>@Mitchollow
5 years ago (edited)
Watch the follow-up video here for various reasons that explain this outcome: https://youtu.be/kv8gvXPwWjY
>The single biggest flaw in this video is that I am live streaming directly to YouTube which is of course recording and processing the microphone’s audio the entire time. More generally I agree with many of you that this was a poorly done experiment and I contaminated the results rather quickly by clicking on that first ad. Whether it was Google, Cortana, malicious adware, or something else is entirely debatable and I of course make no conclusive statements about the veracity of my results.
Modern companies know more about you than you do. I started a new job, frequently used Facebook to anounce important events and such so I had to make an account. Made an account with the gmail account I use as a throwaway, and literally the first 7 friend suggestions (Not requests) I recieved were all my co-workers, and I had only been there a couple of days.
I had a similar thing just happen to me. Went and saw the new Hunger Games movie and then started getting a bunch of Hunger Game suggestions on YouTube.
I just dive right in now, get me a bit of those google rewards back off of $ already made. Here’s an experiment for ya, say you’re hiking in Alaska & it’s t-shirt weather at normal elevation, but quickly gets a bit ‘nippy’ at higher elevations, especially with a humid breeze. As a joke you send your homie a pic’ of your nips trying to rip outta your shirt. All fun and games hah hah… A few hours later you pop onto amazon for something & your entire suggestions row is filled with pasties. This was 4+ years ago & we get a kick out of it still.
My moment with this that I can’t explain, is when I made a terrible pun stating I was going to open a “Hair Salon” and name it “Salon Deon” to make it sound like the singer “Celine Dion”.
The next day I had ads for Celine Dion concerts near me. Never Googled the person in my existence or talked about her. Didn’t even say her name directly, but instead a pun.
So if all the browsers were closed when he was talking about dog toys, what process was using the mic? It would have to be something in windows like cortana handing off the info to google, right?
My wife got a new job at a bank. A day after she was confirmed hired, but a week before she actually started her, and I both got scam texts about large withdrawals from out accounts with that bank. We knew immediately they were scams because neither of us even had an account with that bank. (She does now that she works there but didn’t before she started)
We’ve both gotten plenty of scam calls, emails, etc over the years of course, who hasn’t these days? But never referencing this Bank. Until she got a job there.
Comment from video creator
>@Mitchollow
5 years ago (edited)
Watch the follow-up video here for various reasons that explain this outcome: https://youtu.be/kv8gvXPwWjY
>The single biggest flaw in this video is that I am live streaming directly to YouTube which is of course recording and processing the microphone’s audio the entire time. More generally I agree with many of you that this was a poorly done experiment and I contaminated the results rather quickly by clicking on that first ad. Whether it was Google, Cortana, malicious adware, or something else is entirely debatable and I of course make no conclusive statements about the veracity of my results.
>For a much more rigorous and scientific test watch this guy’s video: https://youtu.be/SmM9ch_oXA4
Man livestreaming to Google surprised Google is listening to his livestreaming?
He didn’t even realize when going back to Fark. com it had two ads for PetsMart.
With any modern browser I know of websites have to request acess to a microphone and only get it afther you click agree.
Modern companies know more about you than you do. I started a new job, frequently used Facebook to anounce important events and such so I had to make an account. Made an account with the gmail account I use as a throwaway, and literally the first 7 friend suggestions (Not requests) I recieved were all my co-workers, and I had only been there a couple of days.
Would it be more conclusive to have a packet sniffer to figure out if data is being sent back at all?
I had a similar thing just happen to me. Went and saw the new Hunger Games movie and then started getting a bunch of Hunger Game suggestions on YouTube.
I just dive right in now, get me a bit of those google rewards back off of $ already made. Here’s an experiment for ya, say you’re hiking in Alaska & it’s t-shirt weather at normal elevation, but quickly gets a bit ‘nippy’ at higher elevations, especially with a humid breeze. As a joke you send your homie a pic’ of your nips trying to rip outta your shirt. All fun and games hah hah… A few hours later you pop onto amazon for something & your entire suggestions row is filled with pasties. This was 4+ years ago & we get a kick out of it still.
My moment with this that I can’t explain, is when I made a terrible pun stating I was going to open a “Hair Salon” and name it “Salon Deon” to make it sound like the singer “Celine Dion”.
The next day I had ads for Celine Dion concerts near me. Never Googled the person in my existence or talked about her. Didn’t even say her name directly, but instead a pun.
So if all the browsers were closed when he was talking about dog toys, what process was using the mic? It would have to be something in windows like cortana handing off the info to google, right?
You can see what traffic is coming in/out of a computer at all times with software and/or a router. Should be easy to debunk or confirm.
My wife got a new job at a bank. A day after she was confirmed hired, but a week before she actually started her, and I both got scam texts about large withdrawals from out accounts with that bank. We knew immediately they were scams because neither of us even had an account with that bank. (She does now that she works there but didn’t before she started)
We’ve both gotten plenty of scam calls, emails, etc over the years of course, who hasn’t these days? But never referencing this Bank. Until she got a job there.
Not targeted ads, outright scams.
Another comment kind sums it up in the video, sometimes Google can show ads just about what you’re thinking of.
If they can do that, listening is kinda pointless.