I'm getting ads on a meta platform for a product that I have not viewed in any capacity besides in an internally-distributed work pdf on a work computer in a browser that I don't use for anything personal/tied to my non-work identity. I've checked my history in all of my browsers; my only connection to this product whatsoever is this internal pdf that I downloaded from an internal/nonpublic work server.
Assuming they aren't listening to my microphone the only explanations I can think of are that they know I was on a specific local network and subnet at the same time as coworkers that were probably googling said product, or that meta has broken Chrome's sandbox. Or they have a tracking pixel embedded in our internal site.
It's possible I'm missing something obvious but this seems incredibly sus.
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well, meta knows what you're thinking but it's not because they can read your mind or something, they know because they themselves implanted those thoughts inside your brain subliminally.
when mr zuck decides that you must consume a new pair of headphones then facebook slightly modifies the brightness and hue of your phone's display so that the light ends up activating those neurons in your brain that make you more receptive to spending money for that kind of stuff. the idea is not new ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optogenetics ) but what meta has managed to accomplish is far above the state of the art and they keep it very secret since it's what makes them money.
some people are immune to this though, therefore meta's algorithm might instead use another way of implanting consumerist thoughts: vulnerable people close to you. if the algorithm decides that it's profitable it can use those close to you as a way to get through your mind. if everyone around you starts talking about getting new headphones then you also might start considering it
this second case seems your situation
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