Amazon customers have discovered that the retailer compiles detailed personal profiles based on shopping activity, including descriptions of household habits, appearance, and social interactions.
This has drawn attention to Amazon's 'About You' feature, which allows customers to review the preferences used to personalise their shopping experience.
Amazon introduced 'About You' in May 2026 to consolidate recommendation data and enable customers to view and edit their account preferences. The feature uses data such as purchase history, searches, product reviews, lists, and Alexa for shopping conversations.
Someone discovered a new Amazon AI feature that summarizes what it knows about you and I am crying of laughter pic.twitter.com/KbwX2SpCMu
— Justine Moore (@venturetwins) October 7, 2026
According to Amazon, the system is designed to make recommendations more relevant to each customer. Users have reported that the system occasionally makes highly specific inferences, including descriptions such as 'has flat buttocks' and 'has no friends.'
'Flat Buttocks' Goes Viral
A Threads user received widespread attention after discovering Amazon had categorised her as someone who 'has flat buttocks.'
'I stumbled upon a page of assumptions that Amazon has made about me based on my purchases, and I'm literally speechless,' she wrote. 'I mean, it ain't wrong, but damn, did you have to call me out like that?'
The post received over one million views, prompting other Amazon customers to check their own profiles. The user later suggested the description may have resulted from her purchase of butt-scrunch leggings.
Other customers have reported similarly specific conclusions, including assumptions about pets, food preferences, household habits, and hobbies. Some profiles included phrases such as 'No friends,' 'Cusses when scared,' 'Has a small weiner,' 'Has a massive forehead,' and 'Cannot keep real plants alive.'
WTF!! pic.twitter.com/S5raALXGwk
— Hexo 🇺🇸 (@Hexologist31) October 7, 2026
What Amazon Knows and How To Check Yours
These profiles contain inferences about customers rather than information they necessarily provided directly. Some are accurate or oddly specific, while others may be incorrect. Users have reported that profiles sometimes correctly identify household pets, food preferences, gardening habits, and other regular purchases.
Business Insider staff also found that some Amazon inferences matched their shopping behaviour, while others were incorrect. Amazon customers can access their 'About You' profile through the website or mobile app.
On desktop, select Account & Lists, open your account or profile settings, click your name, and find 'About You' under shopping preferences. In the mobile app, select Me, tap your name, and choose 'About You.' Customers can edit, remove, or assign preferences as needed.
Amazon's Privacy Questions
Amazon's broader retail operations have raised questions about how it uses shopping data across different parts of the company, including its health-related services.
A 2024 Vox report described an Amazon recommendation for cholesterol treatment after a grocery purchase. This recommendation directed the customer to Amazon One Medical and showed how the company's retail and health services are integrated.
Amazon One Medical provides primary care through in-person and virtual appointments. The company is also expanding Amazon Pharmacy, which fills prescriptions and delivers medications directly to customers. Eligible locations offer same-day delivery.
$AMZN IS BRINGING PHARMACY STRAIGHT INTO THE DOCTOR’S OFFICE
— Shay Boloor (@StockSavvyShay) October 8, 2025
Amazon Pharmacy kiosks will roll out at select One Medical sites in LA so patients can grab prescriptions right after their visit. pic.twitter.com/iS8LNOc6FO
However, health services follow different privacy standards, using HIPAA-compliant privacy/security practices. The 'About You' feature does not indicate that Amazon uses medical records to generate these profiles. This distinction is important for customers reviewing the information Amazon has inferred about them.
Notably, the current controversy centres on information and conclusions related to shopping personalisation, rather than on evidence that Amazon incorporates medical records into 'About You' profiles.
