So I had a verbal conversation with a coworker yesterday and now I’m getting fed very specific ads. No possible way it’s accidental. I have most of the microphone access to apps limited, I have Google assistant turned off and no VPA setup in my home. I use a Oneplus 9 pro, does anyone have recommendations on how to further root cause this or just par for the course for using any standard android OS? Have other folks had similar experience after locking down their stock phones?
This. It’s a form of cognitive bias. You notice when you see ads for something you’ve been thinking about, but you don’t notice the dozens of other times you get ads for things that are completely irrelevant to you. If they were actually doing it, you’d notice it happening all the time.
Exactly, This is just how our brains work. It is surprisingly how much stuff we miss because it isn’t relivent to our lives. It is like those videos of the man in the gorilla suit in the background. You’re so focused on the subject of the video your missing a gorilla walking past in the background.
I notice this about words or phrases as well. If I pay attention to what I think is an uncommon word or phrase. Suddenly everyone I know friends, family and coworkers all “start” using that word or phrase. Now maybe they have started using it but I think it is more likely they have always been using that word/phrase but I have just not given it much thought.