Ask HN: What’s your creepiest Facebook targeted ad story?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15940217

by seancoleman • 9 years ago

2 2 9 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Most of us have had Facebook (and Instagram) target us with timely ads after a vocal discussion on a topic (or simply thinking) with no logical explanation for how they knew about it.

What has been your strangest ad targeting, and what’s the most likely logical explanation (if any)?

seancoleman• 9 years ago

Mine is from a few new, recent conversations (phone, in-person) about renting my condo on Airbnb, specifically about 3rd party management services. I just started getting targeted for manorshare, one of these services. This company was never vocalized or typed. I don’t have the Facebook app installed.

My only explanation is that I searched for several far future dates for pricing on airbnb in my condo complex. airbnb knows my email, knows I searched my own home thus indicating I’m a potential lister. Airbnb sells/leases this information to manorshare who then used my email on Facebook for direct targeting.

niftich• 9 years ago

I googled from incognito Mobile Firefox a specific brand's specific mattress cover, and visited its listing on the websites of various retailers. Since nobody had it in stock locally, the next day I ended up ordering the item from Amazon.

A day later, I was browsing Facebook on my home desktop and saw an ad for the exact same item in my feed.

It's likely they partner with data brokers of credit card companies for your purchase history. For me, this is the only explanation, as I did not talk about the item out loud, and have no mic-enabled Facebook-owned app on my phone in any case. As a low-tech solution, correlating IP addresses with "suspected companion device" is also likely.

Ask HN: What’s your creepiest Facebook targeted ad story?

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