Amazon can help you find a vacuum, a pair of leggings, or your next book. Apparently, it can also offer an unsolicited assessment of your butt.
Shoppers are sharing screenshots of Amazon’s “About You” feature, which lets users review and edit the information used to personalize their shopping experience. The observations range from ordinary preferences to oddly specific descriptions of their bodies, relationships, and habits.
The feature isn’t new — Amazon introduced it in May — but a viral Oct. 5 Threads post has people checking what the retailer thinks it knows about them. And some of those profiles read less like shopping preferences and more like a roast.
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“I stumbled upon a page of assumptions that Amazon has made about me based on my purchases and I’m literally speechless,” Threads user @fangirlinmegan wrote in the Oct. 5 post. In a red circle, she marked where Amazon clearly wrote, “has flat buttocks” under her Product Preferences.
Other shoppers replied in the thread in with screenshots of their own. One profile noted that a shopper “has a husband” and that the “husband has skinny legs.” Another listed “Has cats,” followed by “treats cats as biological children,” and then “has husband.” A revealing household hierarchy, perhaps?
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One particularly specific observation said a shopper “Uses phone in the shower to read Kindle books.”
“I mean yes but wtf,” the user replied.
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Where does the information come from?
According to Amazon, personalization draws on purchase history, searches, saved Lists, product reviews, and conversations with Alexa for Shopping. “Understanding your preferences is fundamental to providing you with high-quality, relevant recommendations,” the company wrote when introducing About You.
Amazon’s own examples are considerably gentler than the viral screenshots: Buying non-dairy milk might lead to recommendations for other non-dairy products, while discussing a cat’s favorite foods could help it suggest treats.
About You gives shoppers a place to inspect and change the details behind those recommendations. Amazon says users can update information, provide feedback, or remove details they don’t want used for personalization.
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How to find your Amazon ‘About You’ profile
Amazon provides these instructions:
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On mobile: Open the Amazon Shopping app or mobile website, navigate to the Me tab, select your name, and tap About You.
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On desktop: Hover over your name above Account & Lists, then select your name or Who’s shopping? Choose your profile and click About You.
You can also ask Alexa for Shopping, “What do you know about me?” Once inside, review the details and update or remove information you don’t want shaping your recommendations. At least the emotional damage comes with free two-day delivery!
