Amazon About You algorithmic profiling controversy

Amazon’s ‘About You’ feature, an AI-driven tool launched in May to improve product recommendations, has come under scrutiny following reports of highly specific and personal user profiling.

The feature compiles data from purchase histories, search queries, Alexa voice interactions, and product reviews to categorize users into groups such as ‘Interests & Hobbies.’ While intended to personalize the shopping experience, users on social media platforms like Threads have highlighted startlingly intimate or awkward inferences made by the algorithm. Reported examples include assessments of physical attributes, personality traits, and specific domestic habits.

Specific instances shared by users include the AI making blunt deductions such as categorizing a user as having ‘flat buttocks’ based on clothing purchases, noting a spouse has ‘skinny legs,’ or suggesting a user ‘does not trust people easily.’ Other inferences have ranged from lifestyle habits, such as reading Kindle books in the shower, to specific knowledge gaps, such as not knowing what truffles taste like. Recent reports have also noted labels such as ‘cannot keep real plants alive’ or ‘treats cats as biological children.’

Although Amazon allows customers to view, edit, or remove these inferred details through their account settings, users have noted there is currently no way to opt out of the profile generation process entirely. Amazon’s profiling system typically maintains this data for up to 13 months. The situation has raised broader questions regarding data privacy and the accuracy of algorithmic profiling.