Amazon's 'About You' Feature Sparks Privacy Concerns

Amazon's recently highlighted 'About You' feature is drawing attention as it compiles personality profiles for users based on their shopping habits, search queries, and interactions with Alexa. This tool, which Amazon states is intended to enhance product recommendations, has led to shoppers sharing examples of surprisingly accurate, humorously inaccurate, and sometimes concerning personal descriptions generated by the algorithm.

Introduced in May 2026, the 'About You' feature aggregates information from purchase history, product reviews, saved lists, and even voice commands given to Alexa for Shopping. For instance, a user frequently buying dairy-free products might see recommendations for similar items, while someone researching gardening could receive suggestions for related supplies. However, the feature can also infer personal characteristics from isolated purchases or brief interests, leading to potentially awkward or revealing insights.

Social media has become a platform for users to share screenshots of their 'About You' profiles. Some descriptions have been met with laughter, such as one user discovering Amazon had noted "flat buttocks" in her profile, despite her initial surprise, acknowledging some accuracy. Another user found their profile accurately described a preference for minimalist travel and specific charging products. Other shared examples include "has no friends," "cannot keep real plants alive," and one instance where a woman was identified as a "fifty-year-old man."

Beyond the humorous or inaccurate, the feature has also revealed more sensitive inferences. One user noted a specific entry about their mother's hotel experience, a detail they did not expect to find in their shopping profile. These examples highlight how algorithms can translate shopping data into detailed personal narratives, which may be incomplete or erroneous, particularly when a purchase was made as a gift.

Amazon provides users with tools to review and manage the information within their 'About You' profiles. The feature is accessible via the Amazon Shopping app, mobile website, and desktop website. Users can navigate to their profile settings, view inferred preferences categorized by areas like diet, hobbies, and family, and choose to remove or edit specific entries. For example, removing an item from the profile changes how Amazon uses that preference for personalization, though it may not delete the original data from all Amazon systems.

To further refine personalization, Amazon also offers controls for browsing history and recommendation preferences. Users can remove items from their browsing history that they do not want influencing future suggestions. Similarly, recommendation settings allow for excluding certain past purchases, which can be useful for items bought as gifts or those unrelated to personal interests. Interactions with Alexa for Shopping can also be reviewed in the Alexa app or Amazon account settings, where voice recordings and shopping preferences can be managed. Amazon states that while editing the 'About You' profile is a step toward managing data, it does not necessarily mean all underlying information is permanently deleted or that Amazon will cease generating new recommendations based on ongoing activity.