Privacy Warning: The Google Images/Amazon Connection
April 8, 2011
You may have an Amazon account. When you shop on Amazon, the Amazon software recognizes you. It tracks what you look for. They sell lots of stuff this way. If you look at books, you will get other, related book titles.
Did you know that Amazon can track you if you use Google images?
Let's say that you go to Google images and search for something. You click an image. If the image is labeled "Amazon," and you click it, this fact is entered into your Amazon account.
You actually see your Amazon home page in the background. Maybe you don't even notice this, but Amazon's computer does.
The next time you buy anything from Amazon, the image pops up on your screen. But it's not just that image. At least two other related images pop up -- images you have never seen before.
How did the image get on Google Images? If someone sells any item on Amazon, Google picks it up. The fact that the item was sold long ago does not matter. The fact that you did not access the image through Amazon does not matter.
You must actively turn off the browsing tracker to get rid of this feature. Tracking is in default mode.
To do this, go to the bottom of your Amazon home page. Look for this:
Does this mean forever? It appears so.