Amazon Knows Way Too Much About You—And Its Profile Page Might Just Call You Out

It should not come as a massive surprise that Amazon collects data about you based on what you buy. If you purchase a high volume of cat litter, the e-commerce giant will probably infer that you have feline pets at home. If you frequently order anti-acne skin products, Amazon might guess that you are prone to sudden breakouts. Even though most consumers are well aware that the retail behemoth customizes our shopping experiences based on our historical purchase data, it still comes as a shock to see all of those personal details laid out in a convenient, neatly organized list—especially when those algorithmic deductions get uncomfortably intimate.

One Threads user recently came across a specific section of her Amazon account settings where shoppers can see precisely who the shopping giant thinks they are. Alongside more benign assumptions such as "Shops from women’s departments" and "Probably owns a Shark robot vacuum," she discovered that Amazon’s automated profiling system had come to a much more specific conclusion: it assumes she "has flat buttocks."

The discovery quickly went viral across social media. "I stumbled upon a page of assumptions that Amazon has made about me based on my purchases and I’m literally speechless," an Amazon customer who posts under the handle @fangirlinmegan wrote on Threads. "I mean it ain’t wrong but damn did you have to call me out like that?"

In less than a day, the post garnered over a million views, sparking widespread amusement and alarm while driving countless other users to check what their own Amazon profiles might secretly reveal about them.

While consumers have long understood that digital platforms track their clicks, searches, and checkouts, the granularity of modern data profiling often operates invisibly in the background. Algorithms synthesize seemingly unrelated purchases into behavioral profiles, lifestyle categories, and physical attributes. For the Threads user, the surprisingly specific anatomical deduction was likely the result of purchasing "butt scrunch leggings," a popular fitness apparel item designed to accentuate specific body shapes.

Curious users hoping to inspect their own algorithmic mirror can find the hidden settings page through several navigational steps on desktop or mobile. On a desktop computer, shoppers can locate the page by hovering over the greeting in the upper right corner, clicking "Account" under the account section, and navigating to "Your Shopping preferences" under the ordering preferences heading. Alternatively, mobile app users can access the same menu by tapping the hamburger icon from the bottom menu bar, navigating to account settings, and drilling down into shopping preferences.

While the page allows users to manually input details like shoe size, personal interests, and dietary preferences, scrolling to the very bottom reveals a blue hyperlinked option that unlocks the platform’s automated insights. Clicking that link exposes the extensive dossier of assumptions that the retail giant has compiled based entirely on purchase history.

For many users, the results range from mundane to eerily accurate. For instance, profiles often reflect hobbies and consumer habits such as practicing photography, playing collectible card games, or being deeply invested in specific consumer technology ecosystems like Apple. Some profiles even offer flattering psychological assessments, noting traits like reading diverse non-fiction, which might prompt a user to feel like an open-minded intellectual with a thirst for knowledge—simply because they occasionally buy history books or memoirs.

Other shoppers have found that Amazon correctly cataloged their niche interests in vinyl records, ceramics, a penchant for natural materials in home decor, or a wardrobe preference that prioritizes comfort above all else. While most people do not encounter anything quite as startling or affronting as an algorithmic decree regarding their physical anatomy, the viral nature of the incident highlights a broader cultural unease regarding digital surveillance.

Major technology companies retain vast amounts of data about our daily lives, and it can be jarring to realize just how closely automated systems pay attention to how we interact with commercial platforms. In an era marked by increasingly pervasive digital tracking and data collection across industries, encountering a blunt AI-generated characterization serves as a tangible reminder of the digital footprints we leave behind with every online transaction.

Ultimately, while living in a modern digital economy means accepting a certain degree of data collection, seeing those invisible algorithms translated into plain English offers a rare, sometimes humorous, and occasionally uncomfortable glimpse into how machines perceive us.