So I pulled up the app’s privacy settings and noticed that while it promised not to share details I ‘entered manually’ with its third-party partners, the terms and conditions’ language cleverly avoided ruling out sharing information about aggregated data – like patterns or trends. I have used this particular app for so long I don’t even remember when I downloaded it, or why I chose that brand. I began to feel uneasy as my mind made the connection between my period tracking app believing I had missed a cycle 10 days ago, and my Facebook account trying to sell me pregnancy paraphernalia within days of my period appearing to be ‘late’. I corrected my cycle, and almost instantly the baby ads just stopped. I had simply forgotten to log last month’s cycle properly, and, because I have notifications for that app turned off, I hadn’t noticed when I didn’t complete the entry. It was informing me that my period was very, very ‘late’. On Sunday, I opened the app to make an update, only to find an alert flashing at me. Like many women, I use a period tracking app to chart my monthly cycle. It became clear Facebook actually thought I was pregnant. Mostly that’s because I reasoned it was only fair for Facebook’s mysterious algorithms to assume that I - a 30-year-old woman in my childbearing prime from advertisers’ point-of-view - might be interested in baby content.Īlso, I thought, it might be a result of ‘liking’ posts from friends with babies across my social media profiles.īut then early this week I made a discovery that transformed the experience from odd to downright creepy. But I was not concerned enough to investigate further, or to flag up the ad as unwanted content. It was a little like an overbearing relative asking me when I’m going to hurry up and get married. It didn’t bother me at first-I found it curious, mildly irritating and even a bit funny. It was bizarre because I have no children - and not that it’s anyone’s business, but I don’t plan on having any soon. Out of nowhere, I was being targeted with sponsored posts for everything from pregnancy health vitamins to baby clothing and children’s books.
Last week, I noticed something curious: My Facebook feed was suddenly becoming cluttered with mother and baby advertisements.
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