# Clicking on the wrong thing on Amazon, Oh No!!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 27, 2020, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clicking-on-the-wrong-thing-on-amazon-oh-no/848602 "2020-02-27T15:22:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clicking-on-the-wrong-thing-on-amazon-oh-no/848602/1 "2020-02-27T15:22:10Z")
You see a picture of something. Your not sure what it is, or perhaps think it’s something different then what it is. Being a man and liking manly things, I click on and find out that instead of a trailer hitch or wood stove or impact wrench, it’s really a baby rattle, feminine douche, or prom dress. Then the realization happens that now those types of items will haunt your future searches. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clicking-on-the-wrong-thing-on-amazon-oh-no/848602/2 "2020-02-27T15:36:41Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > You see a picture of something. Your not sure what it is, or perhaps think it’s something different then what it is. Being a man and liking manly things, I click on and find out that instead of a trailer hitch or wood stove or impact wrench, it’s really a baby rattle, feminine douche, or prom dress. Then the realization happens that now those types of items will haunt your future searches. It’s possible to clear your search/browse history in Amazon. [How to Clear Your Amazon Browsing History | Lifehacker](https://lifehacker.com/how-to-clear-your-amazon-browsing-history-1818602949) ---
**Author:** ![Disheavel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@Disheavel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disheavel)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clicking-on-the-wrong-thing-on-amazon-oh-no/848602/3 "2020-02-27T18:12:59Z")
You don’t have to clear it, you can just edit it one or a few items as needed. We just have a single family account so I do appreciate how searches by my children at school or my wife across town at her job start showing up in my own browser ads within the hour. But they are always more innocuous items like a sled or pool toy rather than something I’d be annoyed at receiving while reading the NYTimes at work. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clicking-on-the-wrong-thing-on-amazon-oh-no/848602/4 "2020-02-27T18:15:42Z")
I’ve started to do searches on Amazon in a private window. Once I find the item, I go back into a normal tab and order it. In fact, I do a lot of stuff in private windows now to keep down the glurge. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clicking-on-the-wrong-thing-on-amazon-oh-no/848602/5 "2020-02-27T18:26:58Z")
Uh oh, once you’ve looked at something even slightly feminine, your penis shrivels up and you stop being a man amiright? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clicking-on-the-wrong-thing-on-amazon-oh-no/848602/6 "2020-02-27T19:45:09Z")
I don’t bother editing my searches/purchases. Since I have Prime, my employees ask me to order things and they give me the cash. Amazon things I buy a very diverse bunch of stuff, but who cares? ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clicking-on-the-wrong-thing-on-amazon-oh-no/848602/7 "2020-02-27T20:38:26Z")
Thought this was going to be about accidentally clicking the “1-Click” button. I turned off “1-Click” in my settings, and turning it off just turns the “1-Click” button into a “Buy Now” button which is really just “2-Click” ordering. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clicking-on-the-wrong-thing-on-amazon-oh-no/848602/8 "2020-02-27T22:10:46Z")
Recently for no discernable reason Amazon switched over to Spanish for me. ---
**Author:** ![txjim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f07891/32.png) [@txjim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/txjim)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clicking-on-the-wrong-thing-on-amazon-oh-no/848602/9 "2020-02-27T22:42:40Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Uh oh, once you’ve looked at something even slightly feminine, your penis shrivels up and you stop being a man amiright? Possibly. In her later years, my mother claimed she was having problems finding casual daywear. As a good son, I pulled out my tablet and, together, we found a couple Mumus she liked. Since that day, 3 years ago, I’ve been received a print catalog called _The Woman Within_. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clicking-on-the-wrong-thing-on-amazon-oh-no/848602/10 "2020-02-27T22:45:54Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Uh oh, once you’ve looked at something even slightly feminine, your penis shrivels up and you stop being a man amiright? There are other reasons to want to delete your history - if you check out the reviews on an antivax screed, it’s annoying that Amazon will then send emails recommending every other such tome, until the end of time. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clicking-on-the-wrong-thing-on-amazon-oh-no/848602/11 "2020-02-27T22:52:03Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > There are other reasons to want to delete your history - if you check out the reviews on an antivax screed, it’s annoying that Amazon will then send emails recommending every other such tome, until the end of time. That… and the shrunken penis 😃 ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clicking-on-the-wrong-thing-on-amazon-oh-no/848602/12 "2020-02-27T23:04:39Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Uh oh, once you’ve looked at something even slightly feminine, your penis shrivels up and you stop being a man amiright? I’ve tried that and it doesn’t work. It’s still ginormous. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clicking-on-the-wrong-thing-on-amazon-oh-no/848602/13 "2020-02-27T23:39:34Z")
When I’m reading threads on message boards, and the discussion turns to some product or other, a link to the product will often be provided. I’ll click on the link to have a look, and then return to the thread. Often the link leads to the product as listed on Amazon, and I don’t stop to think about it. Then in a couple of days, my husband will be on Amazon to order something, and will look at the browsing history. Then I get the questions: Why were you looking at dog leashes/electric kettles/Chinese mousetraps/Russian sugarbowls/handcarved spinning tops? I’ve learned to go through and delete these things out of browsing history every day or two so that I don’t get grilled. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2020, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clicking-on-the-wrong-thing-on-amazon-oh-no/848602/14 "2020-02-27T23:50:28Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Recently for no discernable reason Amazon switched over to Spanish for me. Clearly you clicked on the wrong item. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clicking-on-the-wrong-thing-on-amazon-oh-no/848602/15 "2020-02-28T03:49:26Z")
My VPN slaps me advert offerings from Guatemalan Spanish to Ukranian Slavic to Indonesian Malay. Most amusing. I think I received sex-toy ads in Basque once. Like vocal music in languages I don’t know, I’m not bothered. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clicking-on-the-wrong-thing-on-amazon-oh-no/848602/16 "2020-02-28T07:14:09Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Uh oh, once you’ve looked at something even slightly feminine, your penis shrivels up and you stop being a man amiright? The point of the OP is that, rather than it just being none thing, Amazon starts recommending a lot of feminine stuff. If that’s not what you’re into, then it’s just making recommendations useless. It’s good that you can fix it–though, ideally, it would consider whether or not this was a common thing you looked for and whether or not you followed an external link (not from a search engine) to get to it, as those would indicate less interest. I don’t hate gospel singing, but when my mom uses my computer and watches a bunch on YouTube, I delete them from my history to avoid getting them as recommendations. (At least YouTube doesn’t assume watching a single video or watching an embedded video means I’m interested in that topic in general. She has to listen to several for it to change my recommendations.) > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Recently for no discernable reason Amazon switched over to Spanish for me. In my experience, this can happen after someone links to an Amazon link in a Spanish country. Whether that’s it or not, there’s a drop down at the bottom of the page, in a gray-bluish section above the darker section with all the links. There’s a dropdown for both country and language. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clicking-on-the-wrong-thing-on-amazon-oh-no/848602/17 "2020-02-28T11:06:17Z")
I don’t know if it’s my browser settings, or some other difference, but Amazon in the US seems a lot more intrusive than it is here in the UK. My main beef is that whenever we buy something, Amazon assumes that we will want more of the same. My wife recently bought some double-ended knitting needles (pins) and now I get offers for more of them. I could understand offers of wool or knitting patterns, but surely one set of needles is more than sufficient. The same thing happened when I bought a laptop - I just bought one, why the hell would I want another? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clicking-on-the-wrong-thing-on-amazon-oh-no/848602/18 "2020-02-28T12:27:37Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Recently for no discernable reason Amazon switched over to Spanish for me. ¿Que? ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clicking-on-the-wrong-thing-on-amazon-oh-no/848602/19 "2020-02-28T12:38:49Z")
For all that share amazon accounts and have the spouses look at the history or whatever. Amazon prime allows a family to share a Amazon prime account. IIRC one ‘adult’ share and then kid’s accounts, all with Amazon Prime single membership, however only the main account gets the Amazon Prime music free basic account attached to it. > [@BigT](#): > > …but when my mom uses my computer and watches a bunch on YouTube, I delete them from my history to avoid getting them as recommendations. … I had to do this when my kid started watching Star Wars and soccer on my youtube account. He watched so much I started to get nothing but that in my links, and I don’t care for either. I had to go through and delete that which took quite a while. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clicking-on-the-wrong-thing-on-amazon-oh-no/848602/20 "2020-02-28T15:13:10Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > I’ve started to do searches on Amazon in a private window. Once I find the item, I go back into a normal tab and order it. > > In fact, I do a lot of stuff in private windows now to keep down the glurge. That’s an excellent idea - I’ll have to give that a try. Pretty sure I’ve related this before, but Amazon’s search results can sometimes be hilariously (and horrifyingly!) off topic. One example, from about 10 years back, when I was searching for craft supplies for a Girl Scout project: I needed a particular size of bead, in a specific color. Searching for “pony beads red” yielded the expected little spheres of red plastic, as well as a butt plug with a genuine horse-hair tail :eek: That search no longer produces those results, fortunately. I posted about it on Facebook at the time - without listing what I saw, just the search term, and the comments were pretty hysterical, especially from parents of other girls in the troop :D. Luckily Amazon’s search results were not as badly propagated to other sites then as they are now, so I did not have to deal with ads for similar products appearing everywhere! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clicking-on-the-wrong-thing-on-amazon-oh-no/848602.md?page=2)