When it comes to Facebook (or other social media companies) it's all about self-portrayal and in the end we have control which information we provide. To some degree at least.
Amazon on the other hand has direct unfiltered buying behaviour data. Isn't this advertiser heaven?
I'm glad there are no friends on Amazon.
Yes, but what good are they to make you buy stuff or otherwise spend money?
> hourly location data,
Location data is a commodity nowadays, if Amazon want's your locations data, it can have it.
> and lots of other things freely
Your messages, which are probably much more useful than your photos and your location, but what else?
My point is that Amazon's data is much more valuable, but I'm neither in advertising nor data brokerage so I might as well be wrong.
I think these groups targeting your pocket book may have the most immediate effect on your person -- however -- I don't think it's the scariest or most malicious outcome.
Climate, activities, fashion, lifestyle, branding, etc... can all be determined from photos. Computers are getting better at this, just look at Amazon's fashion camera, the "Echo Look" that recommends clothing.
Company culture determines everything!
There was an article in Forbes or Bloomberg or something recently that stated that Google now gets something like 80% of all credit card transaction data, online or offline.
Amazon also has a photo hosting service, so they could have photos of you if you use it.
Prime Photos has unlimited storage an uploads every single picture you take by default. As such, a lot of people use it.
> hourly location data
The Amazon app requests location data and it probably checks when you use the app.
Amazon appears to be under the belief that retaining customer trust is much more valuable than selling customer data for immediate gain.
I suspect it has to do with their unique financial setup that allows them to operate with a long-view, and not have to chase quarterly profit.
Tracking people makes them :(