Amazon About – Amazon’s ‘About You’ feature aims to personalize shopping, but for many users, the algorithmic portraits are ranging from eerily precise to hilariously wrong.
Thomas Gryta is convinced the machines have him figured out all wrong. As an editor. he spends his digital life clicking through energy bars and vitamins. yet his new Amazon “About You” profile paints him as a devotee of beef jerky. He isn’t the only one finding the company’s latest attempt at personalization to be more of a judgy nutritionist than a helpful assistant.
Since its launch in May. the “About You” page has acted as a digital mirror for shoppers. pulling data from marketplace searches. purchase histories. saved lists. product reviews. and conversations with Alexa for Shopping. The stated goal is to connect customers with products that better fit their needs. yet for many. the tool is revealing the unsettling. and often inaccurate. ways algorithms define us.
In our newsroom, the revelations sparked a chain of reactions. While Amazon accurately pegged one editor’s affinity for organic produce and glass food storage. others found themselves targets of strange. sweeping generalizations. One user was told they have “flat buttocks. ” while another received a notification that their husband has “skinny legs.” Taylor Rains. a partnership editor. discovered the algorithm had cataloged a specific change in her pop-culture preferences: “Used to like Ryan Reynolds. but not so much anymore.”.
The profiles typically generate 30 to 45 observations per person. For deputy editor Paul Squire. the experience highlighted the limitations of the data-driven approach; the system correctly identified his cat and MacBook. but failed to acknowledge his second cat. Sylvie. Others faced more confusing glitches, including an editor whose account incorrectly registered a girlfriend named “Barry.”.
There is a distinct tension between the precision of the data and the messiness of human reality. For some, the profile is a reflection of life circumstances rather than personal choice. Deputy executive editor Taylor Berman. who recently tore his Achilles tendon. found his account optimized for “bathroom safety. ” a result of the shower chair he was forced to purchase. Similarly. parents found themselves categorized by their children’s habits—like the mother flagged for frequent purchases of waterproof sheets. or another deputy executive editor. Debbie Strong. who was labeled a “boy mom” after the system clocked her preference for Hot Wheels toy cars.
Amazon allows users to update or remove these details. but the experience serves as a reminder of how much of our personal lives are being parsed for consumption. While the system excels at mapping our locations. grocery habits. and pet ownership. its ability to calculate family size or navigate the nuances of our relationships remains decidedly hit-or-miss. For those still curious, the data is waiting, whether it feels like a helpful suggestion or an unsolicited critique.
Amazon About You data privacy shopping algorithms consumer trends e-commerce