impression of monitoring) is this - http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-habits.html

Essentially Target created a statistical model which predicts pregnancy in order to try and create lifelong customers. They managed to spot a pregnancy before the pregnant girl's dad even knew! 

Do you use Facebook on both devices? If you do you can be tracked across devices using your log in details.

[Dave T]

Boobies

Boobies

Boobies

If you have read this, enjoy your browsing for the week folks!

[gingerjon]

I HAVE HAD AN ACCIDENT THAT WASN'T MY FAULT.

[Phil]

I think I may have been sold ppi 

 

[JohnM]

13 hours ago, Shadow said:

I have recently been diagnosed with a heart condition and will be shortly be seeing the cheerily named heart failure team at Salisbury Hospital.

I am now finding funeral plan adverts on my browser.

Not AF?

[Shadow]

2 hours ago, JohnM said:

Not AF?

AF 

I now rattle in the mornings I take so many different pills.

[ckn]

16 hours ago, Shadow said:

I have recently been diagnosed with a heart condition and will be shortly be seeing the cheerily named heart failure team at Salisbury Hospital.

I am now finding funeral plan adverts on my browser.

Erm... this junkmail thing popped into my NHS junkmail this morning after reading your post

[Dave T]

Jeez, moderating rights have stepped uo to a whole new level here!!!

[Hammerless Nail]

Yes, you're being monitored. Remember, " If you are not paying for it, you're not the customer; you're the product being sold". So, every time  you use your Android phone, Google gather information about you that can be sold to vendors in order that they can target you with what they deem to be 'appropriate' adverts. Same with Apple and iOS.The amount of information Google hold about you is pretty staggering, and it's up to each individual to decide whether the level of convenience Google offers is worth the invasion of privacy that comes with it.

If you want to deGoogle your phone as much as possible, there are some tips in here (along with some basic security stuff), but the important ones are switching location services off and removing your Google account from your phone.I think there's been another release of Android since that article was written, and you can now set permissions at app level (i.e. whether any particular app should be allowed to view your contacts, photos, etc.).

If you want to deGoogle your phone completely, you'd have to  take Android off it altogether and replace it with a different OS, such as Ubuntu. Not for the faint hearted.

[TMF]

I'm going to stay in bed, all day tomorrow. What's your plan then google?

[Adelaide Tiger]

Well lets see if this works ....

Anybody remember the episode of The Young Ones where Vivian is trying to get the washing machine to open by saying 'Oh dear I've got all of Felicity Kendalls underwear that needs a good wash'.

ok ... switch on computer, IPAD and phone and wait for the analytical response to the mention of Ms Kendalls lingerie!

[Shadow]

1 hour ago, Adelaide Tiger said:

Well lets see if this works ....

Anybody remember the episode of The Young Ones where Vivian is trying to get the washing machine to open by saying 'Oh dear I've got all of Felicity Kendalls underwear that needs a good wash'.

ok ... switch on computer, IPAD and phone and wait for the analytical response to the mention of Ms Kendalls lingerie!

Ad for Strategic Market Analytics.

its monitoring your post but the AI is clearly very primitive as it missed the obvious target.   Unfortunately.

[Adelaide Tiger]

1 hour ago, Shadow said:

Ad for Strategic Market Analytics.

its monitoring your post but the AI is clearly very primitive as it missed the obvious target.   Unfortunately.

That missed target that you refer to .... does it began with a P, have four letters, and end in a V as my wife pointed out?