I have Alexa and similar disabled on my phone and computer and have no other devices...well I guess I have a smart TV that is seldom on and I have Alexa or whoever is living in it turned off, too. But I still have the exact same thing happen as you. It's bizarre.

I did search & came up with this: Amazon has introduced a Quick Links feature that allows users to connect Alexa skills directly with social media posts, websites, and other platforms.

Occasionally, when I am watching TV, Siri comes on my Apple watch with an out-of-the-blue comment relating to nothing. Big brother is watching.

I don't think you have to explicitly type or say words if the websites and links you click on are being tracked...

I don't have any such devices in my house, I'm not sure what benefits they provide. Nor do I use such features on my smartphone, for the same reason. I do use the talk to text feature but that's using that capability on a virtual keyboard, to enter words into browser address box or to dictate a message or email.

I'm not worried about being tracked or followed around.

"I'm not "worried" about being tracked; I just don't like it. I resent it. Like porkchop, I won't allow such in my home either. And no, it doesn't mean I'm paranoid.

Sorry, I used the wrong expression.

In saying that I wasn't worried, I meant it in the sense of "I don't care".

For what it's worth, I think my Echo devices are fun. One thing I do is play radio stations on them. With our ham radio equipment in the house and antennas outside, broadcast radio reception is poor. I could play the stations on my computer, but giving a verbal command is so much easier. I use the devices extensively as timers, alarms, and reminders. They're great for podcasts. And if I'm working in the kitchen and a song or artist or composer pops into my head (it happens!), I can listen to it instantly. At night, an Echo device in the living room plays soothing music for my dog. No more barking during the night.

This was not an attempt to change anyone's mind, though. We're all different.

I don't have Alexa or any other such device. But recently I was listening to a podcast while working on a document. I inadvertently rolled the cursor over an icon I never use. The text of the podcast began to appear in my document. My laptop was listening .....

Hubs and I are always looking for our phones.

I read that if you go to the place where you think it might be near and call Siri taht she will answer and there you have found your phone.

I had Hubs try it and it worked!

Suddenly he has a new friend. He found that Siri will answer him all the time. Now he and Siri are best of friends and I hear him talking to her all the time. Between Siri and the fact that our new remote on the kithcne TV has voice control, I dont know if he is talking to me or Siri or the TV.

But what happened is that he asked Siri a question and the response came out of my Ipad that was sitting on the desk? I was so surprised and went to google it. What i found is that this happens that the response can be directed through another device that is on the same local network. I guess, becasue we are on the same router, wifi. I had no idea!

Now I have become further aware of just how much Siri is listening all the time and I see that there are suspicious privacy issues around this tech. I told Hubs to be careful what he says to Siri. He cant get enough of her!

I, myself, have never activated Siri on my phone.

I had the eerie experience of thinking about something and having it appear in ads on my computer right after. I was so shocked. Maybe I just dont remember doing a seach on it and that is why. But I sure dont remember doing it. That is the only logical answer...that I just didnt remember or take note of mentioning it online. I must have done so.

I remember one time I had been to my daughters house and was returning back towards home and had just driven my car off of the ferry when the phone came on with directions to the destination that I was intending to make a stop at on the way home. How did it know that I was going to do that before heading home? Hubs suggested that it had memory of me doing that but I dont know how. That is the only realistic explanation, though.

Only thing I have is a computer. No other devices, including no cell phone.

There'll be a microphone and a camera on your computer. If you use Microsoft it'll have the capability which I described. I was simply writing a Word document.

I have Alexa that I use to play radio stations from the States with my preferred music. Also Spotify, Sirius/XM, etc. She also sets the timer for me. I ask her the weather, or a math question. I haven't had anything in particular pop up in advertising that I've asked her, or mentioned.

Sometimes when watching a movie, she'll say, I'm sorry, I didn't get that. Or she'll pipe up of someone says something on tv that's similar to "Alexa"

Privacy? I think that ship has sailed. Like a lot of things in modern life, I do my best to adjust and am thankful that I was able to live in the world before they existed.

I am grateful for many advances, for instance, my LAL cataract lenses. A few days ago I went in for a check-up and I mentioned a brand of eyedrops that I liked. By the time I got home, there was an email from the eyedrop manufacturers. I have never looked them up or bought directly from them. Yet somehow, they knew to contact me immediately after I discussed their product.

The one that freaks me out is, when I'm working on my photo challenges and I need to take the shot remotely or the phone is on the tripod, I set "voice control" on my phone. I say "tap take picture" and it does. But I often forget to turn it off. The next thing I know, it's trying to send a conversation as a text! Oops!

I had something similar yesterday.

I redid a flower bed near my mailbox and to compensate for the new small plants, I gathered a few red boulders I already had and piled them (artfully, I hope) in the bed. Then I was second-guessing my artful pile and I recalled a rock cairn I had seen recently a few miles from my house so I wondered if I could stack my rocks like that. I told no one.

Later, the first time I opened FB that day, the first post was from a friend who ”liked” a rock cairn picture.

Now that HAD to be coincidental but it creeped me out.

If you folks really want to have fun or maybe be creeped out? It’s all perspective really. Load the app called ChatGPT and start having conversations with the internet? the universe?

Just who are you chatting with really? The uncanny knowledge about the typist is mind-blowing FUN!

I try to limit eyes and ears as much as possible. No social media, no Alexa, Echo, or Ring. I know that just scratches the surface of the ways I am being followed and tracked. But I'll reduce my footprint in any way I can.

I have multiple Alexa devices - for me, it's an inexpensive way to sync music inside and out, or in multiple rooms, or to ask a quick question (what's the weather today, or how do you spell (whatever) if my phone isn't right there, or to find and view a recipe on the Alexa Show which I keep in the kitchen, just to name a few.

I've long since made peace with the fact that there is no true expectation of privacy anymore (except maybe in your medical record but even that is subject to human flaws). There is really nothing so interesting in my life that it should matter to anyone, anywhere, so I'm good with it. I'm not sure anyone really can control most of it anyway, unless you only purchase with cash, have no online accounts of any kind and never leave your house......because the moment you do, whether on foot or by vehicle, you're going to appear on a multitude of cameras. To me, the loss of convenience and the effort it would take to eradicate or even limit big brother would outweigh any of the benefit.

I don't have Alexa but have Google Home which I use to play music, ask questions and use as a timer. I have Siri on my phone and watch, and ask her when I'm away from Google Home. I mentioned watch bands to my daughter a week ago and I have been bombarded with ads on Instagram and FB all week.

Lily, you mentioned watch bands in your post today only because I was looking at different bands last night when I ordered a smart watch. Just so you know. lol

Echo or Chrome? If you have a Google Chrome account it's usually on phones too and anything you do on the internet is all connected.

I have a Google Pixel phone and several Gmail accounts, and I use Chrome as my browser. Plus I have a Chromebook that I use occasionally. But the devices I mentioned here are all Amazon Echoes.

Yeah, I don't use voice assistants/controls - keep them turned off. I'm on the internet too much already 😏