It should come as little surprise that modern e-commerce giants collect vast amounts of data based on consumer habits. If a shopper routinely purchases bulk quantities of cat litter, an algorithm will almost certainly infer that they own cats. Similarly, a steady stream of anti-acne skin products might lead automated systems to deduce that an individual is prone to breakouts.
Even for consumers who are well aware that platforms like Amazon customize their shopping experiences based on past purchases, confronting the reality of that data collection can still be startling. Seeing personal details laid out in a neat, convenient list has a way of highlighting just how intimately algorithms track our everyday lives, particularly when those automated inferences cross the line from helpful personalization into uncomfortably invasive territory.
That realization hit home recently for one user on Meta’s Threads platform, who stumbled across a specific section of her Amazon account settings designed to display what the shopping giant believes it knows about her. Alongside relatively benign assumptions generated by the platform—such as "Shops from women’s departments" and "Probably owns a Shark robot vacuum"—she discovered a far more specific and personal deduction: Amazon’s algorithm had assumed that she "has flat buttocks."
The candid discovery quickly resonated 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," the customer, posting 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 exploded in popularity, garnering over a million views and sparking a wave of curiosity among other users eager to check their own Amazon profiles to see what kind of digital portrait the retail behemoth had painted of them.
The feature itself is embedded deep within Amazon’s account configuration options. On a desktop computer, users can locate the page by navigating to the account management dashboard through the primary navigation menus, eventually arriving at shopping preferences. While this section is ostensibly designed to let customers manually input information about themselves—such as shoe sizes, specific interests, and dietary preferences—it also houses an automated profile generated by the company’s data models. By following the prompts to manage personal information, users are granted a behind-the-scenes look at the digital dossier Amazon has compiled on their habits, preferences, and lifestyle markers. A similar pathway exists on the company’s mobile application, where users can dig through account settings and shopping preferences to find the "About you" section.
For many users, the results range from mundane to eerily accurate. In examining her own profile, one reviewer found that Amazon had correctly gleaned that she "practices photography," "plays collectible card games," and is heavily "invested in the Apple ecosystem." The platform even offered a flattering nod to her reading habits, noting that she "reads diverse non-fiction"—an observation that feels less like cold data tracking and more like an appreciative pat on the back for being an open-minded intellectual with a thirst for knowledge.
Other colleagues and digital observers reporting on the trend found similarly spot-on assessments. Amazon accurately noted interests in vinyl records and ceramics, identified a penchant for "natural materials" in home decor, and recognized clothing preferences that prioritize comfort above all else. None of these professional inquiries yielded anything quite as startlingly personal as the assumption regarding flat buttocks, though the Threads user who sparked the viral conversation noted that her unique algorithmic labeling was likely the direct result of purchasing "butt scrunch leggings."
The incident serves as a vivid reminder of the sheer volume of data technology companies quietly amass on everyday consumers. In an era defined by alarming corporate surveillance and data collection practices across nearly every digital touchpoint, realizing just how closely platforms pay attention to our browsing and buying habits can be jarring. While modern life is saturated with automated data gathering—ranging from smart home devices to mass public monitoring systems—discovering that an online retailer has formed anatomical opinions based on workout apparel highlights the sometimes absurd reality of living in a hyper-connected, data-driven world.
