It’s a familiar feeling if you spend enough time on the internet: you talk about something in the real world, and then you see that same thing advertised to you online. This uncanny experience has led many people to wonder: are our devices listening to us? And is that how online advertisers are able to serve such specific ads? David Choffnes, associate professor at Northeastern University, says it’s not that simple.

You can read the full study David discussed in this episode here.

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