Amazon knows what you buy, what you search for and even what you tell its shopping assistant.
asserted
you → know → assistant
Now, the company is giving you a look at the personality profile it has built from all that information.
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it → give → information
When I checked my own Amazon About You profile, I found 81 results, including a reference to my mother that caught me off guard.
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that → check → guard
The feature brings together details about your shopping habits and preferences.
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feature → bring → habits
Others might make you wonder how Amazon reached those conclusions in the first place.
uncertain
Amazon → make → place
Shoppers are now sharing screenshots of descriptions that range from funny to completely inaccurate.
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that → share → descriptions
Amazon says the feature helps improve shopping recommendations.
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feature → say → recommendations
However, it also raises an interesting privacy question.
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it → raise → question
How much should a retailer know about you, and how much control do you really have over that information?
asserted
you → know → information
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Knutsson → join → trip
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travels → learn → technology
No technical experience is needed.
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experience → need → ?
Amazon introduced About You in May 2026, although the feature has recently attracted widespread attention as shoppers share their profiles on social media.
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shoppers → introduce → media
Amazon has personalized shopping recommendations for years.
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Amazon → personalize → years
If you bought a coffee maker, you probably noticed suggestions for filters or other accessories soon afterward.
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you → buy → filters
That kind of recommendation has become familiar to anyone who shops online.
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who → become → anyone
Now, Amazon is taking personalization further with About You, a section that shows shoppers what the company believes about their interests and preferences.
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company → take → interests
According to Amazon's announcement, the feature draws on information from several sources, including your purchase history, product reviews and items saved to Lists.
uncertain
feature → accord → Lists
Searches and conversations with Alexa for Shopping can also influence what Amazon learns.
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Amazon → influence → what
For example, someone who regularly buys dairy-free milk might receive recommendations for other dairy-free products.
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who → buy → products
A shopper researching gardening supplies could start seeing suggestions for fertilizer or companion plants.
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shopper → research → fertilizer
That sounds useful enough.
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That → sound → ?
However, Amazon can also develop assumptions about your personal preferences from individual purchases or short-lived interests.
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Amazon → develop → purchases
That's where things can get awkward.
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things → get → ?
Amazon's About You feature is already amusing shoppers
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feature → amuse → shoppers
Some shoppers have started sharing screenshots of their Amazon profiles on social media.
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shoppers → start → media
The results range from remarkably accurate to unintentionally hilarious.
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results → range → hilarious
One Threads user discovered that Amazon had included the description "flat buttocks" in her profile.
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Amazon → discover → profile
"I stumbled upon a page of assumptions that Amazon has made about me based on my purchases and I'm literally speechless," she wrote.
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she → stumble → purchases
She even acknowledged that the assessment wasn't entirely wrong.
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assessment → acknowledge → ?
Still, it's hard to imagine anyone asking an online retailer for that particular evaluation.
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anyone → imagine → evaluation
Meanwhile, another shopper shared a profile describing an obsession with minimalist, one-bag travel and a preference for Anker charging products.
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shopper → share → products
The shopper confirmed that Amazon had accurately identified those interests.
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Amazon → confirm → interests
A different user discovered that Amazon had recorded a "one-time specialty cheese exploration."
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Amazon → discover → exploration
Other shoppers have shared descriptions such as "has no friends" and "cannot keep real plants alive."
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shoppers → share → plants
One woman even reported that Amazon had described her as a "fifty-year-old man."
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Amazon → report → man
These are the kinds of assumptions that can leave you wondering whether Amazon knows you at all.
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Amazon → leave → you
My own profile included some remarkably specific observations.
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profile → include → observations
Amazon said I "do not like scary movies," "value professional grade audio equipment," "prefer dark chocolate treats" and "enjoy swimming."
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I → say → swimming
It even noted my regular fresh flower purchases.
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It → note → purchases
…and 58 more, not listed.
The Aporia
